Culture and History Around Shirokanedai | Estate Architecture and Gardens

Shirokanedai retains a strong legacy of modern estate culture. Minato City's landscape materials note that the elevated Shirokane-Shirokanedai district contains examples of modern Japanese and Western-style estate architecture, including the former Hisahara residence associated with Happo-en and the former Asaka residence now used as the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. These buildings, together with early Showa-period homes, have helped define the area's residential landscape. The museum at 5-21-9 Shirokanedai uses the former imperial residence and its gardens for exhibitions and cultural programming. Happo-en's site likewise has a long history of estate use extending from the Edo period into modern ownership, when its buildings and gardens were further developed. Historic architecture, gardens and long-preserved greenery remain active elements of the contemporary neighborhood. Shirokanedai is therefore better understood not simply as an affluent residential district but as a landscape shaped by successive layers of Edo, modern and contemporary land use and architectural culture. ([港区公式ホームページ][7])