The Zoshigaya Missionary House in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, has reopened to the public, after being closed since last fall for restoration work.
A two-story wooden structure built in Western style, the house was constructed in 1907 for J. M. McCaleb, an American missionary in Japan. After McCaleb returned to the United States, the house was sold to other people and there were moves to demolish it.
However, a campaign to preserve the house was launched by residents of Toshima Ward and it was acquired by the ward in 1982. It was opened to the public in 1989.
As one of the few missionary buildings in Tokyo from the Meiji era, it was designated as one of Tokyo's tangible cultural properties by the metropolitan government in 1999.
The house had been closed since November last year, while the exterior walls were painted and the ceiling and stairs reinforced.
With the reopening of the museum to the public on April 1, the poet Kyoko Komori, 91, resumed her monthly reading sessions there on April 3. She read "Harusaki no Kobutsuten [The secondhand store in springtime]" by Mimei Ogawa, an author of children's literature, and other stories to a crowd of people who had been eagerly awaiting the reading.
"The house has a rich history and atmosphere, and I hope it will remain an asset for the people of Tokyo for a long time," said Tokiko Nabeshima, 75, who visited the house from Chiba.
Admission is free. The house is closed on Mondays, the third Sunday of every month, and the day following a national holiday.
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