Shoyoen is so beautifully restored that it is hard to believe it was built over 80 years ago

Round window of Shoyoen
Round window of Shoyoen
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Shoyoen is a relatively new tourist attraction in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and has been open to the public since 2020. It is one of the few Japanese-style buildings built during the Japanese colonial period. This building was built in 1940 by Otani Kozui as his villa. Seeing the potential of Kaohsiung, Otani built a farm here, and Shoyoen was built next to it. After World War II, it was turned into a part of a household village where soldiers of the ROC government and their families lived, and it was abandoned with the passage of time. It has been restored and preserved as a historic site.

Otani Kozui, who built Shoyoen, was the supreme leader of the Honganji sect of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism, and his activities were not confined to the framework of a religious leader. He was also the chief advisor to the government of the Republic of China led by Sun Yat-sen, and he sent the Otani Expedition, which brought back artifacts now in the Tokyo National Museum collection. Otani Kozui, a descendant of the third head of the sect, Kakunyo, apparently had immense power. However, the large cost burden put the Honganji temple's finances in jeopardy, and Otani Kozui was forced to retire as head of the temple. Despite his large scale, he may not have had much sense of money.

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Aug 2024 ARCHITECTURE TAIWAN

PHOTO DATA

No

12639

Shooting Date

Mar 2024

Posted On

August 30, 2024

Modified On

September 4, 2024

Place

Kaoshiung, Taiwan

Genre

Architectural Photography

Camera

SONY ALPHA 7R V

Lens

ZEISS BATIS 2/40 CF

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