Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan

Hsinchu Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場)

June 11, 2022 in Hsinchu, Japanese Colonial Era, Photo Post, Travel

Years ago, when I first started combining photography with writing about Taiwan, I didn’t really have any idea where this whole blogging thing would take me. I figured I’d simply share photos of places I was traveling to in my free time with a bit of information about them. Then one day, on a scooter trip to Hsinchu, I decided to stop by the yet to be restored Longtan Martial Arts Hall thanks to a tip from a friend. That visit spawned a several-year long research project into Taiwan’s Japanese Colonial era, resulting in visiting almost all of the remaining Martial Arts Halls as well as many other train stations, civic buildings, dormitories, etc.

What started out as a simple visit to a semi-abandoned building transformed this space into one of the most authoritative spaces on the web that tells the story of these former Martial Arts Halls; Having visited a large percentage of the halls that remain in Taiwan today, I decided to write a general guide so that people could learn more about their complicated history.

Link: The Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan (臺灣の武德殿)

More specifically, the guide features a list of sixteen remaining halls, most of which have been restored and re-opened to the public as historic tourist destinations. There were a few on the list however that were somewhat questionable as to whether or not they’d ever be restored. The Xinzhuang Martial Arts Hall (新莊武德殿) and the former Hsinchu Juvenile Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場), for example were two that had an uncertain future.

I’m happy to report however that the Xinzhuang Martial Arts Hall is currently being restored, and it should be re-opened within the next year or two. Even better is that the Hsinchu Prison Hall has already been restored and is open to the public. If you know me, I follow these developments pretty closely, and I had seen news and some photos regarding the start of the restoration process of the latter, but I never really expected that it’d be completed so quickly!

I’m happy to report that I’m here with yet another article introducing one of the nation’s newest fully restored Martial Arts Hall - Before I start though, I have to give some mad props to the Hsinchu City Government, which did an amazing job restoring this historic building. Likewise, I have to give them credit for what I consider to be the most informative and comprehensive descriptions of the history and the architecture of the building that I’ve seen. In most cases, I’d find myself stuck in the library of the national archives doing extensive research on the architectural specifics of these buildings, but almost all of the information that anyone needs to learn about the hall is provided within, which is great!

I don’t consider myself easily impressed given that over the years I’ve observed despite a willingness on the part of the government to spend a bunch of money restoring these buildings, rarely is the due diligence ever done when it comes to telling their story properly. The Hsinchu City Government though has gone above and beyond - and that is something that has observably become the norm as of late as the Hsinchu Aqueduct (新竹街水道取水口), features similarly thorough informative displays.

With the massive Hsinchu Public Hall (新竹公會堂) set to reopen in the near future, I find myself quite optimistic for what the city will do with the space, especially since Japanese-era buildings of its size and importance are about as rare as the Martial Arts Halls.

It seems like there are few places in Taiwan that are doing as well as Hsinchu with regard to its preservation of historic buildings, so I’m sure I’ll be visiting the city quite often in the coming months and years!

Hsinchu Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場)

In 1900 (明治33年), construction on Martial Arts Halls in Taiwan started with the first in Taipei (臺北州/たいほくしゅう), Taichung (臺中廳/たいちゅうちょう) and Tainan (臺南廳/たいなんちょう) initially meant to assist in the training of the local police in martial arts. It wasn’t until after the “Taiwan Butokuden Branch of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai” (大日本武德會臺灣支部) was established in 1906 however that we started to see these Martial Arts Halls popping up all over the island.

By 1920 (大正9年), the organization was given a directive from the central government to start construction on Martial Arts Halls in each of Taiwan’s prefectures culminating in the eventual construction of more than two-hundred across the Island over the next two decades.

In Taiwan, the halls initially served the purpose of training the police, military and prison guards in Japanese martial arts disciplines. Later, they opened up to the general public in an attempt to train the citizens of Taiwan in Japanese martial arts, as well as instilling "Japanese Spirit," better known as Yamato-damashii (大和魂).

While they weren’t considered civic buildings, the Martial Arts Halls were often constructed in strategic locations within cities and towns close to the governing district. This helped the government to better pass down directives to the organization in addition to ensuring that funding was available to help promote Martial Arts disciplines and Japanese cultural values.

As I introduced in my guide to Taiwan’s Martial Art Halls, more than two-hundred of these buildings were constructed across the island, varying in size based on their status within the hierarchy of the organization. Of that total, eleven were classified as “Prison Branches” (刑務所), where staff of the prisons around the island were trained in Martial Arts and self-defense techniques.

Keeping in mind that the Prison Branches were the rarest of the bunch, its pretty cool that a handful of them continue to exist today, namely the Taichung Martial Arts Hall (臺中刑務所演武場), the yet to be restored Tainan Prison Martial Arts Hall (臺南刑務所演武場) and the former Shinchiku Prefecture Juvenile Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場).

To introduce the history of this nearly one hundred year old building, we first have to talk about the reason for which it was constructed, given that it was just a small piece of the Shinchiku Juvenile Prison (新竹少年刑務所 / しんちくしょうねんけいむしょ), the first of its kind in Taiwan.

Officially established on October 7th, 1926 (昭和元年), the detention centre had a maximum capacity of just over five-hundred inmates, and came fully equipped with recreational facilities, a Shinto Shrine, a church, staff housing (just outside of the walls), and of course the Martial Arts Hall. That being said, official records from the Japanese-era state that even though the facility was where all of Taiwan’s juvenile criminals were imprisoned, there were never more than 350 inmates at any given time.

The history of the prison facility however dates back several decades prior as it was originally the Hsinchu Branch of the Taipei Prison (台北監獄署新竹支署), which opened in 1896 (明知29年). Over next few decades the facility was renamed several times, while also expanding with the construction of new buildings while the colonial government was busy refining Taiwan’s territorial boundaries and civil system. By 1923, the prison was one of the four largest on the island, but was still re-designated three years later into Taiwan’s first Juvenile Penitentiary.

Although it has been repaired, expanded and rebuilt on several occasions, the prison has stayed in continuous operation for 130 years, becoming the Hsinchu Prison (新竹監獄) after the end of the Second World War until now.

As part of the continued expansion of the prison and the facilities that surrounded it, a Martial Arts Hall was constructed within the community of employee housing along the eastern wall. Completed in 1935 (昭和10年), the hall served as a space to assist the employees of the prison in the art of self defense.

As we’ve seen with some of the other Martial Arts Halls around the country, the official name of the hall was a long and convoluted one, officially known as the ‘Hsinchu Juvenile Prison Martial Arts Dojo’ (新竹少年刑務所演武場 / しんちくしょうねんけいむしょえんぶじょう).

While still falling under the operational control of the (equally convoluted) “Taiwan Budoken Branch of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai” (大日本武德會臺灣支部), this particular hall was regarded as an “enbujo” (演武場 / えんぶじょう), or a “Martial Arts Performance Centre” rather than a full-fledged “Budokuden” (武德殿 / ぶとくでん) given that the Hsinchu Martial Arts Hall (新竹武德殿) was located a short distance away.

For those who can’t differentiate between the Chinese characters, it can be a bit confusing given that the majority of Taiwan’s remaining Martial Arts Halls are referred to in Japanese as “Butokuden”.

Link: The Hsinchu Prison Butokuden and Dormitories (新竹演武場) Over The City

It was common however during the Japanese-era to refer to also use either “Budojo” (武道場), “Renbukan” (練武館) or “Enbujo” (演武場) to refer to the halls. Essentially, the naming of the halls, or at least their official designation was part of a formula used to differentiate their structural hierarchy within the organization.

While the ‘enbujo’ variety tended to be smaller, the key thing to remember is that in their official names you’d still find the words “Butoku Kai” (武德會) preceding the rest of the name - In this case, this hall would have been officially referred to as a “Butoku Kai Enbujo” (武德會演武場 / ぶとくかいえんぶじょう).

I realize this all might seem a bit confusing, but the Japanese are known for strict adherence to organizational hierarchy, which if you’re able to figure out actually makes sense.

Despite its size, the Martial Arts Hall offered the same classes that you’d find at any of the others around Taiwan with one side of the building reserved for Judo (柔道), and the other for Kendo (劍道). The exterior of the building likewise would have had a space for practicing Kyudo (弓道), otherwise known as Japanese archery.

Suffice to say, the Martial Arts Hall was constructed only a decade prior to the end of the colonial era, so in 1945, when the Japanese relinquished control of Taiwan under the terms of their surrender, the hall ceased being used for its original purpose. After the war, the Chinese Nationalists used it for housing for prison staff as there was a housing crisis caused by the millions of refugees who fled to Taiwan with the incoming regime.

To meet the needs of the residents of the building, alterations were made to its original design over the years making it a shadow of its former self some hideous modern additions that covered up almost all of its architectural design. Suffice to say, the building and most of the dorms that surround the prison were eventually abandoned as they aged, and the residents found more comfortable accommodations elsewhere.

The Martial Arts Hall was officially registered as a Hsinchu City Protected Heritage Building (市定古蹟) on July 26th, 2012, which by law meant that plans would have to be drawn up to have the building restored.

It ended up taking a few years, but restoration on the building started in the summer of 2018.

Then, after a several year-long restoration project, the Martial Arts Hall officially reopened to the public on November 11th, 2021, a little over three years after the project started.

