BEN'S HOUSE

The house has been designated a “Cultural Property of Kobe” for the brick walls built with red bricks ordered from Germany at that time. The interior was redecorated in 2019. In Curious Collection Room on the ground floor, precious stuffed polar bears, wolf, American bison and so on as well as a curious cabinet are exhibited.

Kobe Kitano Ijinkan

http://kobe-ijinkan.net/en/

In 1858, the Ansei Treaties, including the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan, were concluded and agreed upon by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France. One of the direct outcomes of these treaties was the opening of the Five Ports of Hakodate, Kanagawa, Nagasaki, Niigata and Hyogo (Kobe). The Port of Kobe was opened ten years later on January 1, 1868. Including Kitano-chō, the settlements surrounding the port became a residential area where both foreign and Japanese people could live in harmony, and foreigners were able to rent a house and lease pieces of land. This is what was later called Kobe Kitano Ijinkan-gai.

Kobe is a beautiful location that stretches between mountains and the ocean. A popular spot for tourists to visit nowadays, it was also a very popular town for the foreigners in the past too. The settlement was designed by the British man J.W. Hart. The land was developed into a district with roads and sidewalks, the streets lined with trees, gas lamps installed, and parks and greens created. Once completed, the Western townscape had a huge impact on locals at the time.

The existing Ijinkan was mostly built following the guidelines of two famous foreign architects in Japan: the British A.N Hansell and the German D.G Lalande, founder of the Design Office in Japan. The fact that these two designers took part in the Kobe Ijinkan is believed to be the reason why these houses have such high quality designs.

At that time, Japan's borders had been reopened to the outside world for ten years, so Kobe was a city where both Japanese and foreigners culturally accepted each other, with mutual absorption. This trend generated the stylish atmosphere that has been the cultural foundation of the city.

The Ijinkan, with more than 300 houses originally, due to the ravages of war and deterioration, has been reduced to 30 existing houses, with just less than 20 open to the public. As a place influenced by Japan's modernization and unique culture, Kobe Kitano Area has always attracted a great deal of attention. For its historic and cultural value, in 1980 it was designated under the "Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings" act by the government.

Reference work: "Kobe Gaku" (Kobe Shimbun Sogo Shuppan Center) (2006)