Ehrismann Residence: A Yamate Western-Style House Recreated in Motomachi Park
Surrounded by the greenery of Motomachi Park in Yokohama, Ehrismann Residence is a relocated reconstruction of the private home of Fritz Ehrismann, who worked in the raw silk trade. It offers a look at both modern ideas about housing and everyday life in Yamate.
Because Ehrismann Residence was not newly built at its current site, visitors can distinguish between the elements inherited for preservation and those used today as part of a public facility.
Rather than viewing it simply as an “old Western-style house,” divide your visit into 4 contexts: Yokohama’s prosperity through overseas trade, homes in the foreign settlement, experiments by a modern architect, and preservation through reconstruction. This makes the meaning of its details easier to understand.
Learn About the Home’s Owner
Fritz Ehrismann, the Swiss-born owner of the residence, served as the Yokohama branch manager of the raw silk trading company Sieber Hegner. His story reflects the commercial history that connected Yokohama with overseas markets after the port opened.
Focus on Architect Antonin Raymond
Architect Antonin Raymond pursued modern architecture that expressed structure and practicality instead of adding decoration. At Ehrismann Residence, you can see this simplicity shaped around daily life in the building’s details.
See It as 1 of the Yokohama Yamate Western-Style Houses
Yamate has 7 Western-style houses open to the public, built in different periods and designed by different architects. Compare Ehrismann Residence with nearby buildings—their exterior walls, windows, and interior layouts—to appreciate the range of residential architecture.
Trace the Timeline From Construction to Demolition and Reconstruction
Ehrismann Residence was built at 127 Yamate-chō from 1925 to 1926, later demolished, and reconstructed at its current location in Motomachi Park in 1990. Its original construction and present public setting are therefore separated by both time and place.
Instead of merely memorizing dates, organize the story into 3 stages: the period when it served as a private home, the time after the building was lost, and its present reconstruction based on records and surviving materials. This makes the meaning of preservation easier to grasp.
Comparing the original and current sites on a map reveals more than the distance the building was moved to Motomachi Park. It also shows how its role changed from a private residence into a public place for learning.
| Period | Event | What to Notice During Your Visit |
|---|---|---|
| 1925–1926 | Residence built at 127 Yamate-chō | Imagine the layout and design as a private home |
| When first built | 2-story wooden house with an adjoining Japanese-style wing | Consider a way of life that extended beyond the Western-style house |
| 1982 | Demolished for apartment construction | Understand how the building was lost before preservation |
| 1990 | Reconstructed at its current site in Motomachi Park | Distinguish the original location from the present site |
Imagine Its Original Form
When first built, it was a 2-story wooden structure with an adjoining Japanese-style wing and a building area of about 81 tsubo. Imagine the living spaces behind the Western-style section seen today, where Japanese and Western rooms were used for different purposes.
Recognize That the Building Was Demolished
The 1982 demolition means this is not a building that survived continuously on its original site. Do not assume the space before you is exactly as it was when built; also consider the evidence used for the reconstruction and the elements that were lost.
Read the Reconstruction at Its Current Site
The current location corresponds to lot 81 of the former Yamate foreign settlement. Here, park trees, the slope, and the white exterior form a new relationship, so view the surrounding landscape—not only the building itself—as part of its preservation and continued use.
Treat It as a Yokohama-Certified Historic Building
A house open to the public can feel familiar, but it remains a historic building. Avoid casually touching floors, furniture, or decorations, and share the quiet, residential-scale space with other visitors.
Observe the Functional Beauty of the White Exterior
The exterior combines the design of a Western-style home with elements of wooden modernism. Instead of searching for conspicuous ornament, look at the shapes and placement of components that respond to rain, light, ventilation, and views to better understand the architect’s intentions.
Light and shadow change with your viewpoint and the weather. Do not stop at the front; view the house from the park side as well and note how the direction of the siding, depth of the eaves, and recessed windows create rhythm across the elevations.
| Element | Visible Feature | How to Interpret It |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior walls | Clapboard siding upstairs and vertical board siding downstairs | Observe the shadows created by the different siding directions |
| Eaves | Composition emphasizing horizontal lines | See how it makes the building appear low and expansive |
| Windows | Double-hung windows and shutters | Consider approaches to daylight, ventilation, and sunlight |
| Roof | Slate roofing and dormer windows | Compare the slope with the way light enters the interior |
| Outdoor elements | Chimney and balcony | See how interior functions appear in the exterior form |
Watch the Direction of the Siding and Its Shadows
The white walls are not uniform surfaces. Lines shift between the clapboard siding upstairs and vertical board siding downstairs, so step back and observe how light and shadow give each floor a different expression.
