Kioto, originally called Llandaff, was a large house built in Botany Street Waverley in 1876 for prominent Sydney photographer John Hubert Newman (ca.1835-1921). Around 1904 it became the home of Edmund Playfair (1863-1926) and his family. Playfair was owner of a long-established shipping providore company, with an office and warehouse in The Rocks. His wife Edith, nee Creer, was the daughter of a sea captain, and was a notable Sydney hostess. The Playfairs redecorated the house and photographs of the 'Music Room, the 'Boudouir' and 'The Cabin' were featured in
Our beautiful homes, N.S.W. originally published ca.1910.
Kioto was demolished for flats in the 1940s, leaving only the entrance gateposts.
