This mansion is the residence of Max Hindel, an architect active in the 1920s and 1930s in Japan. Hindel designed Sophia University Building No.1, the Hokusei Gakuen Centennial Hall, and the Kanda Catholic Church, the Matsugamine Catholic Church and the Catholic Towada Church.
The current owner’s grandfather bought this house and used it carefully for many years. It would be rare to find historical mansion and very large land to be sold in the Yamate area.
Because of the size of the land, owners were thinking of selling it as a condominium site in the beginning. We feel this mansion and garden are so beautiful, it would be shame to demolish this building. We and current owners would be pleased if someone could understand the value of this building. (Although depends on possible buyer’s wish, the building could be demolished and purchased as land.)
The city of Yokohama once contacted current owners to register and preserve the building as a historical Western-style house. But it will make the building difficult to sell, so they decided not to register for now. Seven Western-style houses in the Yamate area are registered as historical Western-style houses, and this mansion is as good as those in the Yokohama Yamate area.
The building was built in 1927 and has been renovated since then if necessary, so it is very clean. The living room floor is custom parquet and has an unusual pattern. The living/dining area has lots of windows, so the natural light coming to the rooms is very beautiful. The moment you enter the living room through the front door is breathtakingly beautiful. Hinder designed to have many windows in living/dining room, so you can see the garden from every rooms. The view of the garden from the building is truly great.
The garden is located down from the level on which the house is built, so you can see the large garden from the windows. (The layout of the buildings and gardens is similar to the Kamakura Literature Museum and the Kyu-Furukawa Gardens.)
The owner’s parents used to enjoy having a band in the garden for garden parties.
The garden has ginkgo, maple and other trees. And these tall trees surround the property, so they use the greenery to provide a good sense of privacy.
JR Yamate Station 14min walk / 5min by car