Before I move on to introducing the architectural design of the Martial Arts Hall, I’ll provide a brief timeline of events in order to give you a better idea of its history:

Martial Arts Hall Timeline

1895 (明治28年) - Japan takes control of Taiwan and starts its occupation of the island.
1896 (明治29年) - The Hsinchu Branch of the Taipei Prison (台北縣新竹監獄署) is established.
1900 (明治33年) - Taiwan’s first Martial Arts Halls are constructed in Taipei, Taichung and Tainan.
1923 (明治30年) - The Prison is renamed “Hsinchu Prison” (新竹刑務所)
1926 (昭和元年) - The Hsinchu Juvenile Prison (新竹少年刑務所) is officially established.
1935 (昭和10年) - The Juvenile Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場) is established.
1945 (民國34年) - Japan surrenders to the allies and control of of Taiwan is given to the ROC.
1945 (民國34年) - The Juvenile Prison is officially renamed Hsinchu Prison (新竹監獄)
1945 - 2012 - The Martial Arts Hall is used as a dormitory for Prison employees (監獄員工宿舍).
2012 (民國101年) - The Martial Arts Hall is registered as a protected historic building (市定古蹟).
2018 (民國107年) - Restoration on the Martial Halls Hall begins.
2020 (民國109年) - Restoration on the hall is officially completed.
2021 (民國110年) - The Martial Arts Hall officially reopens as a tourist attraction.

Architectural Design

As I mentioned above, this Martial Arts Hall can be considered one of the most ‘complete’ of the few that remain in Taiwan today, given that both the main section of the hall and the annex remain intact. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that in recent years, there has been more emphasis put into ensuring that the larger halls around the country are restored in a way they are as ‘complete’ as this one.

To explain what I mean, when these Martial Arts Halls were originally constructed during the Japanese era, they almost always included an annex building, used as an administrative and living space. Additionally, you were also likely to find space on the exterior of the building reserved for traditional Japanese archery.

When the halls started being restored, almost all of the attention was placed solely on the main hall, leaving the rest of the facility more or less incomplete.

Thankfully, due to the popularity of the Martial Arts Halls as tourist attractions, and the potential for the annex to be used as an exhibition space, or a spot that could be rented out, they’ve started to make their reappearance next to some of the already restored halls. Most recently, the Daxi Martial Arts Hall (大溪武德殿), the Qishan Martial Arts Hall (旗山武德殿), the Changhua Martial Arts Hall (彰化武德殿) and the Taichung Prison Martial Arts Hall (臺中刑務所演武場) are a few examples where the annex was added after the restoration of the main hall.

Link: The role of Public-Private Partnerships in Conserving Historic Buildings in Taiwan

One of the main differences between the halls mentioned above and this particular hall is that the annex building was connected directly to the rest of the building, and was restored simultaneously making it a complete experience. Yet another reason for my high level of praise for the building.

Officially, the Martial Arts is split into three ‘sections’, but architecturally-speaking it’s much easier to just say its split into two given the difference in the materials used to construct each side.

The Martial Arts side was constructed with a mixture of brick, wood and reinforced concrete, one of the defining characteristics of the period when it was built. The annex side on the other hand was constructed with traditional Japanese architecture in mind in that it was constructed primarily of wood.

Keeping in mind that this is inherently a ‘east-west fusion’ style building, there are some obvious design differences between the two sections, but it’s important to first note where they are the same: To start, both sections are elevated off of the ground on a concrete base. One of the things that Japanese architects learned quickly upon arrival in Taiwan was that the island’s termites are a feisty bunch so in order to preserve the structural integrity and the longevity of buildings, it was common for all of them to be elevated off the ground. However, given that this is a Martial Arts Hall, the elevation is a bit higher than ordinary buildings as the it features a network of springs beneath the floor allowing for some spring in your step.

This is yet another area where the restoration of the hall shines as it is (currently) one of two where you’ll still find springs beneath the floor, adding to the ‘completeness’ mentioned above.

The next similarity is that both sides of the building were designed using the traditional Japanese Irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造 / いりもやづくり) architectural design. What this means is that the building makes use of a variation of the ‘hip-and-gable’ roof, and that the base of the building, known as the ‘moya’ (母屋) was constructed in a way that it is much smaller than the roof, but is able to support its weight. In this case, the roof, which isn’t nearly as grand in design as the Taichung Prison Martial Arts Hall only slightly eclipses the base. That being said, the subdued design of the roof doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t a lot going on as it seamlessly ‘cuts’ from the higher section of the Martial Arts Hall to the lower annex section.

This where you’ll find the next important architectural similarity - The roof of the Martial Arts Hall and the annex was designed using the ubiquitous kirizuma-zukuri (妻造的樣式) style, which is one of the oldest and most commonly used designs in Japan. Translated simply as a “cut-out gable” roof, this style of design is one of the simplest of Japan’s various ‘hip-and-gable’ roofs.

The vast majority of the information you’ll find available about the Martial Hall’s architectural design mentions that the roof was constructed using traditional Japanese black tiles (日式黑瓦), but doesn’t really go much further in explaining the finer details of the roof. Fortunately, I’ve been at this for a while, so I’m able to provide a little more in terms of the design aspects of the roof where you’ll find the following as listed on the diagram below.

Hiragawara (平瓦 /ひらがわら) - A type of arc-shaped clay roofing tile.
Munegawara (棟瓦 /むねがわら) - Ridge tiles used to cover the apex of the roof.
Onigawara (鬼瓦/おにがわら) - Decorative roof tiles found at the ends of a main ridge.
Nokigawara (軒瓦/のきがわら) - The roof tiles placed along the eaves lines.
Noshigawara (熨斗瓦/のしがわら) - Thick rectangular tiles located under ridge tiles.
Sodegawara (袖瓦/そでがわら) - Cylindrical sleeve tiles
Tsuma (妻/つま) - The triangular shaped parts of the gable on the roof under the ridge.
Hafu (破風板/ はふいた) - Bargeboards that lay flat against the ridge ends to finish the gable.

To describe it simply, a kirizuma-style roof has a section that ‘cuts’ out from the rest and faces outward like an open book (入), while the longer part is curved facing in the opposite direction.

In this specific case, if we think of the building as a single structure rather than one that is split in two, it is shaped somewhat like the letter “U”. The highest (and longest) section of the roof curves like an open book with the two ends acting as the ‘cut out’ sections. It then meets with the two branches that face in the opposite direction, which are also curved like an open book.

Even though I mentioned above that the roof of this Martial Arts Hall isn’t as grand in comparison, it is still quite complicated in its architectural design and it’s 3D-like appearance. I recommend anyone who visits to walk around the entire perimeter of the building so that you can fully appreciate the complexity of its design.

One thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that the black tiles mentioned had to be completely replaced with newer tiles, so the roof doesn’t as appear as ‘historic’ as it probably should.

You can find some very thorough displays featuring the original tiles within the annex building, which I highly recommend you take some time to enjoy.

Now, let’s talk about how the two parts of the building are different.

Starting with the Martial Arts Hall side, it was constructed with a concrete base, bricks and reinforced concrete on the exterior and wood within the interior. The front facade of the building makes use of a fusion style of architectural design in that it features Western-style Art-Deco elements with the inclusion of a traditional Japanese-style kurumayose (車寄／くるまよせ) porch directly in the middle of the building.

The porch had to be completely rebuilt during the recent restoration process, and features a similarly designed kirizuma-style roof facing in the opposite direction of the roof above, adding to the three dimensional design of the building. This would have proven to be one of the most difficult aspects of the restoration project as the team would have had to consult nearly century-old blueprints to faithfully reconstruct the portico.

One of the design similarities that you’ll find on this building and others built during the Showa era are the wooden-panel glass windows that mix with the reinforced concrete on three sides of the building. With two of the large windows on each side of the porch on the front of the building as well as three on the eastern and western sides, the windows allow for a considerable amount of natural light in the building when the sun is up.

Moving on to the interior of the building, the hall is split into two sections (hence the three buildings mentioned above) where half of the building was reserved as a space for Judo (柔道場) while the other half was reserved for Kendo (劍道場). Both sides of the building feature the same hardwood spring floor (彈簧地板) that allows the floor to better absorb the shock of people constantly being thrown around.

The interior space has a height of 270 centimeters in the main building with the total interior space listed as 206.2㎡. What that number unfortunately doesn’t tell us is the exact measurement of space reserved for each section of the building. Even though the Martial Arts Hall is relatively small in comparison to the others around Taiwan, the interior space of the main building remains quite spacious as it was always more or less a completely open space.

Working together with the windows on the three reinforced-concrete sides of the Martial Arts Hall, you’ll find another large windowed section on the side of the building directly opposite to the door. The wooden annex section of the building has two wings that face outward from the rest of hall separated by this space.

The smaller wing on the right is where the restrooms were located, while the larger side on the left was the administrative and living space for those who worked at the hall. As you pass through the Martial Arts Area you’ll find another door to your left that would have served as the main entrance for those working or living there. Directly next to that porch area you’ll find two rooms with tatami mats on the floor.

The first of the rooms you’ll find in the annex section would have served as a living space, while the room next to that features a “tokonoma” (床の間/とこのま), indicating that it was a sleeping space. These days you’ll find some pretty awesome informative displays about the history and architectural design of the building in these rooms.

As far as I’m concerned, the star of this section is the beautiful ‘engawa’ (緣側/えんがわ) that reaches around the building in what seems like an almost 90 degree angle. Essentially a glass-covered panel with sliding doors, the space is one that absolutely glows in the afternoon sun, and would have made living in the hall an enjoyable experience, especially with the breeze flowing through the veranda when the sliding doors were open.

