Former Maeda Residence and Kamakura Museum of Literature

The Former Maeda Residence, Now Vanishing

The Kamakura Museum of Literature in Hase, Kamakura City, is one of the city's major tourist attractions. However, it has been closed since 2023, and as of 2025, visitors cannot enter. With its reopening scheduled for spring 2029, we will be unable to enjoy that wonderful place for another three and a half years.

The museum is currently closed due to large-scale renovation work. After its reopening, the previously inaccessible third floor will be open to the public, and new cafes and shops will be added.

The Kamakura Museum of Literature was originally a villa belonging to the Maeda family, whose ancestor was Maeda Toshiie of the Warring States period. Everything from the magnificent Western-style mansion with its blue Spanish tiles to the vast garden opening toward the sea was part of that villa. However, in 1983, the building was donated to Kamakura City and subsequently opened as a literature museum. This allowed us to enter and enjoy its grand atmosphere.

Another Western-style building stands on the grounds of the Literature Museum. Located on the left side of the approach leading to the museum, it once bore a nameplate reading “Maeda,” but at some point, it disappeared.





“Why is that?”





I had been a bit concerned about it, but I see—apparently, it will be demolished as part of the renovation work on the literature museum. How unfortunate.

Built in 1971 as a residence for the Maeda family, it had actually stood vacant for a long time until today. Kamakura City had been considering ways to utilize it, but for various reasons, it was unfortunately decided that it would be demolished and disappear.

For example, Karuizawa once had the villa of that Nobel Prize-winning author, Yasunari Kawabata, who had deep ties to Kamakura. Unfortunately, it was dismantled and lost, much to everyone's regret.

This autumn (2025), a site tour was held before demolition, and the images in this article were taken at that time.





There is also the desire to preserve the former Maeda residence as a historical record.

Kamakura Museum of Literature

The photos featured here were also taken during the on-site tour held this fall (2025).

Since it had been closed for nearly two and a half years starting in 2023 and it was autumn, large spherical beehive could be seen high up on the building.

This literary museum holds a special place in my heart because it serves as one of the key settings in Yukio Mishima's novel, “Spring Snow.”

This Western-style mansion was built in 1936, meaning nearly 90 years have passed since then. Moreover, it seems that almost no repairs or renovations were carried out during this period. That is why this large-scale renovation project, spanning over five years, is now being undertaken.

Lab Deep in Kamakura Juei Masuda