Where is the “Old Morgan House” ? It’s in Daigiri, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

　It’s the house built by an American architect J. H. Morgan in 1931. He met a Japanese lady, Tamano Ishii, and asked her to work with him in his office. After the marriage with Tamano, he lived in Ohmori, Tokyo. Then they tried to find a good place to live in which wasn’t so far from their office. Finally, they found a good place in Daigiri, Fujisawa, where they were able to have a view of Sagami Bay and Mt. Fuji.

　The house had a Spanish style-like appearance with orange roof tiles and the interior decorating in a Japanese & western style. It had a western style wine cellar, a boiler room for steam heating, a fireplace, and a couple of bedrooms. It also had a Japanese style Tokonoma ( alcove in a traditional Japanese room where art or flowers are displayed ), Ranma ( fanlight ), a bathroom, a hall way and so on. He planted a Himalayan cedar tree in front of the house, which later became a symbol tree of this house, and set up a Rose arch. It’s a valuable building not only as an architect’s private house but also as a model house in terms of the culture and the history of housing in the early Showa Era (1926- 1989).

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　After Morgan’s death, the house had been passed on to several owners. Since the last owner had big debts, the house was under the custody of a credit management company. One day the Shonan Architect Association searched and found the Old Morgan House surrounded by the woods. It was the private house that Morgan built for himself. The Architect Association understood this house should be reserved as a precious heritage. The buildings and houses which Morgan built are all over Japan. They are well kept by each local government. But his own house is only this one in Fujisawa. At the same time, residents in this area would like to keep the greenery in the 6,000 m2 site. The both united to work for keeping the house and the land. In November 1999, a “ Group to Keep Old Morgan House” was set up.

　The group has worked to inform many people about the Old Morgan House. And they asked Fujisawa city and Japan National Trust to own the property. After six years of their activity, the facility was acquired by Fujisawa city and Japan National Trust Foundation in 2005. Soon it was planned to be renovated and opened to the public.

　But in May 2007 and January 2008, the house was set on fire and was severely damaged. The criminals are still unknown. Everybody was very disappointed. Since the entrance, the fireplace, the basement rooms for a boiler and a wine cellar remained undamaged, housing experts say it’s good enough to be restored. The Group had a detailed blueprint, too. So, the “Group to Keep the Old Morgan House” set a goal to rebuild the house.

　In 2021, the ownership of this facility was moved from Japan National Trust to Yokohama Heritage. Group to Keep Old Morgan House contentiously works with Yokohama Heritage to keep the garden and rebuild the house.