On a recent visit to the Qidong Dorms in Taipei, I found myself engaged in a long conversation with a volunteer working there, who is somewhat of an expert in Taiwan’s Japanese-era architecture. One of the things that he mentioned that stuck with me was how these 90 degree glass paneled verandas were something that (at the time) you’d only find here in Taiwan given that there were some variations on traditional Japanese architectural design in the colony. While I’m unsure that it is still the case back in Japan, these ‘L’ shaped glass-covered walls were pretty cool and the natural light that they allowed into the building.

Although, I can’t really imagine the terror you would have felt when a typhoon was rolling through town.

Getting There

Address: #18-20 Guangzhou Street, Alley #20, Hsinchu City (新竹市北區廣州街20巷20號)
GPS: 24.804621, 120.960528
Hours: Tuesday - Sunday from 9:00am to 17:00pm.

Car / Scooter

As always, if you’re driving a car or scooter, I recommend copying the address provided above into your GPS or your Google Maps to map out the route most suitable for you. If you’re in Hsinchu, it shouldn’t take you much time to arrive at the hall given that it is located just outside the historic downtown core of the city.

If you’re driving a car, you should be able to find roadside parking nearby on Beida Road (北大路), but you may have to circle around to find a space. Unfortunately, paid parking lots are somewhat of a distance away, so if you find yourself searching for a spot you might just want to go to one of the paid spaces near the jail.

If you’re driving a scooter on the other hand, you can park directly across the street, or in any of the designated scooter parking spaces nearby. You could even park in the alley directly across from the main entrance to the hall if you’re visiting on a day when there aren’t many tourists.

Bus

With a bus stop located directly across the street from the Martial Arts Hall, getting there by bus is one of your best options if you find yourself in town without access to your own means of transportation.

From the Hsinchu Railway Station, you can conveniently take either Bus #10, or Bus #23 to the hall, getting off at the aptly named Service Centre Bus Stop (服務中心站).

Click on the links provided above to access time tables for each of the bus routes.

YouBike

Another excellent way to get around Hsinchu is to enjoy the city on one of the YouBikes that are available for rent. If you arrive in town on the train, you can easily grab a Youbike near the station and explore all that the historic city has to offer at your own leisure.

You may have heard that Hsinchu is somewhat notorious for its chaotic traffic, but riding a Youbike around town is actually quite comfortable thanks to the wide roads.

From the train station, it’s a 1.4km ride to the Martial Arts Hall riding along Linsen Road (林森路) and Shengli Road (勝利路), both of which are large bike friendly roads. There are a number of locations where you’ll probably want to stop along the way, so I recommend using Google Maps on your phone to map out your route so you don’t get lost.

Trust me, Hsinchu is a city where you can easily find yourself losing your way while exploring the historic streets. That’s not entirely a bad thing though.

If you’ve been following all of the work I’ve done on the Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan over the past few years, it should be fairly obvious from this article that I’m quite pleased with the addition of this particular hall the collection. Not only was its restoration and subsequent re-opening somewhat unexpected, I have to give the Hsinchu City Government some massive props for the amazing restoration job as well as the effort put into providing informative and educational materials about the history of the hall, the juvenile prison and the city during the Japanese-era.

What amazed me most were the detailed and graphic heavy descriptions of the architectural design of the hall, something that I often have to spend quite a bit of time researching.

Very few of the other remaining Martial Arts Halls around the country today offer even a fraction of the detailed historic information as this one, so if I’m this impressed, I’m sure others may also appreciate the hard work put into making this Martial Arts Hall a great spot to visit!

References

新竹少年刑務所演武場 (Wiki)
新竹少年刑務所 (Wiki)
臺灣的武德殿 (Wiki)
新竹州 | Shinchiku Prefecture (Wiki)
台灣武德殿發展之研究 (黃馨慧)
市定古蹟「新竹少年刑務所演武場」修繕動工 (自由時報)
新竹監獄化身藝文空間！「新竹少年刑務所演武場」開館，一窺日治時期古蹟木構磚造建築特色 (Shopping Design)
新竹少年刑務所演武場 (國家文化資產網)
新竹少年刑務所演武場 (Path of Sunrise)
新竹日治時代監獄變身藝文空間！走進演武場的前世今生 (LaVie)
新竹武德殿 (The Memory of Hsinchu City)
The Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan

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The Daxi that Japan left behind (日本留下的大溪)

October 02, 2021 in Photo Post, Japanese Colonial Era, Taoyuan, Travel

If it weren’t already obvious enough, I’m a big fan of living in Taoyuan.

I take a lot of online abuse for being one of the city’s biggest proponents, but even though I do love other areas of Taiwan like Taipei, Hsinchu and Tainan, I couldn’t ever see myself actually moving to any of those places on a full time basis. I’d miss home too much! There is of course a long list of reasons why I love living here, but I’m not going to list all of them here today.

I will however be highlighting one of the areas I absolutely love visiting whenever I have some free time. Coincidentally, it is also the same place that most Taiwanese think about whenever considering coming to Taoyuan for the day - Daxi Old Street (大溪老街).

There has always been a healthy, yet contentious debate in Taiwan with regard to which “Old Street” or “Night Market” is the best, with most people claiming the one located closest to them is the best, but I think in the case of historic tourist streets, Daxi was crowned the undisputed champion long ago. Not only does the street feature absolutely beautiful art-deco baroque architecture, but it also serves up some pretty amazing food to visitors and offers daytrippers a number of other things to see and do, making a trip to Daxi one of the best day trips in northern Taiwan.

And yeah, I might be accused of playing favorites considering where I live, but I count myself lucky that I can simply ride my scooter over, park in an alley and go exploring whenever I feel like it, avoiding the weekend traffic and massive crowds of tourists.

I suppose you could say that one of the benefits of being a resident of Taoyuan is that I often get to see a part of Daxi that most of the weekend visitors miss. So while most people stick to the popular Old Street, known as “Peace Street” (和平街), there are a number of quiet alleys and lanes throughout the downtown core of the village that feature the same style of century old architecture, but are home to hip new cafes and restaurants.

The Taoyuan City Government likewise has invested heavily in the restoration of historic buildings in Daxi, which is helping to diversify tourism as well as providing people with an ever-growing number of things to see and do while visiting the area. Of particular interest (for me at least) are the restoration projects that have revived the Japanese administrative quarter of the town, which is as much a part of the history of the village as the historic old street itself.

Not only is Daxi home to one of Taiwan’s most beautiful Japanese-era Martial Arts Halls, there are also a number of other buildings within the village (and nearby as well) that have been beautifully restored and reopened to the public as culture parks - all of which allow people to learn more about the compelling history of this small, yet extremely important little village.

Today I’ll be offering a general introduction to some of these recent Japanese-era additions to the Daxi tourist scene.

In the future I plan to use this space to link to individual articles about each of these buildings, but that’s going to take a bit of time as there is still a lot of restoration work ongoing in the area.

But before I get into any of that, let me start by offering a brief introduction to Daxi and why the Japanese Colonial Era had such an impact on the small village nestled in the mountains of Taoyuan.

Daxi during the Colonial Era (日治的大溪)

During the Japanese-era, The Taoyuan City (桃園市) that we know today was merely just a district (郡) of what was known as Shinchiku Prefecture (新竹州 / しんちくしゅう). Located in the area south of Taipei, or Taihoku (台北州廳), Shinchiku Prefecture encompassed much of what we refer to now as Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli (桃竹苗), with the capital of the prefecture located in Shinchiku City (新竹市 / しんちくし).

As much of Taiwan had yet to really start development of anything larger than small settlements, the cities that we know today as Taoyuan (桃園), Zhongli (中壢), Zhudong (竹東) and Miaoli (苗栗) were simply classified by the Japanese administration as ‘districts’ (郡), and were essentially part of hierarchical subdivisions of the larger prefecture that could be further broken down into towns and villages.

Taoyuan County’s recent amalgamation into the supercity known as ‘Taoyuan City’ retains much of the original geographic boundaries found during the colonial era. That being said, the current city is divided up into thirteen “districts” (區) while the Japanese only used three: “Chuureki”, “Toen” and “Taike.”

The interesting thing is that within these Japanese-era “districts”, you’ll find each of the contemporary administrative districts that make up Taoyuan City today.

Chuureki (中壢郡 / ちゅうれきぐん), otherwise known as “Zhongli District” and included Zhongli (中壢街 / 中壢區), Pingchen (平鎮庄 / 平鎮區), Yangmei (楊梅庄 / 楊梅區), Xinwu (新屋庄 / 新屋區) and Guanyin (觀音庄 / 觀音區).
Tōen (桃園郡 / とうえんぐん), otherwise known as “Taoyuan District” and included Taoyuan City (桃園街 / 桃園區), Luzhu (蘆竹庄 / 蘆竹區), Dayuan (大園庄 / 大園區), Guishan (龜山庄 / 龜山區) and Bade (八塊庄 / 八德區).
Taikē (大溪郡 / たいけいぐん), otherwise known as “Daxi District” and included Daxi (大溪街 / 大溪區), Longtan (龍潭庄 / 龍潭區) and the mountain indigenous area we now refer to as Fuxing (蕃地 / 復興區).

