Login

Yamate Western-Style Buildings

Former Residences for Westerners

After the opening of the Yokohama port, the Yamate and Motomachi areas were opened for foreigners to settle in, and several Western-style houses built by famous designers have been preserved to this day. The Berrick Hall, the Ehrismann Residence, and the Diplomat's House are representative of the Yamate Western-style Buildings in Yokohama.

After the opening of the Yokohama port, businessmen with a keen sense of smell flocked to Yokohama from all over the world, and most of them lived in the foreign settlements in Yamate 山手 and Motomachi 元町 areas. These foreign merchants made a lot of money trading in silk, paper, lacquerware, and medicine, and they built themselves large houses that sprang up in the streets of Japan. When foreigners left the country before the outbreak of World War II, these Western-style houses, which could not be taken away, were either sold or left deserted.

To this day, very few houses remain intact. They have been carefully maintained and are scattered in Motomachi Park, Harbor View Park, and Yamate Italian Garden in Yokohama. These residences are collectively known as Yamate Western-style Buildings 山手西洋館.

Manywhere Trivia:
Yamate 山手 means a place near a mountain. Tokyo also has a famous railway line called JR Yamanote Line 山手線.

Harbor View Park Area

Harbor View Park (Minato-no-Mieru Oka Koen) is located on a hill along the Yokohama harbor, with a wide view of the harbor from the observation platform at the top of the hill. The park’s Yamate 111 House, built in 1926, is an impressive Spanish-style building with white walls and red tiles. Next to it is another white-walled Former British Consul's Residence, which used to be the British consulate in the Yokohama area.

Motomachi Park Area

Three Western-style residences remain in the Motomachi Park neighborhood, Berrick Hall which covers an area of 2,000 square meters and was the largest Yamate Western-style building before World War II. Berrick Hall and Yamate 111 House are both the work of American architect Jay H. Morgan.

Berrick Hall

Largest Western-style House in Yamate

The 2,000-square-meter Berrick Hall, completed in 1930, was the largest foreign residence in the Yamate area of Yokohama before World War II. The Berrick Hall is designed in Spanish style with rooms such as a living room, a dining room, a master room, a children's room, and guest rooms, etc.

In the early 20th century, Swiss businessman Ehrismann hired Antonin Raymond, the father of modern architecture, to build a mansion for himself, a two-story Western-style villa with modernist vibes, and it was not until 1990 that The Ehrismann Residence was moved to Motomachi Park.

Ehrismann Residence

Work of a Master Architect

In 1926, Swiss businessman Ehrismann hired architect Antonin Raymond to build a wooden two-story Western-style villa for himself. The first floor has a living room, dining room, and drawing room, while the second floor, which originally had three bedrooms, has been converted into showrooms for the Yamate Western-style Buildings.

Yamate 234 House is a public house with four identically furnished apartments on two floors, a rarity among Yamate’s Western-style houses.

Yamate Italian Garden Area

The Diplomat's House in Yamate’s Italian Garden, which originally housed the Italian Consulate, is an American Victorian-style house that was moved from Shibuya, Tokyo. It was owned by Japanese diplomat Uchida Sadatsuchi. The other one, the Bluff 18 House, is also a foreign residence that was moved to this area in recent times.

The Home Of A Diplomat

Moved From Shibuya

The Diplomat's House was originally located on a hillside in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was a townhouse built by an American designer for Japanese diplomat Uchida Sadatsuchi and relocated to the Yamate Italian Garden in Yokohama in 1997. The Diplomat's House is two stories high and is built in the American Victorian style.

Yamate Park Area

Yamate Park was opened in 1870 and is said to be the birthplace of tennis in Japan, with Former Yamate 68 House used as a tennis club and Tennis Birthplace Memorial Museum At Yokohama Yamanote, which exhibits tennis rackets from 100 years ago, as well as many other historical materials related to tennis in Japan.