 It
was during the summer of 1979 that
Mr. Yoshikuni Kamichika, the founder
of Huis Ten Bosch, went on his first
trip to Europe. The natural splendor
of the Mediterranean Sea reminded
him of Omura Bay. It occurred to him
that the Omura bay area, despite its
beautiful scenery, did not attract
that many visitors.
Mr. Kamichika pondered upon
possibilities to turn this beautiful
area into a unique place.
At that point he
suddenly thought of the small island
of Dejima near Nagasaki, from which
only the Dutch were allowed to
conduct trade during Japan's period
of national isolation (1600-1868)
and the significance of the part the
island played in the history of
Japan. The idea to build a "Modern
Dejima" was born. |
During Mr. Kamichika's visit to The
Netherlands he learned about the age
old Dutch tradition of regaining
land from the sea and developing it.
Especially the fact that this land
development was carried out in
harmony with the environment
impressed Mr. Kamichika. Instead of
using concrete, the Dutch use
natural rocks to build their dikes.
This way they succeed in protecting
their country from the water while
maintaining an ecological balance.
Kamichika decided to build a town in
Japan that combined Dutch city
planning with Japanese technology.
The first step towards towards the
realization of his dream was the
construction of a small town called
Nagasaki Holland Village, in 1983.
In October 1988, construction of
Huis Ten Bosch started. A network of
over 6 kilometers of canals was
created, replicas of famous Dutch
buildings were built, and over
400,000 trees and 300,000 flowers
were planted. Huis Ten Bosch (named
after Queen Beatrix of the
Netherlands' official residence) has
become a place where nature and
classic Dutch architecture are in
harmony.
In order to capture the charm and
beauty of a 17th century Dutch town,
numerous historical landmarks were
painstakingly duplicated. In order
to ensure their authenticity even
the bricks were imported from The
Netherlands. On March 25, 1992 Huis
Ten Bosch opened its gates. The
total costs of the project were $2.5
billion. |
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