Interestingly, the 1942 census (the final one taken during the Japanese era) reported that the population of the three districts of Shinchiku Prefecture mentioned above that make up what we know today as “Taoyuan City” was 288,740 - a fraction of the 2,245,059 people living here today.

The focus of this article however is on Shinchiku Prefecture’s district of Taikegun (大溪郡 / たいけいぐん), or what we refer to today as Daxi (大溪區). One of Taoyuan’s most popular tourist attractions, Daxi has long been a hotspot for Taiwan’s weekend travelers thanks to its beautiful Old Street, traditional Hakka culture, and of course its delicious food.

As I mentioned earlier, there are quite a few of these touristy ‘Old Streets’ in Taiwan, and one of the things that the vast majority of them have in common is that they date back to an era of prosperity during the Japanese colonial era, when Japanese architects were showing off their skill with contemporary art-deco baroque-style architecture. Daxi Old Street is no different and is highly-regarded throughout the country as one of the best preserved examples of the architecture of that era of Taiwan’s history.

It should go without saying that the history of Daxi as we know it dates back much further than the arrival of the Japanese in Taiwan.

Occupied several thousand years prior by Taiwan’s indigenous Atayal people (泰雅族), the area was long known as Takoham (大姑陷/大嵙陷) by those living along the creek that we refer today as the Dahan River (大漢溪). Then in the late eighteenth century, Han settlers started migrating to the area, helping to turn it into an important trading outpost. The early settlers made their riches extracting camphor and tea by way of the Dahan River and into Taipei via the Tamsui River (淡水河) where products would be sold and exported from the ports in Bangka (萬華), and later from Dadaocheng (大稻埕).

The history of Han settlement in the area, particulalry that of the Hokkien people (閩南人), who were forcibly pushed out of Taipei due to political and economic warfare between rival clans in the late nineteenth century, is certainly a juicy soap-opera-like situation that I highly recommend everyone learn more about.

Essentially, the events of the Ding-Xia Conflict (頂下郊拚) of 1853 helped to shape Taipei into the city it is today.

Links: Xia-Hai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) | Qingshui Temple (艋舺清水巖) | Clashes in Monga a hundred years ago - Chronicles of the Gang Leaders of History (Digital Taiwan)

When the Japanese arrived in Taiwan in 1895, Daxi had already become a thriving town of merchants and traders, but that was a situation that would quickly change within a short period of time as the colonial government wasted no time getting to work on a network of railways around the island that would ensure a more efficiently and quicker transfer of goods than the rivers ever could.

By 1909 (民治42年), the west coast north-south mainline railway (縱貫線) between Taihoku (台北州) and Takao (高雄州) was completed and the need for river transport was pretty much nullified, dealing a major blow to the village as a major trading port. Fortunately, Daxi had more to offer than just its position as a trading port and the town made some changes that allowed it to maintain its role as an economic powerhouse. Continuing with the extraction of camphor, but also branching out into other areas with its production of tea, and the skill of local artisans in making handcrafted wooden furniture.

From the perspective of the Japanese authorities, Daxi was an extremely important village thanks to its ability to (safely) extract and transport camphor in addition to its production of tea, which surprisingly accounted for approximately seventy percent of Taiwan’s entire tea production at the time. So, even though Taikegai (大溪街 / たいけいがい) was considered a small ‘village’ within Shinchiku Prefecture, it had an established economic base and was a gateway to the mountains, which were instrumental in the colonial government’s plan for extracting Taiwan’s precious natural resources.

“Taikegun” (大溪郡), or Daxi District may have had its administrative district within Taikegai as mentioned above, but it was ultimately responsible for the administration of 577km² of land that likewise included neighbouring Ryutansho (龍潭庄 / りゅうたんしょう), and the mountain indigenous area (蕃地), known today as Fuxing District (復興區).

As an economic powerhouse, the colonial government dedicated a tremendous amount of resources in the area to ensure that the village’s economic vitality could continue. Thus, the government invested heavily in administrative infrastructure that included the construction of Administration Halls (役所), Post Offices (郵便局), Banks (銀行), Assembly Halls (公會堂), Public Schools (公校), Shinto Shrines (神社), Buddhist Temples (佛教廟), Police Stations, etc.

While the purpose of this article is to talk about the remnants of the Japanese era that can be found today in Daxi, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that even though the history of Daxi is long and complicated, the so-called Old Street that has become so popular with tourists only dates back to 1919 (大正8年), and almost everything that we see today is a result or influenced by the Japanese-era.

The Restoration of Japanese-era buildings in Daxi

Dorms Prior to Restoration

Thanks to the leadership and foresight of the Taoyuan Cultural Affairs Bureau (桃園市文化局), there has been a revival in recent years with regard to Daxi’s Japanese-era history. The local government has invested a considerable amount of money in the restoration of many of these important historic buildings, and came up with a perfect way to put them to good use, highlighting an important part of what makes Daxi so special.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau officially inaugurated the Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum (桃園市立大溪木藝生態博物館) on January 1st, 2015 (民國104年), a project that would emulate the Scandinavian concept of ‘integrating the local community with the preservation of cultural assets’ and today the museum encapsulates many of the historic Japanese-era buildings that have been restored in the historic administrative neighbourhood of the village.

Link: Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum (Wiki)

In total, the ecomuseum is spread out across a network of buildings that includes the Japanese-era Assembly Hall, police and teachers dormitories, the Martial Arts Hall, and in the future will expand to include several more dormitories as well as a massive warehouse. Suffice to say, as time passes and the museum continues to grow, this space will likewise continue to be updated as well.

While the ecomuseum is primarily located within Japanese-era buildings, its important to note that the beautiful Lee Teng-Fang Historic Residence (李騰芳古宅) is also included in the list of buildings under the control of the museum.

Link: Official Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum (桃園市立大溪木藝生態博物) - 中文 | English

I won’t go into detail to get into what you’ll find in each of the buildings exhibition-wise as I’ll leave that for future articles about those spaces, but as a “wood-art” ecomuseum, you’re safe to assume that you’ll find that quite a few of them proudly display the mastery that the people of Daxi have when it comes to woodworking, with displays of furniture, ornaments and other kinds of art.

I’m not personally too invested in that kind of thing, but there are fortunately also exhibits that focus extensively on the history of Daxi, and I could spend days checking them all out.

Without further adieu, here’s the list of remaining Japanese-era buildings and things to see while you’re visiting Daxi.

Daxi Assembly Hall (大溪公會堂)

As the only remaining building of its kind in Taoyuan, I’m happy to finally say that the former Daxi Assembly Hall has finally been brought back to life and returned to the public, for which it was dedicated to more than a century ago!

An important part of any large community during the colonial era, the Daxi Assembly Hall was constructed in 1921 (大正10年) and was a public meeting space and venue for local art and music performances. Constructed with a fusion of Japanese and Western-style architecture and construction methods, the hall is quite stunning in its design.

When the Second World War ended, the interior of the hall was renovated and it became a mansion for President Chiang Kai-Shek and his family when they were vacationing away from the capital. After his death, the hall was converted into the earliest ‘Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall’ (蔣公紀念館) and was opened up to the public for visits.

Not to be confused with the actual Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂) in Taipei, or his final resting place in nearby Cihu.

Today the hall has been split up into two exhibition spaces under the control of the Wood Art Ecomuseum, with the Wood Furniture Exhibition (木家具館) taking up the large space in the Assembly Hall while the Wood Life Exhibition (木生活館) is located within the extension on the side.

Daxi Shinto Shrine (大溪神社)

The Daxi Shinto Shrine (大溪社 / たいけいじゃ) was constructed in 1932 (昭和7年) and was located in the area where you’ll find the Daxi Park (大溪公園) today. Unfortunately the shrine was torn down in 1946 (民國35年, shortly after the arrival of the Chinese Nationalists.

Even though the shrine was destroyed, several pieces remain today, including the Walking Path (參道), Stone Lanterns (石燈籠), the Stone Guardian Lions (狛犬), and the original stone base where the Hall of Worship once stood.

Today you’ll find a several-layered tower constructed on the base of where the shrine once existed. If you climb to the top of the tower, you’ll easily be able to enjoy a nice view of the river basin and the historic Daxi Bridge that stretches across the river.

The area where the Shinto Shrine is located is well marked and you can easily walk over and check it out, it won’t take too much time.

Daxi Public School Principal’s Residence (大溪國小校長宿舍)

The Daxi Public School’s Principal’s Residence was the first of the Japanese-era dorms to open up to the public as part of the wood-art ecomuseum project. Known in Chinese simply as “Building Number 1” (壹號館), the building dates back to the 1920s and is a beautiful family-style dorm that would have been occupied by whomever was the administrator at the nearby Daxi Public School prior to the end of the war.

Today the building acts as an information centre for the Wood-Art Ecomuseum with exhibitions dedicated to the history of Daxi and woodworking in the area.

Daxi Martial Arts Hall (大溪武德殿)

The Daxi Martial Arts Hall is considered to be one of the most beautiful of the remaining Japanese-era Martial Arts Halls in Taiwan.

Constructed in a fusion of Western-Japanese style architecture, the building dates back to 1935 (昭和10年), and was used to help train the police and military who were stationed in the area in Japanese Martial Arts.

When the colonial era ended, the hall was repurposed as a police outpost for members of the Military Police who were charged with the personal protection of President Chiang Kai-Shek and his family when they were staying in the area until it was abandoned in 1999.

