The Garyu Sanso Villa Cultural Experience Project

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  • The Garyu Sanso Villa Cultural Experience Project

 

Unfolding the architecture of
Garyu Sanso and the traditional hospitality
that Torajiro Kouchi intended

As part of the project to support the promotion of value-added cultural activities curing COVID-19 adopted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Garyu Sanso Villa Cultural Experience Project), General Incorporated Association KITA-Management is studying the traditional heartfelt hospitality that owner Torajiro Kouchi intended to offer at Garyu Sanso Villa, how he planned to use it for tourism, and how he was going to take advantage of it for community development.
An expert committee was established within KITA-Management to seek opinions and advice from experts and other specialists for implementation of the Garyu Sanso Villa Cultural Experience Project. Three online meetings were held and a basic concept was compiled. For details on the concept, please refer to the Garyu Sanso Village Cultural Experience Project Report.

(1) Expert Committee Members

No. Affiliation Name Specialty Notes
1 Hosei University Professor Emeritus JINNAI, Hidenobu History of Italian architecture / Urban history
2 Osaka Electro-Communication University Professor YAGASAKI, Zentaro History of Japanese architecture / History of gardens
3 Hoshin-kai Founder, Educational Corporation Kankyo Zokei Gakuen
Board Member
KIMURA, Soshin Master of tea ceremony Moderator
4 CEO, Value Management Co. Ltd. TARIKINO, Jun Cabinet Secretariat Expert on the use of Historical Resources
5 Member of Ozu City Council for Protection of Cultural Properties SUGANO, Takatsugu Architecture

(2) Advisors

No. Affiliation Name Specialty Notes
1 Kengo Kuma & Associates KUMA, Kengo Architect, Distinguished Professor and Professor Emeritus, Tokyo
University

(3) Schedule of Expert Committee Meetings

No. Date Topic Attendees
1 August 23, 2021 ・Elect moderator
・Project outline
・Composition of the basic concept
Moderator Kimura, Mr. Jinnai, Mr. Yagasaki, Mr. Tarikino, Mr.Sugano, Ozu City, Ozu City Board of Education, Agency for Cultural Affairs, others
2 September 28, 2021 ・Basic concept
・Holding the symposium
Moderator Kimura, Mr. Jinnai, Mr. Yagasaki, Mr. Sugano, Advisor Kuma, Ozu City, Ozu City Board of Education, Agency for Cultural Affairs, others
3 November 10, 2021 ・Basic concept
・Demonstration project “Suki-no-Utage” banquet
・Symposium guidelines
Moderator Kimura, Mr. Jinnai, Mr. Yagasaki, Mr. Tarikino, Mr.Sugano, Ozu City, Ozu City Board of Education, Agency for Cultural Affairs, others

As part of the Project, a Suki-no-Utage banquet demonstration and Garyu Sanso Villa Experience Symposium were held, based on the basic concept compiled by the expert committee.

The heartfelt hospitality that Torajiro Kouchi intended was given the name “Suki-no-Utage” and demonstrated.

It is thought that guests were welcomed from the Hiji-kawa River using river boats, which were the main form of transportation in those days, and first entertained with Japanese sweets and tea at the Furo-an teahouse.

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After being entertained at Furo-an, the guests were ushered to the main villa, Garyu-in. There, it is thought that both the guests and the master enjoyed a banquet and traditional art performances such as Noh. (Guest traffic was in the opposite direction of the current route open to the public.)

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Picture taiken

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Garyu Sanso Villa Cultural Experience Symposium
◎ Organizer: General Incorporated Association KITA-Management
◎ Sponsors: Ozu City, Ozu City Board of Education
◎ Date: Sunday, December 19, 2021
◎ Venue: Main Hall, Ozu City Hall
◎ Time: 1:30-4:45 p.m.

[Keynote Speech]
Hidenobu Jinnai (Specially Appointed Professor, Hosei University)
Kengo Kuma (Architect, Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University)

[Panel Discussion]
Moderator: Shoshin Kimura (Tea Ceremony Master)
Panelists: Hidenobu Jinnai (Specially Appointed Professor, Hosei University), Kengo Kuma
(Architect, Distinguished Professor and Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University), Zentaro Yagasaki (Professor, Osaka
Electro-Communication University), Jun Tarikino (CEO, Value Management Co. Ltd.)

The Keynote Speech and Panel Discussion are available for viewing below.

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