Teikokuhoteru Kenchiku Monogatari

[Machine Translation] The second main building of the Imperial Hotel, known as the Wright Building, was completed in 1923 (Taisho 12). (Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most famous American architects of the 20th century, was the architect of this building, which was called the "Jewel of the Orient. The Imperial Hotel played the role of a guesthouse in Japan, which had opened its doors to the world. Kihachiro Okura and Eiichi Shibusawa, aiming for further progress, invited Aisaku Hayashi, who had worked as an antique dealer in the United States at the end of the Meiji period, to become manager of the Imperial Hotel, and this project began. However, the road to the completion of the Wright Pavilion was unimaginably difficult. This full-length novel by the author depicts the passionate struggle of the men involved in the construction of the Wright Pavilion.

1923年(大正12年)に完成した帝国ホテル2代目本館、通称「ライト館」。「東洋の宝石」と称えられたこの建物を手掛けたのは、20世紀を代表する米国人建築家、フランク・ロイド・ライトだった。世界へと開かれた日本において、迎賓館の役割を果たしていた帝国ホテル。そのさらなる進歩を目指す大倉喜八郎と渋沢栄一が、明治末期、アメリカで古美術商として働いていた林愛作を帝国ホテル支配人として招聘したことから、このプロジェクトは始まった。しかし、ライト館完成までの道のりは、想像を絶する困難なものだった―。ライト館の建築にかけた男たちの熱い闘いを描いた、著者渾身の長編小説。