The hall has recently been restored and as part of the ecomuseum provides a large space for rotating exhibitions in addition to others that tell of the history of the building.

Link: Daxi Martial Arts Hall

Daxi Sumo Arena (大溪相撲場)

When the Daxi Sumo Arena was completely reconstructed within Daxi Park, I was a bit surprised.

During the Japanese era, Kendo and Judo were taught within the Martial Arts Halls (like the one I mentioned just above), few people however realize that sumo was something that was also practiced here - although to what extent, I’m not particularly sure.

Nevertheless, since the reconstruction of the Sumo Arena, several events have been held by the local government to bridge the gap between Taiwan and Japan with regard to the sport of sumo. While I doubt we’re going to see a resurgence in the (somewhat obscure) sport here in Taiwan, it is a pretty cool nod to the past that surprises most people.

Daxi Police Chief Residence (大溪警察宿舍)

The former Daxi Police Chief’s Residence located behind the former Daxi Police Station (Currently Daxi Civil Centre) and as one of the highest ranking public officials in the area, the dorm that was provided for the chief and his family was considered quite swanky for the time.

Constructed in 1901 (明治34年), the dorm has remained occupied for much of its 120 year history, but has thankfully been restored and is now known as the Craft Exchange Hall (工藝交流館) and will feature exhibitions meant to help educate people on the process of making wood-art and connecting Daxi’s expertise to the world at large.

One of the best things about this dorm is that it comes equipped with a beautiful front and back yard and is covered with trees, making the whole thing more like a mansion than a dormitory. You’ll also find a bomb-shelter next to one of those trees, although it isn’t open to the public as of yet.

Daxi Police Dormitories (大溪警察宿舍)

Another one of the Police-related dormitories, the building we know today as the Artists Building (藝師館) was once a dorm for members of the Daxi District Police (大溪郡役所警察宿舍), which I’d venture to guess were a bit higher in rank than the town police. Constructed in 1941 (昭和16年), the dorm was one of the later additions to the group of dorms in the area, but is a beautiful single family dorm space and was likely occupied by a high ranking officer and their family rather than a group of officers.

Today the space is dedicated to Daxi’s masters of wood-art and tells their story.

Kensei Shoco Department Store (建成商行)

Currently undergoing a process of restoration, the facade of the former Kensei Shoco Department Store will likely be completely repaired within the next year or so. That being said, the interior of the building had already been completely demolished, leaving only the beautiful facade left standing. I’m not sure what they’ll ultimately do with the interior space, but the facade is probably the most beautiful and the grandest example of the art-deco baroque design that you’ll find in Daxi, so the fact that its being restored is a great thing.

Daxi Well (大溪百年古井)

The century-old Daxi well, located in an alley between the Martial Arts Hall and the Kensei Shoco Department Store is one of the only (still-functioning) wells of its kind around Taiwan and it has recently been given a bit of attention with a Japanese-style roof covering. Even though this is an important antique, it also serves as a functional one as the local people continue to pump water out of it today!

Daxi “Six-Row” Police Dorms (六連棟宿舍群)

The most recent of the former police dorms to graced with a restoration project, the so-called “Six Row” dorms are located in an alley to the rear of the former police station and are surrounded by the Police Chief Residence and the “Four Row” dorms, mentioned below.

Unlike those dorms, which were constructed for higher level members of the police force, this cluster of buildings were all relatively smaller, each of which only offering about 60㎡ of space (18坪) to their residents.

That’s about the size of a small two-bedroom apartment in Taiwan today.

When the colonial era ended, like all the other dorms, these smaller residences continued to be occupied by members of the police force, but as time passed they were renovated and changed quite a few times which altered their original layout and design.

As the dorms are currently still undergoing their restoration process, I’m not as of yet sure how they will be used within the larger ecomuseum, but my guess is that they will focus on the lives of the residents of the post-colonial era, similar to the exhibitions you’ll find at the nearby military villages that have been restored.

Daxi “Four Row” Police Dorms (四連棟宿舍群)

Currently used as an exhibition space dedicated to the ‘history’ of Daxi (大溪人。生活與歷史), I’d have to say that these dorms feature what is probably my favourite of all of the exhibitions put on display by the ecomuseum. Thanks to the meticulous focus on the history and development of Daxi during the colonial era and after, you’ll find informative displays within each of the buildings and if you’re as interested in this stuff as much as I am, its likely that you’ll be able to spend a considerable amount of time inside!

Daxi Agricultural Warehouse (大溪食鹽肥料倉庫)

Dating back to 1942 (昭和17年), the former Daxi Salt and Fertilizer warehouse is a distinctive building in that even though it was merely a warehouse, it featured some pretty distinctive architectural styles. Constructed only a few years prior to the end of the Second World War, the warehouse has served a number of roles in the years since, but is now open to the public as an exhibition and venue space.

With over 830 square meters of interior space, the warehouse will be an extension of the Wood-Art ecomuseum and will serve a number of roles, but one would hope that it would become popular music venue, like the spaces at Huashan in Taipei and the old warehouses in Hsinchu park, for example.

The building has only been freshly restored though, so we might need some time to see what they’ve got planned for it!

Daxi Tea Factory (大溪老茶廠)

Constructed in 1925 (大正14年) by the Taiwan Agriculture and Forestry Company (台灣農林公司), the Daxi Tea Factory was an important staging point in the production of tea during the Japanese era, especially since as I mentionnd earlier, Taoyuan was at one point responsible for the production of over 70% of Taiwan’s total tea export.

The tea factory is a short distance from downtown Daxi, and you’d probably need access to your own means of transportation to get there, but as one of the first Japanese era buildings in the Daxi area to be completely restored, it has long been a popular tourist destination and was for quite some time one of the most popular Instagram photo locations in Taiwan.

Getting There

If you weren’t already convinced, there is quite a lot to see and do while in Daxi, and if you are making plans to visit the historic village, you obviously have quite a few options. For most visitors, the obvious destination is the historic Old Street, but now that all of these Japanese-era buildings have opened up within the same area, we’re blessed with even more to do.

That being said you’ll also find popular tourist destinations like the Daxi Tea Factory, Zhai-Ming Monastery, the Cihu Mausoleum, the TUBA Church and the Sanmin Bat Cave nearby. Unfortunately some of these destinations are only only accessible if you have your own means of transportation.

So lets talk for a few minutes about how to get to Daxi Old Street.

A bit of a reminder though, I’ve introduced quite a few destinations in this article, so instead of giving directions to every single location, I’ll use a base starting point, the Daxi Civil Affairs Office (大溪區公所), where you’re conveniently able to make use of public transportation as well as finding parking for your cars or scooters.

Address: #11 Puji Road, Daxi District, Taoyuan City (桃園市大溪區普濟路11號)
GPS: 24.99368 / 121.29696

Car / Scooter

If you have access to your own means of transportation, getting to Daxi shouldn’t be too difficult. Simply input the address or the coordinates provided above into your GPS and you’ll find yourself there in no time. While driving a scooter shouldn’t pose much of a problem for most visitors, even during the busiest times, driving a car is a completely different story.

The problem with driving a car is that there are often traffic jams and long waits for parking spaces on weekends as well as during national holidays, when the area is at its busiest.

Given how narrow the streets are within the downtown core of Daxi, parking near the Old Street can be somewhat difficult and it is very rare that you’d be able to find roadside parking. This means that the further you park away from the main tourist area, the cheaper it will be.

In order to help control the flow of traffic, there are a number of parking lots in the area that you’ll want to consider, each of which I’ve marked on the map above. The first two are probably the best options for parking as they are the largest and cheapest of the parking lots, but they will require a bit of a walk to the tourist area.

Qiaotou Parking Lot 橋頭停車場 ($50NT)
Yuemei Parking Lot 月眉停車場 ($50NT)
Ting’er Parking Lot 停二停車場 ($30/hour weekdays - $40/hour weekends)
Old Street Park Parking Lot 老街公園停車場 ($30/hour weekdays - $50/hour weekends)
Old Street Parking Lot 老街停車場 ($30/hour weekdays - $50/hour weekends)

High Speed Rail / Train

As I’ve already mentioned, the construction of the railway forced the people of Daxi to come up with new ideas for making money - That being said, it should be fairly obvious that there aren’t any railway stations in the vicinity of the village. You can however take a train or the High Speed Rail and conveniently transfer to one of the buses or shuttles that take tourists out to the area.

High Speed Rail (臺灣高鐵)

Take the Taiwan High Speed Railway to Taoyuan HSR Station (桃園高鐵站) and from there transfer to Taiwan Trip Shuttle Bus #501

Taiwan Railway (臺灣鐵路)

From Taoyuan Railway Station (桃園火車站)

From the Taoyuan Train Station you’ll want to transfer to Taoyuan Bus #5096 to Daxi.

From Zhongli Railway Station (中壢火車站)

From the Zhongli Train Station you’ll want to transfer to Taoyuan Bus #5098 to Daxi.

Bus

There are a number of options for taking the bus to Daxi either directly from the railway stations in Taoyuan or from Taipei. I’ll provide each of the buses that you can take below with links to where you can find the bus, their route map and their schedule.

