This paper reports on the visits Koji Fujii made to Europe and the United States from November 1919 to August 1920. Although it was already known that Fujii visited Europe and the United States during this period, the details were previously unknown. However, in 2016, Akira Matsukuma discovered numerous materials relating to Fujii and his residence, Chōchikukyo. It contains diaries, albums, passports, receipts, pamphlets, postcards to family and the like, during his time in Europe and the United States; these made it possible to see the whole picture of his visit. This paper— Part 1—examines his travel objectives and introduces an outline of his itinerary. All historical documents referred to in this paper are currently held by Takenaka Corporation in their Corporate Planning Office’s Historical Archives Group collection.
The primary purpose of Fujii’s visit to Europe and the United States was to investigate western housing. At the time, various problems were being discovered with traditional Japanese housing; holding an awareness of these issues, Fujii visited Europe and the United States to overcome them, contemplating the improvement of Japanese housing through his research.
The other purpose of Fujii’s visit to Europe and the United States was to investigate building services. Fujii took a post at Kyoto University’s Architecture Department in September 1920 for overseeing coursework in building services, and his position was unofficially confirmed by April 1919 at the very latest. At the time, there was almost no accumulated research on building services in Japan. Therefore, Fujii sought exposure to the latest building services in Europe and the United States, preparing to utilise these in his lectures. The above two points—that is, to research housing and building services—were Fujii’s objectives for visiting Europe and the United States.
Fujii departed Yokohama on November 8, 1919. He arrived in San Francisco via Hawaii on November 24 and arrived in New York by train on December 1. It is worth noting that he spent about two months staying at the Amendola House in Montclair, New Jersey, until January 30, 1920. The experience of living in an ordinary American household is likely to have had a strong influence on Fujii’s subsequent residential designs. In February he continued visiting cities such as New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit. From late February to March, he returned to New York, visiting as many as 40 trade manufacturers and collecting architectural catalogues. It appears that Fujii’s objectives were primarily fulfilled by the time the above research was completed in the United States.
Fujii then departed New York on March 6, 1920, and arrived in England on the 16th. From here, he travelled to France, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. In Europe, Fujii primarily travelled studying traditional styles of architecture. Returning to England, he departed Liverpool for New York on July 3. He crossed the American continent and departed Seattle on July 30, arriving in Yokohama on August 14.
