Kanrankaku Villa

A Seaside Villa with Chinese Brick Styling

The Kanrankaku Villa (観瀾閣) is a two-storey timber villa built in 1935 on the shore at Sannose, Shimokamagari-cho, Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 5, 1997. It is known for an exterior modelled on Chinese brick architecture (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kure City).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records two storeys of timber with a tiled roof and a building area of 289 square metres, registration number 34-0012.

A Builder from Manchuria

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs and Kure City, the Kanrankaku Villa was built as a villa by Sakakidani Senjiro, who chaired the Manchuria Civil Engineering and Construction Association.

Set along the shore of Shimokamagari Island, its location and its design, modelled on the brick buildings of mainland China, combine to give it a most unusual appearance (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Kanrankaku Villa was registered as a structure that would not be easy to reproduce. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes its distinctive seaside setting and Chinese brick-inspired exterior, and the high level of craftsmanship in its interior fittings and transoms.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the Kanrankaku Villa is a two-storey timber building faced with tiles to resemble brick. Its line along the shore of the Seto Inland Sea is striking.

Inside, the fittings and carved transoms show a high standard of craftsmanship (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kure City).

Visiting

According to Kure City, the exterior of the Kanrankaku Villa can be viewed. It is at Sannose, Shimokamagari-cho, Kure, about a 10-minute walk from the Sannose stop on the Setonaikai Sanko bus (Okitomo Tenmangu to Chugoku Rosai Hospital line).

No interior opening has been confirmed, so view it from outside.