The Tamsui Itteki Memorial House, located within the Peace Park in New Taipei City’s seaside district of Danshui, formally opened to the public March 29.
The traditional wooden house, which is over 100 years old, originally stood in the Japanese prefecture of Fukui, and was donated to Taiwan following the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck the country in September 1999.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu said the house is “a testimony to the strong fellowship between Taiwan and Japan,” expressing the hope that the people of the two countries can live in peace, free of hardship.
Masami Tanabe, deputy representative of the Interchange Association, Japan’s representative office in Taiwan, said completion of the restoration effort “represents the unbreakable ties between our two countries,” adding that the memorial house is “an important cultural asset for both sides.”
After the September 1999 quake, residents of Mikura in Hyogo Prefecture, who had themselves been affected by the massive temblor in nearby Kobe four years earlier, headed to Taiwan to help in post-quake reconstruction efforts, according to New Taipei City Government.
While in Nantou County, these volunteers were moved by local efforts to restore a 130-year-old house, and this eventually led to arrangements between the two countries to have the old house in Fukui moved to Danshui. The owner of the house had earlier donated it to the Mikura residents for preservation after it had been scheduled for demolition.
The house, constructed with mortise and tenon joints, and no nails, was dismantled in Japan and then reassembled piece by piece in Danshui by Japanese master builders, students and professors from Tamkang University’s Department of Architecture and local volunteers. (SB)