Villa Saito 旧齋藤家別邸

A perfect symbiosis

The elegant villa, second home of the Saito family, is designed to be both the pleasant holiday resort of the family clan and the setting for receptions where distinguished guests such as politicians, celebrities and business leaders rub shoulders . To be this much desired place of summer rest, the villa, facing north, is inserted in a lush green setting ; protecting it from heat and light. The vast complex includes a two-storey wooden house, a warehouse, a tea house and a splendid traditional garden.

In the sukiya-zukuri style , the house is the perfect example of modern Japanese architecture from the Taisho era (1912-1926) and is inspired by the aesthetics of tea houses. Kijuro Saito IV involved the best craftsmen for the realization of the luxurious interior decoration . The stair railings, the sculptures of the sleepers, the paintings, the heart-shaped windows are all evidence of an assertive search for elegance and the very particular care given to detail. The naturalistic paintings with motifs of peonies, roosters and peacocks, although centuries old, still radiate their precious brilliance. The large openings on the outside of the first and second levels allow you to appreciate the panoramic view of the garden.

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From each room, different landscapes are offered to you. You should know that the house and the garden have been thought out and designed as a whole, inseparable from each other. From the villa, sitting on a tatami, your gaze, inexorably drawn to the distance, is as if deceived by this visual impression of continuity between interior and exterior, this perfect harmony between the villa and the green garden. The Tokyo landscaper, Kamekichi Matsumoto , took into account the topography and the nature of the terrain when laying it out. Established on ancient sand dunes and organized around a central pond, the hilly garden presents more than 80 varieties of trees (pines, plum trees, bamboos, maples, etc.) and shrubs.

Maintaining traditions

The Kaga family regularly offered tea ceremonies in the villa, open to all; making the property a place of cultural exchange in the eyes of the population. This has most certainly contributed to this strong momentum of the inhabitants of Niigata for its safeguard. Villa Saito still maintains this tradition of tea tasting within its walls. It offers matcha tea tastings and small sweet treats for 500 yen (about €4) during the visit.

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Another, rarer activity is offered there as part of the Hanamachi Chaya program, set up by the municipality. On certain dates, it is possible to be entertained by Furumachi Geigi in Villa Saito. During the Edo period (1603-1868), the Furumachi district was one of the largest geisha districts in the country . During this program, the Furumachi Geigi, still a dozen to this day in Niigata okiya , entertain visitors with Nihon Buyo dances , to the sound of shamisen and traditional songs. They also play taruken with you, a variation of the rock-paper-scissors game set to the sound of a drum where the winner hits the drum twice while the loser spins around. A simple and very funny game!