Hatoyama Hall

• Built: 1924
• Japanese: 鳩山会館 (Hatoyama kaikan)

Hatoyama Hall is the former mansion of several generations of the Hatoyama family, five members of whom served in top-level positions in the Japanese government.

A large Western-style residence built in the Otowa neighborhood of Tokyo's Bunkyô-ku, the home was built in 1924 by architect Okada Shin'ichirô, commissioned by future Prime Minister Hatoyama Ichirô. It was at the Hatoyama home that discussions leading to the November 1945 establishment of the Japan Liberal Party (Nihon Jiyûtô) took place; the party merged with another party in 1948 to become the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP, Minshujiyûtô, Minshutô), which has dominated Japanese politics in almost every election cycle since.

Following Hatoyama Ichirô's death in 1959, the house fell into disrepair, but it was later restored and opened to the public as a historic house. One feature of the house is a pair of statues of Ichirô and his wife Kaoru by sculptor Asakura Fumio.

References

• Explanatory plaque at Hatoyama Kaikan, Bunkyô-ku, Tokyo.[1]