It was built between 1918 and 1937 by Ito Jirozaemon Suketami XV, the first president of the Japanese department store chain Matsuzakaya. Back then, the villa occupied an area of 33,000m2, with a garden, tennis courts, ten luxurious buildings, and even a secret passage (supposedly to keep guests from bumping into each other)! It was a place where Japanese royalty, political entrepreneurs, guests from all over the world, and elite students came and went before the Second World War and was the venue for countless tea parties and moonlight viewing parties.