Yoko Ono in the Philippines’ ‘Kudan’

Two places in Tokyo physically mark the relationship between the Philippines and Japan: one, the embassy of the Philippines in the busy Roppongi district, and the other, the residence of the ambassador of the Philippines, situated close to the Imperial Palace grounds. The residence is on Fujimi-cho, an old street name that refers to a spot where Mount Fuji was visible, in the days before the mansion was hemmed in by high-rise buildings. The mansion on Fujimi-cho is older than the chancery in Roppongi and has the distinction of being the only declared National Historical Landmark of the Philippines abroad.

Filipinos in Japan refer to the ambassador’s residence as the “Kudan,” to differentiate it from the embassy or chancery in Roppongi. This nickname is taken from Kudanshita, the closest Metro station to the ambassador’s residence that marks the foot of the famous Kudanzaka slope—immortalized in woodblock prints and period photographs—that leads up to a number of Tokyo landmarks such as: the Budokan or “Martial Arts Hall” built for the judo competitions in the 1964 Olympics, now a popular venue for large music and indoor sporting events; the Chidorigafuchi, the famous moat protecting the Imperial Palace grounds, now one of Tokyo’s prime areas for viewing cherry blossoms in the spring; the serene but controversial Yasukuni Shrine where the remains of the dead from various wars are commemorated; and Her Britannic Majesty’s Embassy, enclosed by a red brick wall.

Historic is the location of the Kudan, which is bounded by two streets with quaint descriptive names. There is the long and sharp slope ascending from the Hotel Grand Palace to the perimeter wall of the residence once lined with holly trees that are but a memory now in the street name Mochinozaka. Another slope rising toward the two gates of the Kudan is called Nigihonzaka, where, in olden times, half of the hills of Nikko was visible. So steep was Nigihonzaka that some people who climbed it grew breathless and light-headed, as if they had consumed 2.5 GO (around 460 ml) of sake!

While off the beaten tourist track, the Kudan attracts many visitors in the spring, if only to admire the cherry blossoms visible behind its low white-washed walls. One cherry tree, planted in 1953, commemorates the release and repatriation of Japanese prisoners of war held in Manila’s notorious Bilibid prison by then President Elpidio Quirino. This cherry tree by the gate of the Kudan is a testament to forgiveness, the Kudan being a symbol of the postwar friendship between the Philippines and Japan.

In March 2014 a bronze plaque was unveiled at the entrance of the Kudan by Philippine Ambassador Manuel M. Lopez and National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) chair Maria Serena Diokno, witnessed by a handful of Japanese diplomats who had once served as ambassadors in Manila. The plaque formalized the Kudan’s declaration as a National Historical Landmark—the first and only such declared landmark outside the Philippines today. Because it is listed as a National Historical Landmark in the registry of historic structures of the Philippines, no renovation or alteration can be implemented on the Kudan without consultation with and the written consent of the NHCP chair in Manila.

While the Kudan survived the fire bombing of Tokyo in 1945, as well as the postwar urban redevelopment of Japan, it was almost sold in 2010 and destined for the wrecking ball in order to give way to a high-rise apartment building. Fortunately, by bringing the matter to the public and through successful lobbying, the Philippine Ambassadors Foundation secured the status of the Kudan as patrimony of the Philippines, thereby ensuring its present and future existence and conservation.

By the main door of the Kudan is an old historical marker installed by the Philippine Historical Committee in March 1962 that states: “This building, dating from the Tokugawa Shogunate, was purchased for the Philippines on March 31, 1944, by President Jose P. Laurel of the Second Republic.” To expand and update this telegraphic history of the Kudan, one must first open the book of her past—and what an engaging story it is.

The present building was completed in 1935, on a site whose previous owners can be traced on maps all the way back to the 17th century. It was formerly known as the Yasuda Mansion that was the childhood home of Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon. Future research will ascertain the name and nationality of the architect because at present there are three versions: Yoko Ono remembered that the architect was a Frenchman; Leon Ma. Guerrero, who worked in the mansion when it was the Philippine Embassy in 1944-1945, stated that the architect was German; recent research undertaken by architectural historian Yoshikazu Uchida gives the name of the architect as Tokisuke Yokokawa of the Yokokawa Construction Co.

Yesterday, my latest book, “The Kudan: Residence of the Ambassador of the Philippines to Japan,” published by ArtPost Asia, was launched in Tokyo. My text, supplemented by archival pictures and photographs by Wig Tysmans, tells the interesting story of the residence from the time it was built as the Yasuda mansion in 1935 to the present. A Manila launch is scheduled in January 2016.

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