A study on the confiscated houses in Kyoto during the occupied period of Japan

Abstract

In this study, we have focused on the confiscated houses, the house of the military officers’ family in Kyoto during the occupied period of Japan. We have made researches on historical records about the confiscated houses which are stored at Kyoto Prefectural Library and Archives. We have also researched on extant houses and had an interview with the owners of confiscated houses. Nearly half the military officers’ family lived together with the Japanese owners’ family in Kyoto. The confiscated houses in Kyoto consisted of not only western-style houses but also traditional Japanese-style houses. The allied forces remodeled these houses with good equipment, without changing the layout of the houses. The western lifestyle brought by the allied forces into the Japanese houses gave a strong impact on the Japanese lifestyle of the owners of the confiscated houses.