{"id":1086,"date":"2008-12-31T20:11:30","date_gmt":"2008-12-31T11:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-12-31\/1086"},"modified":"2008-12-31T20:11:30","modified_gmt":"2008-12-31T11:11:30","slug":"kyotos-haunted-hua-huan-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-12-31\/1086","title":{"rendered":"Kyoto’s Haunted Hua Huan Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 175 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 2200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTV Antenna Worthy of a Haunted<\/span> House<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

As I've mentioned lately, I've taken to heading up to Shogunzuka<\/a> to try to catch the sunset<\/a> in hopes\nof getting lucky and being able to photograph one that's spectacular<\/a>.\nDuring the five-minute drive home one day recently, I noticed<\/span> this view...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHaunted House?<\/span>\nKyoto, Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

That big building in the background looks totally decrepit, and despite\nhaving driving by it a bazillion<\/span> times, I'd not noticed<\/span> it until now. I find these<\/span> kinds of places somewhat fascinating, and along the same lines,\nposted Abandoned House\nReturning To Nature<\/a> last month, and about the razing of an Old House of Bamboo and\nMud<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 102 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFront-Facing Side<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I had no idea what it was, but finally the other day I headed<\/span> over, and it\nturns out to have been much more interesting than I had<\/span> first imagined.<\/p>\n\n

In the picture above, note the set of stairs running to the left of the\nbuilding (the main approach is via those stairs), and also the tree in\nfront of the left side of the building (because it's not in front<\/i> of\nthe building, but in<\/i> the building, sticking out the front. We'll see\nmore below.)<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 560 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nInitial Approach<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The nearest corner in the shot above is where the main entrance is, facing the stairs, so continuing up the stairs to the corner and\nturning right, you see this inviting portal....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWelcome!<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I had a similar shot on my previous post, A Few<\/span> Kyoto Entrances<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Not having had any idea what the building actually was, I guess<\/span> I had<\/span>\nbuilt up a subconscious<\/span> idea that it was a dorm<\/span> or low-rent apartment of\nsome sort, likely because of my experiences detailed in Forsaken: Kyoto University's\nKumano Dorm<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

It is clearly abandoned now, but I was<\/span> somewhat surprised to see that it\nhad been a business<\/span> of some sort. The writing<\/span> on the shutter above has a\nphone<\/span> number, and says in English “Opening: Every Sunday and National\nHolidays”<\/p>\n\n

In taking the shot above, I sat on<\/span> the steps to the house across the\nway. An old lady<\/span> lived there, and we chatted a while<\/span> about the place. Her accent<\/span> was one so extremely thick that I couldn't<\/span> understand much, but did\nlearn this: the outside was never particularly nice, but it had been quite\nnice inside. There are five floors. A man had<\/span> lived there, and when he died\nsome years ago, it just went to pot due to neglect and vandals. An attempt<\/span> was made to sell it, but no one will buy it because the situation is just\ntoo difficult to deal with. Kids call it a haunted<\/span> house (\u304a\u5316\u3051\u5c4b\u6577<\/span> · obakeyashiki<\/i>).<\/p>\n\n

The situation she referred to is that it's on the side of a very<\/span> steep\nhill, and is surrounded by other properties, so heavy equipment has no easy\naccess. Even if combined with one of the properties between it and the road\nsuch that it would have frontage and access, the cost of taking it down\nlikely far exceeds the cost of the land. It's just a<\/span> no-win situation.<\/p>\n\n

The front of the building has a big<\/span> sign in the upper corner, reading\n“\u5168\u548c\u51f0\u7f8e\u8853\u9928<\/span><\/b>” (Zen Kowako<\/i> Museum), and searching around on the Internet\nafter I got<\/span> home I found<\/span> an older photo\nof the metal shutter, fully closed<\/a> indicating the name in English as\nHua Huan Museum<\/b>. I'm guessing<\/span> that Kowako Zen was the professional\nname used by the artist whose real name was Hua Huan. From what I have<\/span> been\nable to figure out while searching, he was born in Korea in 1909, came to\nJapan when he was 30, eventually apprenticed under Kunitaro Suda (1891-1961), a Kyoto<\/span>\npainter apparently noteworthy enough to have a Wikipedia<\/span> entry<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

He was apparently a successful artist. In 1982 there<\/span> was an exhibition\n“50 years of work by Kowako Zen” hosted in five cities in Japan and Korea,\nand perhaps emboldened by that, in the same year he founded the museum that\nis the subject of the present blog post.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLooking Up<\/span>\nabove the entrance\n<\/div>\n\n

He passed away in 1996. You can still<\/span> find his\nwork on Yahoo! Auctions<\/a> as I write<\/span> this.<\/p>\n\n

I'm guessing that he was really eccentric, because what I found<\/span> so\namazing about this building is not how dilapidated time and vandals and\nneglect have made it, but how it was build dilapidated to begin\nwith<\/b>. Pretty much every aspect of what you can see of its construction\nreveals the utmost in sloppy, dangerous, haphazard, jerry-built\njury-rigged “workmanship” that makes the average slumlord look like\nBob Vila<\/a>\nor\nNorm Abram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Those familiar with construction techniques will find hours of amusement\nand horror in inspecting the large versions of the images that\nfollow.<\/p>\n\n

