Bansuiso

Bansuiso is a French-style villa in Matsuyama built in 1922 as a second residence for Count Hisamatsu Sadakoto, a descendant of the former Matsuyama domain lords who had spent years in France as a military attache. The reinforced-concrete building has two floors above ground and a basement, with a marble entrance floor, stained-glass windows, crystal chandeliers, and marble mantelpieces in each room. It was designated a national Important Cultural Property in 2011. The villa sits on a hillside below Matsuyama Castle, near the Shiki Memorial Museum and the Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum. The ground floor is sometimes used for rental exhibitions, while the upper rooms are open to visitors. It is about a three-minute walk from the Okaido tram stop on the Iyotetsu city line.