June 2016 – Whose house is it anyway?

Are we crazy?

I try not to think about the fact that I am not to inherit this old house. Because I’m not the oldest male of my family. A lot of people think we are crazy spending so much money and time into this house when we are told constantly that it’s never going to be ours. But if we don’t, no one else will and it was a matter of time before the house collapsed.

So we stopped trying to pursade my parents it’s worth saving and that the rightful owner should fix it. It was wasting our precious time. We just had to save it. At least try our best. Doesn’t matter whose house it is anymore. We owe it to our ancestors to keep the house alive and pass it on to the next generation. I know our actions will be proven worthy some day, even if we might not be alive then.

It’s so sad that majority of Japanese don’t see much value in such traditional old houses. Local people would come around and tell us we should bulldose it and make a car park which is in high demand around this area. “What!? Bulldose this 250 years old house? Car park?” Cried my husband in disbelief. We think THEY are crazy!

I wonder if I would be the same if I never left Japan. I don’t know if I would have really appreciated the beauty of this country as I do now if I always lived here. I wonder if the true reason why I came to live away from my own country was to see Japan from outside and realise the importance of respecting our culture and appreciating what we have here. I do that through restoring this house. It just feels so right. No matter how many people think we are crazy. This is my avocation. This is my life project.

Japanese DIY materials #1 Shikkui Plaster

In restoring our house, we try to stick to the original look or method where we can. It often takes more time and money, but it was important to us. This allowed us to learn about many old tricks and how ecological traditional Japanese houses are.

"Modern" Shikkui applied on plaster boards. Made this area look much brighter — “Modern” Shikkui applied on plaster boards. Made this area look much brighter

When we ripped the ugly veneer panels from the 70s in our doma (compacted dirt floor, traditionally kitchen and/or entry point) area, many parts revealed water damages and white ant problems. We had to use modern materials like concrete or paster boards but finally got to a stage where we could beautify a little. This was fun. In stead of being covered by dust, clean or assist my husband with chores, I got to do some plaster work.

Ancient sandy wall was much harder to apply Shikkui on. Traditional Shikkui was used here — Ancient sandy wall was much harder to apply Shikkui on. It was dry and crumbly. Traditional Shikkui was used here

We went to a hardware shop called “Kohnan” and got two types of Shikkui for wall coating. The traditional Shikkui is lime plaster mainly made out of hydrated lime and calcium carbonate which is extracted from reprocessed eggshells, some with seaweed extract. Fully recyclable and decomposable. It’S effective against moisture, biggest enemy of traditional Japanese architecture. The other type of Shikkui is a newly modified product for DIY plaster novice and it contains some gluing agent and doesn’t dry as fast so it gives you a bit of margin for error. This type of Shikkui costs 5 times more than the traditional one.

I first tried the modern version of Shikkui and I choose the smoothest surface; plaster boards. This was suggested by our rendering master, Mr Ishida. I thought I was pretty good but I did’t realise how hard it really was until I used the traditional Shikkui on the traditional sandy walls. With this new product, you don’t need to add water, it’s already mixed and ready to use. With the traditional one, however, you need to mix it preferably a day in advance and if it’s not the right consistency, you will pay for it.

Gift from Mr Ishida. Having good tools does help... — Gift from Mr Ishida. Having good tools does help… Another tool proven handy is water spray for finishing touch.

After about half a day of practice, I think I got the hang of it. Still, nothing like my rendering masters work though. I could not go back to the new product, partly because I wanted to use the traditional material and largely because I could not afford to pay over $120 a bucket when I had the entire house to coat.

I only covered two areas of the house; doma and bathroom, after a week of plastering, applying about 26kgs of Shikkui. In the end I could not raise my arm but the result was very satisfying. The entrance/doma looks so much brighter now!

When you want to treat yourself…

With all that scrubbing and cleaning that we do in restoring our house, sometimes we need a treat. I’ve had an eye on this place for nearly 10 years since I read an article in the magazine, “100 Hot Spring Retreats in Japan”.

Carps - such loved creatures in Hiroshima — Carps – such loved creatures in Hiroshima

“Sekitei (Stone Residence)” was just over an hour from us and you could see Miyajima across the sea. If we didn’t have kids, we would have stayed over night but I like how these places often offer shorter stay packages like lunch at affordable prices.

We arrived there around 11am. We first looked around the garden and the library. So beautiful.

I wish we could have our old house looking like this. They recommended that we have bath first in our room and then have lunch which will also be served in our room. Then we move to the public baths outside.

Relaxing in our room in Yukata (casual summer kimono)

I was going to write details of our experience but might let the photos speak. It is not exactly cheap but for the food, architecture, landscapes, relaxation and hospitality, I would recommend highly. We left the retreat around 2.30pm feeling totally relaxed and inspired. My husband talked about booking again straightaway. If our restoration does not cost so much…

We could stay all day… Library / Lounge with lots of books and music

Hello, Original Features

Hello, high ceiling! Lighting has also transformed this area.

Like many traditional Japanese houses, this house went through some ugly cosmetic changes in the 70s. Walls and ceilings covered by cheap veneer panels. When an electrician came to check on outdated illigal wiring work and opened a small part of ceiling above the entrance, we could see the beautiful high ceiling with gorgeous old beams, all covered by ugly veneer.

My father, traumatised by his childhood memories of hearing snakes slithering above his head, quickly tried to dismiss our idea of opening up the ceiling. Besides, he said, it would be freezing in winter.

Ceiling covered with ugly veneer panels.

It is quite handy that my Australian husband and my Japanese father do not understand each other perfectly. My husband gently assured my father it would look 100 times better and started tearing the veneer off. He was covered with a century of dust and it took forever to clean the area (sadly my job) but the result was well worth the effort.

My Avocation

It’s been 6 years since my husband and I decided to restore our old family house in Hiroshima. It was our grandparents house, 250 years old at least. No one lived in it for nearly 30 years since my grandfather past away and it was just a matter of time before this poor old girl collapsed. We knew it was going to take loads of money and time to fix it. And there were loads of problems. To pick a few:

It is not mine. My brother, being the oldest male sibling, is expected to inherit.
Expect for me, no one in the family sees the value in fixing it.
Some of the damages of the house are just too far gone.
We live in Australia!

It wasn’t just my family. Even our neighbours in Hiroshima thought we were crazy. Some suggested we bulldose it and make a car park. What a horrifying idea…

I have lived away from Japan for decades to realise one of the great things about this country is its unique culture and history. This house has plenty of that and that alone is worth saving. I also have precious childhood memories of this house. I was raised and grew up in Tokyo but spent many summer holidays here in Hiroshima. This small town was known to have lots of “Kura“, traditional warehouse/storage. Sadly, they are disappearing. Why? Luck of appreciation, tradesmen are hard to find, cost too much to maintain.

My big thanks to my beloved husband who made me see the value of this historical architecture and the importance of passing it onto future generations, not to mention actually doing all the “dirty” work.

I am determined to restore this house, no matter what anyone says. This is probably my life time project. One day maybe we can turn it into accommodation or cafe or event space. Who knows. So watch this space.