Many of the outside surfaces were stuccoed as if the stucco was paint,\nput on thinly enough to just cover (sort of, barely) whatever was\nunderneath...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a> Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @\n160 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 560 — full\nexif & map<\/a> — nearby\nphotos<\/a><\/span> Stucco Like Paint<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Often the stucco didn't even cover the light mesh he used (the mesh\nlooks more appropriate for straining carrots than supporting cement), and\neven the vines that (later?) grew and died were thicker than the stucco...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nExterior Wall<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I think that there was an original building that was smaller, and that\nthe guy then built it up over time. One of the<\/span> exposed boards over the\nentrance shows the old kind of rough-hewn semi-flat teardrop-head “cut\nnails” one might find in The States in construction that dated to the 1700s\nand 1800s....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 220 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSeen Better Days<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Directly beside the entrance was the former electrical hookup, for which\nno expense was spared in making it look aesthetic and natural. Smartly\nhidden in plain sight, the ugly conduit looks just like, er, grout, and the\nbox itself like a fine<\/span> slab of granite....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nElectrical Hookup<\/span>\nI know you can't really see it because it's disguised so well\n<\/div>\n\n

The only thing that could be done to add to the tasteful design would be\nto place a sign<\/span> on it saying “DO NOT LOOK AT UGLY ELECTRICAL HOOKUP<\/b>.”<\/p>\n\n

Above that was the remains of an awning that just defies explanation...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 75 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 2800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAwning<\/span>\nOriginally. Sort of. I think. Not Sure.\n<\/div>\n\n

On the far right of the photo above, you can see a bit<\/span> of a tree<\/span> trunk.\nThat's the tree I asked<\/span> you to note in one of the pictures we saw before,\nof the front of the building facing the road. The next shot<\/span> shows it more\nclearly, that a tree<\/span> has grown up from.... somewhere... and has destroyed\npart of the exterior wall...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 105 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDon't Mind Me<\/span>\nI'm just passing through\n<\/div>\n\n

The wall that was destroyed was apparently the back of a shoe<\/span> closet. It's adjacent<\/span> to the entrance area, so the shoe closet makes sense. In the next<\/span> detail shot, you can see shoes, slippers, a milk<\/span> carton, and a bunch<\/span>\nof Asahi Lager Beer bottles....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 102 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 5000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“Easy, Convenient Access”<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Taking a wider view of the front, you can see..... well, I'm not sure<\/span>...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 110 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 95 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It's hard to figure this out, but it's clear that the vines were more\nsturdy than the wall. I'm guessing<\/span> that the original building was tall but\nnot deep, and that the guy tried to connect it to another building next to\nit, throwing up some timber to make a roof<\/span> that's mostly still there, but\nwhose walls have long deteriorated.<\/p>\n\n

The balcony you can see in the first of the pair above look decidedly\n“aftermarket” to me, with cinderblock walls and wooden floors. Only Lord\nknows how this can possibly remain standing, but I suspect<\/span> that the\noverwhelming vine growth has imparted more strength than the original\nconstruction did.<\/p>\n\n

Swinging back around to the entrance side, looking up, I see raw<\/span> rebar sticking out\nbelow the windows, so perhaps balconies were on the agenda here, too...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\ndeathtrap\n“Under Construction”<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

As you climbed the stairs up the hillside, the view of the building\nchanged, with more vine and less detail, but still a lot<\/span> of\nincomprehensible construction to bemuse and amuse...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 48 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 2800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The big ball hanging under the eaves in the upper-left corner of the shot\nabove is a big<\/span> wasp nest, I think.<\/span>..<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNew(?) Tenants<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

From the hillside behind, you're looking directly into what the old lady said was the fifth floor...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRear of the Museum<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Among the many things to note in this picture is the circular window\ntoward the left. A number<\/span> of other buildings in this area have circular\nwindows, which otherwise seem very rare. My gut tells<\/span> me that this is an\nimportant architectural clue that might be used to date the structure (if\nyou didn't want to go to the trouble of asking the city to check the tax\nrecords).<\/p>\n\n

Moving further to the left, now at the opposite corner from (and four or five stories above) the entrance, we're at a scene<\/span> that at first\nglance looks like simple deterioration, but like so many, reveals upon closer inspection construction that is horrid on every level...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 900 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRear Corner<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

You can see in the upper-left the TV antenna that was featured at the\ntop of this post. There's also a lot<\/span> of thick looped wire all tangled up\nall over the place, and I'm not sure what it is, but my first impression is\nthat it might have been something that was intended to be a decorative<\/span>\nfence along a garden<\/span> path, but which the guy used in lieu of a safety<\/span> rail\nwhen he decided to make the roof a living<\/span> space.<\/p>\n\n

I'd like to end this post on a less ramshackled note, so let's return to\nthe main entrance, where the museum name is still painted on the window,\nand a pleasant<\/span> porch light waits to welcome you home...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 86 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The paper stuck to the window notes that a prefectural<\/span> policeman visited\nat about 4:30pm on October 11th of some unknown year, with a handwritten<\/span>\nnote saying “No Entry”.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I've mentioned lately, I've taken to heading up to Shogunzuka to try to catch the sunset in hopes of getting lucky and being able to photograph one that's spectacular. During the five-minute drive home one day recently, I noticed this view...<\/p>

That big building in the background looks totally decrepit, and despite having driving by it a bazillion times, I'd not noticed it until now. I find these kinds of places somewhat fascinating, and along the same lines, posted Abandoned House Returning To Nature last month, and about the razing of an Old House of Bamboo and Mud last [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}