Joranjuku Guest House

A Guest House for Joranjuku

The Joranjuku Guest House (如蘭塾迎賓館), also called Ganshokaku, is a single-storey wooden guest house of around 1943 in the grounds of Joranjuku at Takeo, Takeo-machi, Takeo City, Saga Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 23, 1999 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single-storey wooden building with a building area of 274 square metres, registration number 41-0013, owned by the Seiko Scholarship Foundation. Takeo City says Endo Arata designed it in 1941 and that it was probably complete by early 1943.

Why It Was Registered

The Joranjuku Guest House was registered as a structure that has become a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a building of high quality standing west of the school building and dormitory and facing north, attributes it to Endo Arata, and credits it with the dignity a guest house requires.

What to Look For

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the core is a range with a Western room, a large hall with a wide veranda and Japanese reception rooms, with an entrance hall, Japanese rooms and a kitchen on the north side. Takeo City describes the sequence: from the north entrance hall, a carpeted Western room, a private sitting room, an anteroom and a bedroom follow in a row from east to west, with a tea room to the west of the entrance.

The kitchen, dining room and bathroom to the north of the sitting room are later additions (Takeo City).

The Seiko Scholarship Foundation notes a piano in the inner room and sliding-door paintings of Mt Mifune through the four seasons by Matsunaga Nanraku.

Visiting

According to the Seiko Scholarship Foundation, since the 1989 restoration visitors can see how the guest house was used for training. Visits must be arranged in advance with the foundation (0954-22-2256, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).

The school's history and directions are on the group page Joranjuku.