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This western-style wooden
building stands beside the Matsue Shrine on the second level of the outer
wall on Matsue Castle Hill. With a porte-cochere at the front, Kounkaku
is characterized by the elegant decorations adorning the tops of the columns
surrounding the building and by the substantial cylindrical columns lining
the colonnade. Used as a V.I.P. guesthouse, Kounkaku played host to the
Emperor Taisho, while Crown Prince, during his visit to Matsue in 1907.
One of the few examples of Meiji period architecture remaining in the Matsue
district, Kounkaku today houses a folk museum displaying items of local
history, folklore, and handicrafts. |
