Only Yesterday / Komai family house

 

The Biwako Canal separates near Keage Station, and the branch line heads toward northern Kyoto City."The Komai family house" stands near this branch line.

This house was designed and built in 1927 by William Merrell Vories as the home of Kyoto University professor Dr. Taku Komai. It is now open to the public.

Vories was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA in 1880. He was deeply impressed by a speech he heard at a student missionary volunteer organization conference and decided to dedicate himself to overseas missions. He came to Japan in 1905. In addition to missionary work, he also engaged in social work, such as opening hospitals and schools.

In the process, he established his own architectural firm and left behind many American-style buildings throughout Japan. The types of buildings are diverse, including hospitals, schools, department stores, churches, YMCAs, and private homes, and those that remain today are called Vories buildings.

As we stand here, blown by the May breeze, I can feel the emotions of the Komai family who lived here.At the same time,Vories's own nostalgia for his hometown after leaving it.