Taoyuan Bus #5096 (Taoyuan - Daxi)
Taoyuan Bus #5098 (Zhongli- Daxi)
Taoyuan Bus 9103 (Banqiao - Daxi)
Taoyuan Bus #710 (Yongning MRT Station - Daxi)
Taiwan Trip Bus #501 (Taoyuan HSR Station - Daxi) 台灣好行大溪快線

Links: Taoyuan Bus (桃園客運) | Taiwan Trip Shuttle (台灣好行)

Gallery / Flickr (High Res Photos)

References

探討大溪老街的建築特色與時代意義 (李政瑄, 邱筱雅, 楊佳穎)
大溪木藝生態博物館 (中文 | English)
桃園市立大溪木藝生態博物館 (Wiki)

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The Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan (臺灣の武德殿)

April 24, 2021 in Japanese Colonial Era, Photo Post, Travel

When I first started writing this blog, I didn’t really have much of an idea of the direction it was going to take.

My goal was to use my photography and my travel experience as a method of promoting travel in Taiwan, but that admittedly was just one of the ways that I hoped I’d be able to drive traffic to this site.

From the outset, I never really expected that I’d end up where I am now with a number of personal projects that consume a large portion of my free time researching, translating information and writing these articles.

Now that I’ve been at this for quite a few years, I’m happy to say that all of the work I’ve done hasn’t been a complete waste as in the process I’ve improved my translation abilities and have learned so much about Taiwan.

That being said, given all that I’ve learned over the years, one of the things that I’ve been busy with lately is going through older articles to update them and more importantly correcting some of the erroneous information.

If you’ve been following this space for any period of time, it’s probably painfully obvious that one of my major projects has been exploring the history of Taiwan’s Japanese Colonial Era, and the various buildings that remain around the country from that era.

That all started in 2017 thanks a suggestion from my friend (and fellow blogger) Alexander that I visit the Longtan Martial Arts Hall (龍潭武德殿) near where I lived, and close to somewhere I was headed one day.

That suggestion sparked a fire and has resulted in my visiting almost all of Taiwan’s remaining Martial Arts Halls, making this site one of the most important resources for English-language information about them on the internet.

That being said, every time I write an article about one of the halls, I end up providing an abbreviated history of what they’re about and why they’re important. All of that comes to an end with this article, which will do the job of introducing the history of the halls and where you can find them.

My hope is that this will be better for you the reader, and myself as well as I’ll be streamlining the writing process about these halls so I can keep them more concise while also spending more time on important details.

Below I’ll introduce the purpose of these Martial Arts Halls, their history, organizational structure, architectural design and where you can find them in Taiwan. I’ll also provide links to each of the individual articles that I’ve written about so far, which should make navigating them much easier.

Even though my ongoing work on the Japanese Colonial Era has since expanded to include a variety of other historic buildings, it all started with these Martial Arts Halls, which is a project that is near and dear to my heart.

But with only a few more left to write about, will soon be completed.

If you are travelling in Taiwan and have a chance to visit one of these beautiful buildings, I highly recommend stopping by as they have become living museums for Taiwanese history and are part of an era that is much different than the Taiwan we know and love today!

Budokuden Martial Arts Halls (武德殿)

When people think about Japan, one of the things that usually comes to mind are the iconic samurai, who during the feudal period, were part of an aristocratic caste of warriors who helped to rule over the country.

These days, you won’t find any actual samurai walking the streets of Japan, but even though they’ve become a relic of the past, their memory lives on thanks to pop-culture, which has done a pretty great job romanticizing their exploits.

If history has proven anything though, those with power rarely ever want to give it up.

So the obvious question one might ask is what actually happened to them?

The movie, “The Last Samurai” attempted to tell part of that story, but suffice to say, Tom Cruise (or any white dude for that matter) wasn’t the last of the samurai.

Prior to 1868, Japan was a feudal land, split into warring states loosely held together by the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府), which oversaw a military regime that effectively ruled over Japan but found itself completely at wits with how to deal with the military superiority of the western powers.

Rising to power with the shogunate, the samurai (武士) were part of a ruling military class that helped to maintain order. Trained in military tactics and living by the ‘Bushido Code’ of honour, the existence of the samurai gave legitimacy to the shogun, who in turn provided them with hereditary privileges and a more than generous salary.

For more than two centuries, the samurai worked hand-in-hand with the shogunate to provide the people of Japan with a period of relative peace and prosperity. During this period of peace, many of the samurai used their privilege to become some of the most highly-educated members of society.

So, in addition to carrying around their swords, it was only natural that they’d also take on jobs within the bureaucracy to pass their time.

While the shoguns and the samurai worked together to maintain stability, the mikado (emperors) had virtually no say in the affairs of state and merely served a ceremonial purpose.

This of course was granted in exchange for generous subsidies, allowing the Tokugawa clan to remain in control.

Unfortunately for the shogunate and the samurai, the west came calling and Japan had little power to resist.

Embarrassed with how weak the country had become, an alliance of daimyos (大名), who were essentially powerful landholders, and the emperor took the opportunity to seize control in what has become known as the “Japanese Revolution,” or the Boshin War (戊辰戰爭).

Link: Boshin War (Wiki)

The year-long war resulted in the eventual resignation of Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu (徳川慶喜), the restoration of Emperor Meiji (明治天皇), and a pledge to transform the country into a modern society that bowed to no one.

Emperor Meiji and a group of ambitious young men (many of whom were highly educated samurai) then presided over what would become known as the Meiji Restoration (明治維新), a period of massive political, industrial, economic, military and social development.

Amazingly, in a few short decades, the Emperor had transformed Japan from an isolated feudal state forced to capitulate to the whims of western powers, into a modern industrialized military power that was able to flex its muscles on the international stage.

One of the lingering issues that the government had to deal with however was how they’d deal with the warrior class of samurai, who suddenly found themselves losing all of their class privileges - and more importantly, their salaries!

Surprisingly, many of them (possibly realizing that they were completely outclassed by modern weaponry) didn’t put up much of a fuss, and for the most part accepted their gradual transition into the Japanese professional and military classes.

It goes without saying that even though the samurai were probably the most affected by the institutional changes in Japanese society, they were also one of the most highly-educated groups and understood that the military had to be completely reorganized, and that they could and would have to be part of that reform.

Problems did arise though.

Starting with the prohibition of their distinctive topknots in 1871, and then later in 1876 when their swords and their stipends were taken away, it became too much for some of the samurai.

This resulted in the short-lived Satsuma Rebellion (西南戰爭), led by a group of samurai who had taken exception to the push for modernity, and took up arms against the government.

Arguably, this group embodied the feelings of many of those within Japanese society who felt conflicted with the push for modernity, and an affinity for the west in lieu of traditional Japanese values.

The rebellion however was quickly put down by the Japanese army, equipped with modern weaponry.

Surprisingly, even though they acted against the government and were defeated, they continue to be honoured today as national heroes for their sacrifice and their loyalty.

Link: How the Samurai Went Extinct (Ranker) | Whatever Happened to the Samurai (JSTOR)

What does ANY of this have anything to do with Taiwan’s Martial Arts Halls? I’m getting to that!

Even though the samurai were a class of feudal warriors that were “phased out”, their “bushido” (武士道) philosophy, an unwritten code that dictated their behaviour, lifestyle and more importantly their sense of loyalty and sacrifice, was something that could now be practiced by Japanese society as a whole.

In what become known as “Meiji Bushido” (明治武士道), the philosophy of the samurai warrior was altered into a concept that sought to instill the virtues of ‘self-sacrifice’ and ‘absolute loyalty’ to the state and the Emperor.

Rather than fighting for personal or clan affairs like the samurai did, these new ‘Bushido Warriors’, namely every citizen of Japan, were expected to focus their efforts on the success and development of the nation.

One of the methods used to assist in the promotion of the new Bushido code was to establish state sanctioned “Martial Arts Halls” around the country, a policy that started in 1895 (明治28年) under the authority of the government and with the endorsement of the Emperor.

Coincidentally the same year that Japan took control of Taiwan.

The Martial Arts Halls were tasked with preserving Japan's martial arts disciplines in addition to cultivating the virtues of the samurai warrior spirit, offering former samurai an opportunity to train the ‘samurai of tomorrow’, and citizens from all facets of society were encouraged to take part.

The Taoyuan Martial Arts Hall in the 1970s

Known in Japan as a “Budokuden” (武德殿), the Martial Arts Halls were significant in that they were part of a state-sponsored attempt to foster fervent nationalism, as well as the idea of Japanese exceptionalism, though the ‘samurai-spirit’.

The main objectives of the Martial Arts Halls were officially to promote the following:

Japanese Spirit (大和魂)
Martial Arts Spirit (尚武的精神)
Patriotism (愛國的精神)

All of which were essential tools in helping to stoke the fires of militarism in the early years of the 20th century.

First Generation Hsinhua Martial Arts Hall (第一代新化武德殿)

The halls were part of the "Dai Nippon Butoku Kai" (大日本武德會) organization, loosely translated as the “Greater Japan Martial Arts Association” (abbreviated as DNBK), which was inaugurated on April 17th, 1895 with its headquarters located in Kyoto (京都).

Link: Dai Nippon Butoku Kai | 大日本武德會 (Wiki)

Before we move on, let’s stop here for a bit of a language lesson:

The Martial Arts Halls are known in Japanese as “Butokuden” or “Budokuden” (ぶとくでん) depending on how you romanize the word. Here in Taiwan, they were known simply as “wu dé diàn” (武德殿), or “wu dào guan“ (武道館), both of which which essentially translate into English as “Martial Arts Hall.”

