History of Housing for Japanese Postwar Returnees Kept Alive
Tokyo, Aug. 15 (Jiji Press)--Efforts have been made to keep alive the history of public housing for those who returned to Japan from former Manchuria, a northeastern China region once controlled by Japan, and elsewhere after the end of World War II. Soon after the war ended in 1945, some 600 wooden houses called "Oimawashi Jutaku" were built on a site that had hosted a facility of the now-d...
In Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, efforts have been made to preserve the history of public housing for Japanese returnees from former Manchuria and other regions following World War II. In 1945, approximately 600 wooden houses known as Oimawashi Jutaku were constructed on a former Imperial Japanese Army facility site. These houses accommodated up to 4,000 residents.
When the government agency responsible for building the houses ceased operations in late 1946, the residents purchased their homes and continued to reside in the area by paying land rent to the state.
However, the residents were eventually asked to vacate the premises when the Sendai city government proposed constructing a park in the Oimawashi Jutaku area. After prolonged negotiations, the final house in the district was demolished in February 2023. In the following winter, an exhibition showcasing Oimawashi Jutaku was organized at the city's Sendai Mediatheque cultural center. The exhibition featured full-scale replicas of the houses, photographs of the former area, and personal accounts from former residents.
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- History of housing for Japanese postwar returnees kept alive japantimes.co.jp
