The earliest origin of the Manchurian colonial residence can be traced back to the Manchurian Railway residences of Russia. However, the Manchurian residential developments began to modernize under the impacts of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. During the early 20th century, this special house types that came along with the Japanese colonial occupation can be regarded as the initial transformation of the modernization of Manchurian houses. Meanwhile, there were three historical factors contributed to this appearance: the architecture modern movement in the 1920s, the Taishō residential improvement movement, and the architectural adaptation to the cold climate in Manchuria. These factors enabled Japanese architects of Manchuria to begin contemplating the modernization of Japanese residences. In this paper, the authors analyzed the Manchuria Architectural Association and its competition of residential adaptation for Japanese in Manchuria to explain the transformation of the colonial modern houses and its significances.