Its important to note that the character “wu” (武) or “bu” (ぶ) in Japanese means “war” or “martial” while “dào” (道) or “do” (どう) means “path” or “road”, but in this case when they’re put together mean “way of life”.

This means that Budo is essentially, “the Way of the Warrior”, which often gets lost in translation.

So when we say “Martial Arts” in English, we’re referring to the same disciplines practiced by “warriors”, but in a more interchangeable (politically correct) way that makes it an “art form” or “technique” rather than a method of destroying ones enemies.

The “arts” aspect of these Martial Arts Halls ultimately would be something that came much later however as the Pre-WWII era “Budokudens” were all about the militarism.

Link: Budo | 武道 | ぶどう (Wiki)

When we refer to these disciplines as “Martial Arts”, whether they’re Japanese, Chinese, Thai, etc., the Chinese characters that we use are “wu shù” (武術) or “bujutsu” (じゅつ) in Japanese, both of which refer to the philosophy of developing oneself rather than defeating an enemy.

While there are various Martial Arts Disciplines throughout the world, when we talk about Japanese “budo” styles, we’re referring to Judo (柔道), Jujutsu (柔術), Kendo (劍道), Kyudo (弓道), Aikido (合氣道), and Sumo (相撲), among others.

One of the key things to takeaway from the official name of the “Dai Nippon Butoku Kai” is the “Dai Nippon” (大日本 / だいにっぽん), which translates as “Greater Japan” and referred to areas of the ever expanding empire, for which Taiwan was merely a stepping-stone.

So, even though the role of the “Butoku Kai” was to train the ‘warriors of tomorrow’ in Japan, the organization likewise attempted to do the same in its newfound territories across Asia, through its military expansion.

Martial Arts Halls were constructed not only in Japan and Taiwan, but across Asia in places like Okinawa, Korea, Manchuria and China.

No where though have these Martial Arts Halls been as well-preserved as they are here in Taiwan.

I’m jumping ahead in the history here a bit but when the war came to an end, the DNBK organization was forcibly dissolved by the allied powers and many of its leaders were purged, lost their jobs and were forbidden from taking any government jobs in the future.

The dissolution of the DNBK delineated the responsibilities official duties and operations to the All Japan Kendo Federation (全日本剣道連盟) and the All Japan Judo Federation (全日本柔道連盟), both of which were founded after the war and to this day work to preserve and promote their respective disciplines.

Posing for a photo outside of the Taipei Martial Arts Hall

In 1953, the DNBK was re-established with a new philosophical vision that stressed the “arts” part of its “Martial Arts” disciplines and promoted international peace and harmony. The organization however remains detached from the government and has a limited scope despite having branches that have spread throughout the world with training centers constructed in the US, Canada, UK, France, Russia, etc.

Nevertheless, the organization which once boasted millions of members, tremendous physical assets and thousands of expert instructors has been reduced to a powerless entity, with worldwide membership in the tens of thousands.

Link: Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (大日本武德會) (Official Website)

Here in Taiwan, the halls have become increasingly appreciated historical relics of the colonial era, but for the most part have become living museums and exhibition spaces while their original purpose, the promotion of Japanese martial arts has all but disappeared.

The Martial Arts Halls of Taiwan (臺灣の武德殿)

In 1900 (明治33年), construction on Martial Arts Halls here in Taiwan started with those in Taipei (臺北州/たいほくしゅう), Taichung (臺中廳/たいちゅうちょう) and Tainan (臺南廳/たいなんちょう) initially meant to assist in the training of the local police in martial arts.

It wasn’t until after the “Taiwan Butokuden Branch of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai” (大日本武德會臺灣支部) was established in 1906 however that Martial Arts Halls really started popping up all over the island.

By 1920 (大正9年), the organization was given a directive from the government to start construction on Martial Arts Halls in each of Taiwan’s prefectures culminating in the eventual construction of more than two hundred across the Island.

In Taiwan, the halls initially served the purpose of training the police, military and prison guards in Japanese martial arts disciplines. Later though, they opened up to the general public in an attempt to train the citizens of Taiwan in Japanese martial arts, as well as instilling "Japanese Spirit" mentioned above, better known as Yamato-damashii (大和魂).

In a situation similar to Shinto Shrines, the construction of Martial Arts Halls was accelerated in the 1930s, which is why you’ll find that the majority of those remaining today were constructed between 1930-1945.

The policy that would require a Shinto Shrine or a Martial Arts Hall to be constructed in every prefecture, town and borough was a precursor to the Kominka policy of 1936 (昭和11年).

“Kominka” (皇民化運動), literally meant to “force people to become subjects of the empire”, more commonly known as “Japanization” or forced assimilation. The policy was ultimately an act of desperation on the part of the militarizing nature of the Japanese empire of the era, which had grander plans for conquest across Asia.

The policy enforced strict language policies, required citizens to take Japanese names and instituted the “volunteers system” (志願兵制度), drafting Taiwanese into the Imperial Army. It likewise required locals to take part in Japanese cultural and religious activities, including visiting Shinto Shrines and of course, learning Martial Arts.

It was during this time that the number of Shinto Shrines and Martial Arts Halls across Taiwan started to skyrocket.

Links: Taoyuan Shinto Shrine | Luye Shinto Shrine | Yuanshan Shinto Shrine | The National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine

Admittedly, as I mentioned above, I made quite a few mistakes when I first started researching this stuff.

One of the numbers that I saw quoted most often was that there were approximately seventy of these halls constructed throughout Taiwan. What that didn’t take into account however was that they often went by different names, some of which included “Budojo” (武道場), “Renbukan” (練武館), “Enbujo” (演武場), etc.

While they all essentially fell under the umbrella of the DNBK organization, the different names were a reflection of what the halls were used for as some were for training, others for practice, and others for competition.

Taichung (臺中)

Daxi (大溪)

Of the more than two hundred halls that were constructed in Taiwan between 1900 and 1945, the majority of them would have been located near a police precinct (警務段) or a public school (公校), while many others were located in the vicinity of military (軍隊), railway (鐵道部), jails (刑務所), or civil service-related buildings.

Below I’ve broken down the various Martial Arts Halls based on where they were located.

The Martial Arts Halls were ranked in a system similar to Shinto Shrines which determined their funding, purpose, size and importance.

The designations don’t make much sense in English, so I’ll do my best to explain below:

Prefectural Level (州廳) Branches (支部) - The largest halls, located in the capital of each prefecture.
Town and City Level (郡市) Branches (支所) - Smaller halls, located within larger cities and towns.
Village and Borough Level (街庄) Branches (分會) - Even smaller halls, located within villages.

In terms of ranking, the prefectural level branches acted as the headquarters for each of the prefectures and the smaller branches would report directly to (and receive support and finding from) the prefectural level branches.

Interestingly, as Japan’s Martial Arts disciplines became increasingly popular in Taiwan, the island produced quite a few of its own star athletes, who ended up attending some of the most prestigious tournaments in Japan and returned home with prizes.

We often reminisce about Taiwan’s baseball prowess, but it’s important to remember that from the colonial era until the present day, Taiwan has produced some exceptionally skilled Martial Artists and Olympic athletes.

Taiwan’s Remaining Martial Arts Halls (臺灣現存の武德殿)

www.goteamjosh.com/blog/wudedian

Xinzhuang Martial Arts Hall (新莊武德殿) 1928 / Restoration in Process
Tamkang Junior High Martial Arts Hall (淡江中學武德館) 1923 / Yet to be Restored
Daxi Martial Arts Hall (大溪武德殿) 1935 / Restored
Longtan Martial Arts Hall (龍潭武德殿) 1930 / Restored
Hsinchu High School Martial Arts Hall (新竹高中劍道館) 1926
Hsinchu Prison Martial Arts Hall (新竹少年刑務所演武場) 1926
Taichung Prison Martial Arts Hall (臺中刑務所演武場) 1937 / Restored
Nantou Martial Arts Hall (南投武德殿) 1929 / Restoration in Process
Changhua Martial Arts Hall (彰化武德殿) 1929 / Restored
Erlin Martial Arts Hall (二林武德殿) 1933 / Restoration in Process
Tainan Martial Arts Hall (臺南武德殿) 1936 / Restored
Tainan Prison Martial Arts Hall (臺南刑務所演武場) 1903 / Restoration in Process
Xinhua Martial Arts Hall (新化武德殿) 1925 / Restored
Kaohsiung Martial Arts Hall (高雄武德殿) 1924 / Restored
Qishan Martial Arts Hall (旗山武德殿) 1934 / Restored
Pingtung Martial Arts Hall (屏東武德殿) 1930 / Restored
Fangliao Martial Arts Hall (枋寮武德殿) 1937 / Yet to be Restored.

Link: 臺灣的武德殿 (Wiki)

Given the propaganda value of these halls, the vast majority were done so with traditional Japanese architecture in mind, in order to better promote appreciation for Japanese cultural values. While the architectural design of the two hundred Martial Arts Halls constructed across Taiwan tends to vary, many design aspects remained the same.

So, in order to better understand what you would have found at one of these halls, I’m going to go into a little bit of detail about some of the general design elements that you would have found at each of them.

One of the first things to know is that Martial Arts Halls were almost always constructed within the downtown core or the central business district of any town, village or borough providing that there was land available.

This means that within the traditional downtown core of a Japanese-era community in Taiwan, you’d likely find a police station, school, railway station, post office, Martial Arts Hall, etc.

