Neighbors lose legal battle against unsightly house
The Tokyo District Court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by residents of an upscale neighborhood who were horrified by manga artist Kazuo Umezu’s red-and-white striped house:
“The coloring does catch the eye of those living around it, but it can’t be said it destroys the harmony of the landscape,” the judge said.
Umezu, who listened to the ruling wearing a red-and-white horizontal striped tie, indicated he was happy with the decision.
“I received a favorable result, and I feel that spring has come a little early. I think time will solve things (with the local residents),” he said.
A March 2008 Japan Probe poll found that nearly 70% of readers found Umezu’s house to be “not ugly,” so only about 30% of you should be disappointed by the court’s ruling.
[via AltJapan]
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Looking at that house, I suddenly feel the urge to plow the fields and get a haircut at the same time.
So glad the courts didn’t side with the trolls.
Barn-ish, but kind of cool.
Good, I like it and I am glad the judge didn’t buy into the petty superficial arguments of the neighbours…
The boring dull grey and brown boxes that the neighbours live in perfectly sum up their shallow boring lives.
Shame they couldn’t do something constructive with their lives like campaigning against utility poles and the associated wires that truly “destroys the harmony of the landscape”.
What are you talking about? I think utility poles are quite beautiful!
Glad to know I’m not the one who appreciates the cluttered aesthetic of urban landscapes
Sorry, I meant to say “I’m not the *only* one”.
That house is in my nighbourhood.
Been past it a few times, the pic makes it look worse than it actually is.
In the same road you also got some older houses that are fairly run-down and look way worse.
Which is suprising as the area is a rather rich one with many so called “Celebrities” living there.
Plus, anyone that kniow him or met him, knows that red/white stripes are his trademark that he even carries over into his clothings.
Glad he won, the house acutally is a breath of fresh air and looks very nice.
You can see it also from Inokashira-line.
Well if this is not even the chocolate side of the house then I can’t see why any sane person would go to court for it. Maybe it’s not really about the house. Maybe the actually just don’t like him.
zenbuilder is nothing but a liar. I know him and he is not a person to believe. He molests children.
Oh! I just realized who this is… funny, I’ve been buying and reading the Drifting Classroom books lately… finally put two and two together!
In a country where zoning laws hardly seem to apply, where garish pachinko parlors are practically next door to temples and nursery schools are cheek-by-jowl with dry cleaners, I’m amazed that people got upset over this. Hope they never go to Barcelona. Or come to think of it, Los Angeles.
Zoning laws definitely do exist in Japan. However in many cases some of the more interesting clashes are because the businesses are older than the zones. However I am not sure what zoning law would prevent pachinko parlours from being built beside temples.
“The house is an eyesore that needs to be taken care of,” commented one local woman guilty of hanging out her granny panties to dry on her balcony on an almost daily basis.
ugly houses will bring down the market value of neighboring houses. But, I still think that house looks awesome.
Yeah too bright red color, but I find the house rather nice.
Those who criticized the house have to know how luck they are. Because there are so many areas where there are really ugly houses and buildings near the resident.
I think it’s kind of cute. I’d love to see a house like that in my neighborhood.
zenbuilder is a liar