The Kaohsiung Department of Cultural Affairs has announced tours of the Siaoyao Yuan (逍遙園) heritage site as well as artisan interaction events, allowing professionals and others a glimpse into restoration processes at the Japanese-built estate.
Siaoyao Yuan, which was built in 1939 and stands in the city’s Dagangpu (大港埔) area, was one of 11 estates established by Japanese monk Kozui Otani, and the only one in Taiwan, the department said.
Planned as a testing ground for the development of tropical agriculture, the estate, which is behind the Sinsing District (新興) Office on Jintian Road, was a peculiar blend of townhouse and private residence, the department said.
Photo courtesy of Ryuzo Nikaku
After World War II, the Ministry of National Defense commandeered the land to build a veterans’ village, it said, adding that a ministry policy of tearing down uninhabited veterans’ villages and building apartments put the estate’s fate in the spotlight.
The city government, academics and cultural conservation groups have worked for nearly a decade to have the building restored, it said, adding that work finally began in August 2017.
Japanese experts in plasterwork, woodwork and traditional shingles have been invited to tour the site and would demonstrate how the work should be done, while Taiwanese experts will observe, the department said, adding that it hoped the arrangement would promote Taiwan-Japan interaction on restoration techniques.
Local residents would be prioritized for the public tours, but people interested in cultural assets would not be excluded, the department said.
The tours will be led by professional guides, who will introduce the estate’s history, its construction style and “secrets” of the restoration processes that are otherwise not available to the public, it said.
Tour participants will be able to see the establishment in its entirety before others, it added.
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