Generally speaking, Martial Arts Halls followed these four styles of architectural design:

Mixed Japanese and Western Architecture with a combination of brick and wood (承重磚牆和洋混合風格).
Mixed Japanese and Western Architecture with beams and columns (仿柱樑框架牆身之和洋混合風格).
Traditional Japanese Temple-style Architecture constructed entirely of wood (傳統日本寺院建築式樣).
Traditional Japanese house-style architecture for small scale halls (傳統日式家屋建築類型).

While the vast majority of the halls were constructed using the second and third styles, the Kaohsiung Martial Arts Hall and the Xinhua Martial Arts Hall remain excellent examples of the first and fourth styles respectively.

Unfortunately there are few remaining examples of the third style of design as they closely resembled the archetype of Japanese cultural design, which was frowned upon when the Chinese Nationalists took control of Taiwan.

That being said, the second style was one of the most predominant and can still be enjoyed today in Daxi, Longtan, Taichung, Changhua, Nantou and Qishan.

Generally speaking, even though some of these buildings featured a fusion of Japanese and Western design, the majority of them made use of Japan’s Irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造) architectural style, which essentially means that the buildings featured one of Japan’s various styles of “hip-and-gable” roofs which extend well beyond the perimeter of the base below.

Links: Irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造) | East Asian hip-and-gable roof (Wiki)

Despite being one of the most common styles of architectural design in Japan, ‘Irimoya’ tends to confuse non-native speakers because even though it is a design that features the iconic ‘hip-and-gable roof’, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the roof of each building constructed in the Irimoya style will appear the same.

This is because one of the key things to remember about this style is the ‘moya’ (母屋), which refers to the base of the building below the roof. The reason this is important is because the size of the roof often eclipses the the ‘moya’, so you’ll find a genius network of beams, pillars and trusses within that ensure that the weight of the roof is evenly distributed, ensuring stability.

Qishan (旗山)

Daxi (大溪)

Introduced to Japan in the 6th Century, the hip-and-gable design is elaborate in that it is basically a fusion of two roofs in one, with a two-sided kirizuma-zukuri (切妻造) on the highest part of the roof, otherwise known as the ridged ‘gable’ and the four-sided yosemune-zukuri (寄棟造), or the ‘hip’ on the lower section.

For centuries, this style of architectural design was reserved for only the most important buildings, most often Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines, but as construction methods developed, it became a lot more common and ultimately one of Japanese architecture’s most iconic styles of design.

That being said, the irimoya style is still highly-regarded and any building constructed with a hip-and-gable roof brings with it a certain level of prestige. This is why you’ll find that the vast majority of Martial Arts Halls in Taiwan were constructed featuring a variation on this style.

Chidori-hafu on the Qishan Martial Arts Hall (旗山武德殿)

Given that the irimoya style is commonly used for temples and shrines, it was important to add some variations and decorations to allow these buildings to stand out, because within Japanese architecture, subtle variations in design or decoration often make huge differences.

One of the most common variations that you would have found on the roof of these halls was that they were often fitted with decorative roof tiles featuring the Chinese characters for “bu” (武) on the end-tiles. Unfortunately the restoration projects on a few of the remaining halls has removed these end-tiles, you can still find them on a couple of the halls, such as the Changhua Martial Arts Hall.

Another common variation is the addition of what’s known as a chidori hafu (千鳥破風/ちどりはふ) that protrudes from the front of the ‘hip’ section of the roof.

You’ll find similarly triangular-shaped ‘hafu’ (破風板/はふ) on both ends of the ‘gable’ section of the roof, but this one faces out from the front and is purely decorative.

Changhua (彰化)

Qishan (旗山)

Taichung (臺中)

Daxi (大溪)

Longtan (龍潭)

Another one of the common features used in the design of these halls are the decorative porticos at the main entrance to the buildings - While their design tends to vary, generally what you’ll find is a roof-covered porch that leads to the main entrance of the hall. The portico roof is specifically designed to add further decorative elements that go hand in hand with the design of the main roof, especially when it comes to the ‘chidori hafu’ above.

The porticos always come equipped with beautiful wooden or cement pillars that help to support the roof, but as I mentioned above, the design of the roof above tends to vary. The most common styles that you will find today are the iconic curved ‘karahafu-style’ (唐破風), the four-sided ‘irimoya-yane’ (入母屋根) and the two-sided ‘kirizuma-yane’ (切妻屋根).

Even though the ‘irimoya-yane’ style is the most common among the remaining halls today, the ‘karahafu’ porticos at the Kaohsiung and the Tainan Martial Arts Halls are considered to be the most beautiful.

Xinhua (新化)

Kaohsiung (高雄)

Longtan (龍潭)

Daxi (大溪)

While the buildings almost always featured elaborate roof designs, what you’d find below was considerable more simplistic in that the majority were constructed with local timber (cypress or cedar) and featured large sliding glass windows on all four sides, making them appear relatively similar to almost all the other Japanese-style homes and dormitories built throughout Taiwan.

That being said, the early 20th century was a time of great prosperity for many areas around Taiwan and the fusion of Japanese and western architectural design that became so prevalent around the island was also reflected in quite a few of these Martial Arts Halls, which featured baroque-style design and modern construction techniques.

Taichung (臺中)

Tainan (臺南)

Qishan (旗山)

Kaohsiung (高雄)

The few Martial Arts Halls that remain in Taiwan today offer a mixture of traditional Japanese design and western-fusion design with the Kaohsiung and the Xinhua Martial Arts Hall in particular being great examples of the fusion design while the Changhua, Tainan and Nantou halls are great examples of traditional design

As for the interior of the halls, they pretty much all remained the same with hard-wood floors equipped with a spring mechanism (彈簧地板), and not much else apart from a small shrine against the wall. The floor space was almost always split in half with one side covered in thick tatami mats for Judo while the other side was used for Kendo.

There was almost always a shrine space located against the back wall of the hall in the middle, and would have been home to a couple of sacred objects and any awards won by the members of the hall.

The sad thing about the spring floors is that the only hall remaining today that still features this really cool design is the Xinhua Martial Arts Hall in Tainan. The vast majority of the others either had their springs removed or ended up not being very well maintained over the past seven decades.

Given that almost all of the halls were elevated off of the ground on a cement base, this allowed for a network of springs to be constructed under the floor boards. The Spring Floor was an important design function for anyone practicing Kendo, given that you need a bit of bounce in your step. It was also important for many of these buildings as they were (for the most part) constructed of wood and the carpenters of the era quickly discovered that Taiwan had a pretty bad termite problem.

Former Administration building at the Taichung Martial Arts Hall

One thing that is often forgotten about these halls is that they didn’t always just consist of a single building.

As mentioned above, the halls were ranked as branches, with some of them being quite large while others were relatively small. The larger halls would have featured auxiliary buildings that would include offices, recreation space and dormitories for the instructors who resided in the halls.

Likewise some of them also included large spaces behind the hall where people could practice Kyudo (弓道), traditional Japanese archery.

When the colonial era ended, many of these buildings were used for different purposes and as time passed, most of them were torn down. These days, only the Daxi, Taichung, Changhua and Qishan halls feature separate buildings, however most of them have been entirely rebuilt during the restoration process and aren’t originals.

When the Second World War ended (and subsequently the Japanese occupation of Taiwan), many of the Martial Arts Halls were repurposed for use by the police, converted into public halls and even used as residences for many of the Chinese refugees, who fled to Taiwan in 1949.

Archery range behind the Taichung Martial Arts Hall

Ultimately, the fate of the vast majority of Taiwan’s Martial Arts Halls ended up being similar to what happened to many of the other traditional Japanese structures constructed during the colonial era after the arrival of the Chinese Nationalists.

If they weren’t repurposed, they were eventually torn down.

Today, just over a dozen of these halls continue to exist in Taiwan, some of which have been restored and recognized as National Historic Buildings.

There are others that still remain in a sad state of disrepair, and are in desperate need of attention.

The government has fortunately started to take the existence of these historic buildings more seriously and many of them have been restored in recent years.

There are also a few of the smaller branches that are still being used as homes, but have been altered so much that they’re hardly recognizable.

Yet to be restored Erlin Martial Arts Hall

Currently there are several restoration projects taking place around the country that will see a few more of these historic Martial Arts Halls re-opening to the public.

To that effect, I plan to update each of the articles that I have already published about the halls, while also continuing to visit the ones I haven’t had the chance to write about yet.

As these restoration projects are completed, I’ll make sure to update this space so that its easier to keep track of the current status of these important historic buildings.

If you ever have a chance to visit any of these historic buildings, I highly recommend checking it out.

They’re a small piece of a lesser known part of Taiwanese history and (for better or worse) have played important roles over the past century of Taiwan’s modern development.

Before I provide my list of references, I’d like to first offer my gratitude to the amazing people behind the National Historic Monuments of Taiwan page on Facebook as they’ve curated a space that offers the public a glimpse into Taiwan’s often forgotten history.

The historic photos I’ve used here are all credited to that page and I highly recommend you give them a follow, if you haven’t already.

Last but not least, I’d like to show my immense appreciation to Professor Hsin-An Chen (陳信安) of Chaoyang University (朝陽科技大學), the foremost expert on all things Martial Arts Halls in Taiwan. Without his in-depth research on the history and architecture of the Martial Arts Halls, much of what we know about them today might have been lost to history.

Likewise, it is thanks to his architectural expertise that many of the halls have been able to be brought back to life for the rest of us to enjoy.