Yoshiya Nobuko Memorial House Public Opening (吉屋信子記念館 一般公開)

What Is the Yoshiya Nobuko Memorial House Public Opening?

The public opening of the Yoshiya Nobuko Memorial House (吉屋信子記念館) is a free spring and autumn event when Kamakura City (鎌倉市) opens the Hase (長谷) home where the novelist Yoshiya Nobuko (吉屋信子) spent her later years. Following her wishes, the land and house were donated to the city, and the rooms are preserved as they were in her lifetime. The single-story main house was built in 1962 and designed by Yoshida Isoya (吉田五十八), a leading architect of modern sukiya, a refined style of Japanese residential architecture. Yoshiya is said to have asked him for a house “like a nunnery in Nara (奈良).” The main house, gate and wall are Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan. On other days the building is used as a community learning facility, so the public opening is the only time visitors can see inside.

Dates and Hours

The autumn opening usually runs on October 1–3, November 1–3, and every Saturday and Sunday in October and November. In spring, the house usually opens around Golden Week in late April and early May, in early June, and on Saturdays and Sundays in May and June. Hours are 10:00–16:00, with last entry at 15:45. Admission is free and no reservation is needed. When many people arrive at once, entry may be limited and you may need to wait outside.

Highlights: A Writer’s Home Designed by Yoshida Isoya

You can see the reception room, study, bedroom and other rooms preserved as they were, along with displays that include handwritten manuscripts. The reception room faces a lawn garden to the south, and the Japanese-style room next to it sits one step higher. The study is a small room facing the north garden. A stone-paved path leads from the gate to the entrance, and in autumn the trees beside it change color.

Visiting Tips

You can step out onto the south lawn and view the single-story house from the garden. The study cannot be entered; you look into it from inside the house. Photos are usually allowed inside. Visitors are usually few, so you can look around at your own pace. There is no parking or bicycle parking, so come by public transport.

Access: Visiting During a Stay at Toshi’s Place

The house is about a 7-minute walk from Yuigahama Station (由比ヶ浜駅) on the Enoden (江ノ電), the Enoshima Electric Railway. From JR Kamakura Station (鎌倉駅), you can also take a Keikyu or Enoden bus and walk 2 minutes from the stop. It fits easily into a walk around the Hase & Yuigahama (由比ヶ浜) area. If you stay at Toshi’s Place, a fully unmanned smart hotel with a full kitchen and no meals, you can arrive right at the 10:00 opening and then continue exploring Hase.

Summary

The public opening is one of the few chances each year to step inside a writer’s home designed by Yoshida Isoya and see her rooms as she left them. For more about the house itself, see Yoshiya Nobuko Memorial House.

Basic Information

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