The Yasuda House, a Japan National Trust property set amid thick woods on the heights of Sendagi in northwest Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, will be open for public viewing on April 29, 2003 (Greenery Day national holiday). Marking the finale of a series of fundraising events by concerned citizens who, together with the owner, in 1996 succeeded in saving the beautiful wooden house from almost certain demolition, the open day will feature magnificent displays of sets of dolls and miniature samurai armor and weapons traditionally given for the Boy's Day festival. As well as viewing these antiques in the house's main tatami room, visitors will also have a final chance to admire the building's traditional architecture -- inspired by the Katsura Detached Palace in Kyoto and described by Tokyo University architecture professor Terunobu Fujimori as "the epitome of the residential style and building techniques of the Taisho Era (1912-26)" -- before the 85-year-old house is closed for lengthy refurbishment, beginning June 2003.
