[Kanazawa Architecture Museum] (Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, former province name: Kaga)
The Showa era architect Yoshiro Taniguchi (1904-1979) was born in the center of Kanazawa, where the Kutani ware pottery manufacturer "Kinyo-do" was established. His father Yoshijiro was a progressive person who made a name for himself as a cutting-edge Kutani ware artist in the declining Kanazawa after the Meiji Restoration, and even worked overseas to spread the appeal of Kutani ware. On the other hand, he valued the culture cultivated in Kaga (present-day southern Ishikawa Prefecture), especially Kanazawa, and made sure to instill that gene in Yoshiro. After graduating from the local Fourth High School, Yoshiro went on to the Department of Architecture at Tokyo Imperial University, where he mastered the theory of modernist architecture. While working as a professor at the Imperial University, he also worked on architecture, producing masterpieces that could be considered the "face of the nation" in their respective fields, such as the Togu Palace, the Imperial Theater, and the Main Building of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. He became a representative architect of Japan in both name and reality. On the other hand, after witnessing the demolition (1940) of Rokumeikan (a Western-style building built in 1883 as part of the Europeanization policy aimed at revising the unequal treaties, designed by Josiah Conder), he felt the need to preserve Meiji architecture. In collaboration with his friend from Fourth High School, Motoo Tsuchikawa (1903-1974), who was vice president of Nagoya Railroad, he established the "Meiji Mura Museum" (Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture), which relocated and preserved famous buildings from all over the country, and made an immortal contribution from the perspective of architectural history.
Yoshio Taniguchi (1937-), the son of Yoshiro, followed in his father's footsteps in architecture, studying at Keio University and Harvard University before studying architecture and urban design under Kenzo Tange (1913-2005). After going independent, he designed the Kasai Rinkai Aquarium, the Tokyo National Museum Horyuji Treasure Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and GINZA SIX, among others, and was highly praised for his modernist techniques and innovative designs that emphasize harmony with the surrounding landscape. Today, public facilities designed by Yoshio have signed an Architectural Exchange Network Agreement, and their architecture is recognized as an attraction for the city itself and a tourist resource.
The Kanazawa Architecture Museum is named after the Taniguchi father and son and commemorates their achievements. The facility faces the Sai River, which flows through the southwestern part of the castle town, and was built on the site of the house where Taniguchi Yoshiro once lived. The building was designed by his son, Yoshio, and the sharp yet open spatial design makes you feel that the architecture itself is a work of art. The highlight of the building is the reproduction of "Yushintei", which Yoshiro built in the Akasaka Palace State Guest House. This purely Japanese-style hall, designed to entertain distinguished guests from around the world, combines a sense of dignified tension with a soft sense of security, and is thought to be the essence of Yoshiro's signature "pure design". Adjacent to this hall is the "water garden", which is Yoshio's specialty. In the actual Akasaka Palace, Yushintei overlooks a pond, but the Kanazawa Architecture Museum takes advantage of its excellent location overlooking the Sai River to create a "borrowed scenery" landscape that seems to be connected to the river. As I sit on the bench and enjoy the sophisticated design, a small bird suddenly comes flying in to bathe in the water, creating well-balanced ripples on the surface. One of Yoshiro Taniguchi's great achievements is his proposal to enact the "Traditional Environment Preservation Ordinance." This ordinance aimed to preserve the urban landscape of Kanazawa, which was fortunately spared from the disaster and still retains its Edo-period streetscape, and was a pioneering initiative in Japan. At the time, it had a nuance close to a "declaration," but over time it became more concrete and has remained rooted in the consciousness of the government and citizens to this day. It is not difficult to capture the landscape of water, birds, the Sai River and the castle town, and architectural design as a single painting, and the impact is even greater when you consider that it is a collaborative work of the lives of the Taniguchi father and son and the climate of Kanazawa that raised them. Access: About 20 minutes by bus from Kanazawa Station
Recommended for solo travelers: ★★★★ (There are people, but not many. You can enjoy sightseeing in peace!)
Visit date: Around 11am on the third Saturday of June
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