Follow the Rhythm of Horizontal Lines and Windows
When you view the deep horizontal eaves, double-hung windows, and shutters as one continuous composition, you can see that the orderly exterior is not merely decorative but connected to interior brightness and responses to the climate.
Read the Flow of Daily Life Through the 1st-Floor Rooms
The 1st floor includes a reception room with a fireplace, a combined living and dining room, and a sunroom overlooking the garden. Walking through them reveals connections among a place for receiving guests, a place for family meals, and a place that brings in light.
Do more than pause in each room. Notice how the next space appears through a doorway and which direction the greenery enters your view through the windows to discover techniques that create depth within a small home.
Room sizes and furniture arrangements gently separate and connect guests and family, dining and rest, and views of the garden. The number of steps from the entrance to the windows and the lines of sight through the rooms are also worth observing.
Notice the Reception Room’s Simple Details
In the reception room, focus on details such as the shelf below the window and the deliberately exposed heads of brass nails. See how an expression that does not completely conceal materials or joints creates a simple modern atmosphere without extravagance.
View the Dining Room Windows and Furniture Together
The dining room’s large double-hung windows bring the outdoor scenery inside. Viewed together with reconstructed furniture designed by Raymond, they evoke a way of life in which architecture and furnishings were planned as one.
See How the Sunroom Responds to Japan’s Climate
The high-ceilinged sunroom was created to suit Japan’s climate. Compare its original-period lighting with the light from the garden and consider how brightness and comfort were shaped.
Expand Your View of Yamate Through the 2nd-Floor Displays and Park Scenery
The 2nd floor, once home to 3 bedrooms, now displays materials introducing Yamate’s Western-style houses. Photos and drawings can expand the architectural impressions gained downstairs into the history of the wider district.
The 2nd-floor displays do not reproduce the original bedrooms exactly. Distinguish the content of the materials from the rooms’ modern use as exhibition spaces, and treat them as clues for imagining the former living areas.
Keep the Change From Bedroom to Gallery in Mind
Do not let the present galleries obscure their original purpose. Overlay the period when they were furnished bedrooms with today’s experience of reading public displays to understand one way a residence can be reused as a cultural facility.
Treat the View From the Windows as Part of the Exhibit
Shift your gaze through the broad windows toward the greenery of Motomachi Park and the surrounding streetscape. Enjoy, as a continuation of the indoor displays, the new relationship between the reconstructed building, the park, and views of Yokohama.
Plan Your Visit and Walk Around the Neighborhood
The interior retains the scale of a residence and has limited passage space. During busy periods, make room for others and proceed at a relaxed pace through the exterior, each room, the 2nd-floor displays, and the park, while checking opening information and events in advance.
Opening hours, closing days, the café, events, and private-use arrangements may change. Do not plan from fixed information in the article alone; review the website’s home page and facility overview immediately before your visit.
| What to Check | Before Departure | At the Site |
|---|---|---|
| Opening information | Check opening hours, closing days, and temporary changes | Reread notices at the entrance |
| Transportation | Check routes from stations and bus stops | Allow for hills and walk without rushing |
| Inside the house | Check photography and visitor rules | Change into slippers and do not touch the furniture |
| Nearby area | Check Motomachi Park and nearby Western-style houses on a map | Narrow your stops according to your remaining energy |
Plan for Public Transportation and Hills
Routes from nearby Motomachi-Chūkagai Station and the Motomachi Kōen-mae bus stop include the elevation changes typical of Yamate. Choose comfortable walking shoes and plan your transportation with the lack of a dedicated parking lot in mind.
The residence is about an 8-minute walk from Exit 6 of Motomachi-Chūkagai Station on the Minatomirai Line.
Observe the Space Before Taking Photos
Indoor photography is intended for simple commemorative photos, and visitors are asked to refrain from tripods, selfie sticks and similar equipment, prolonged occupation of a spot, video recording, and close-up photography. Examine details with your own eyes first, then record them without obstructing passage.
Choose a Basis for Comparing Nearby Western-Style Houses
If you continue to nearby buildings around Motomachi Park, such as Berrick Hall or Yamate 234 House, choose 1 basis for comparison—construction year, architect, original owner, exterior walls, or windows—to turn the walk into a lesson in architectural history.
Summary of a Visit to Ehrismann Residence
At Ehrismann Residence, follow Raymond’s simple design, white siding and horizontal eaves, first-floor rooms shaped around daily life, and second-floor historical displays. By remembering its reconstruction in Motomachi Park after demolition and observing visitor etiquette, you can understand Yamate’s residential culture through both the building and its landscape.
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