Continuing "Japan's Rodin" Asakura Fumio (1883–1964).
Seismic retrofit of his former studio-home, the Asakura Fumio Sculpture Museum (Yanaka 7-chome, Taito), progresses = photo top = — rendering from Taito Ward.
Registered Tangible Cultural Property since 2001 — Asakura designed and repeatedly expanded it: RC Western atelier and sukiya Japanese wing in harmony. Atelier ceiling 8.5 m, triple-height with a 7.3 m underground motorized lift platform. Opened 1967 per his will; transferred to Taito Ward in 1986.
The inner courtyard "Goten no suien" (Garden of Five Virtues) places five boulders named for Confucian virtues. Vegetables grew on the roof for sculpture-school gardening. The gardens became a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 2008.
Taito Ward documents progress — numbered floorboards, reused tiles, seismic walls behind earthen walls... Trees temporarily evacuated to Chiba were replanted after scaffolding came down = photo bottom =. May they root again.
From Takebashi: subway to Otemachi, walk to JR, Yamanote to Nippori, 3 min walk. Reopening planned next spring.