蘇った縁側の居心地。

完成から1年近く経った濡れ縁。が、例のごとく記録しようしようと思い、今日に至る。コロナ禍で行動が制限されているこの機会に少しずつ記録を更新しよう、と思っていたのに。

去年(2019)あたりからやっと外見を改善するリノベに着手できるようになった。今まで何年も地味で目立たない構造的な問題に予算を注ぎこまざる得なかっただけに感無量だ。

濡れ縁ができた経緯はまず一昨年(2018)、近くでまたもや古民家が取り壊された悲しいお話から始まる。偶然通りかかった立派な茶室もある趣のある家で胸が痛んだ。ブルドーザーを止めて、救えるものはないか工事現場に入れてもらう。すでに無残に破壊済みのものばかりであったが、水屋まわりの茶道具や縁側のガラス戸4枚が目に留まった。が、ガラス戸は大きすぎて車に入らない。トラックを借りるか徒歩で持ち帰るか。とりあえず一枚背負って歩き出したが、めちゃくちゃ重い。5メートルも歩くと汗だくでうずくまってしまった。こんな時に限って夫は不在。偶然にも同じ通りにウチのリノベをよく手伝ってくれる柴田ハウジングがある。お願いすると、しばらく置かせてくれるというので(感謝!)、なんとかそこまで唸りながら運ぶ。多分ものすごい形相だったのだろう。途中、見も知らぬガテン系のお兄さんが手伝ってくれて救われた。

でも、この古いガラス戸たちがウチの味気ない昭和なアルミ製ドアとすぐに交換されなかったのには理由がある。もらったガラス戸は4枚、ウチの縁側の戸は5枚。つまり1枚足りなかったのだ。これをどう調達するか決められないでいるうちに何ヶ月も経過。そんなある日、まだ1枚足りない状況に変わりはないのに、インテリアバーで武装した夫がいきなり「バリバリバリッ!」とアルミサッシのドア枠を取り外し始める。えー!と抗議する間もなく縁側は全開。必要な1枚を作ってもらうなり、ヤフオクなどで近いサイズをゲットするなり、目処を立ててから壊して欲しかった。が、「思い立ったが吉日」な夫。ドロボーようこその全開の縁側に、救ってきたガラス戸を並べ、足りないところは適当にその辺のベニア板を打ち付け、しばらくそんな鍵もかからない状態で生活することに。こうなるともう前進するのみ。急いでいつものご近所の聾唖大工チーム『スーリール』にヒノキ戸枠を特注し、ガラスを取り付けてもらい不足分の1枚が完成したところで、残りの4枚と一緒に縁側に取り付けてもらった。

昔の写真通り、木枠のガラス戸がはめられた縁側。より温かみが増した。というと、スムーズに取り付けられた感じだが、実は取り寄せたレトロな鍵が合わなかったり、ガラス戸が若干枠に合わず滑りが悪かったり、と何かと細かい調整に時間を取らせてしまった。スーリールの皆さん、いつもありがとう。

次は、縁側をより楽しもう、とアウトドア好きなオージー(夫)は、濡れ縁作りに取りかかる。問題は百年以上はそこにあったであろう縁側の下の沓脱石(くつぬぎいし)の移動だ。仏間のひいおじいちゃんの遺影にも写っているデカイ石。重い。が、私が手伝えるわけでもなく、夫ひとりでショベルで地道に掘り起こし、少しずつ少しずつ用意したパイプの上に乗せて転がして、と移動に3日ほどかかった。そこからは、さすがプロ。木材を切ってデッキを作るようなことは楽勝なようで、本業の造園の仕事(日本からリモートで)の合間にちゃちゃっと完成。ただ、石の移動があまりにも大変だったからか、濡れ縁プロジェクトが完成してから、移動された石が濡れ縁の下に収まるまで、なんでここに、と舌打ちしたくなる場所に数ヶ月は放置された。

濡れ縁のおかげで、我が家では焼き芋やバーベキューをする機会が増えた。東京から遊びに来たこれまた屋外好きな父には特に好評。日当たりのいい濡れ縁に寝転がり、うたた寝をしたり、友人とお茶を飲んだり。子供達もランドセルを放置したり、おやつを食べたり、カード遊びをしたり、よく利用している。父にとっては生家が瀕死状態から救出され、キレイになっていくのだから、喜んでくれただろう。変わって寂しく感じることもあるだろうが、何より崩壊の心配がなくなり、解体せずに済んだのだから。郵便も届かず、草木で覆われ門も開かないお化け屋敷だったのが、再び明かりが灯る家に蘇ったことは、ご近所さんも喜んでくれた。「またきれいになったね」と、犬の散歩中に新しい濡れ縁を見て声をかけてくれる。そんな小さなことが大きな励みになるんだよね。

My husband’s favorite weapon the interior bar (at his foot).
Before installing the wet deck.
多分100年ぶりに掘り起こされた石は
縁側プロジェクトの一番の頭痛。
祖祖父の米寿の誕生日の写真にこの沓脱石が写っていた。
The stone my husband dug out is shown in this old picture
(my great-grandfather’s 88th birthday celebration, c. 1963)

“Engawa” make over – how our “Nure-en (wet deck)” was built

While I’m self-isolating for Covid-19, I thought I’d update my renovation journal but somehow time slipped away as usual. Anyway, we have done a lot last year (2019) but I hardly had time to keep record of our projects. That has to change.

One big change was the deck area. Deck inside the house is called “engawa” in Japanese and outdoor one is called “nure-en”, wet deck. I LOVE engawa. It’s my favaurite feature of traditional Japanese houses. But to talk about how we came to renovate this area, I have to go back a year when I stumbled across this old house that was being demolished by a bulldozer. Yet another house. My heart sank. A beautiful one too with a proper tea room which indicated an owner with some wealth and culture. I quickly stopped and asked the bulldozer operator if I could save a few things. The house was already quite damaged but through shuttered glasses and mountains of rubble, I managed to find a few treasures unscratched like vintage timber framed exterior glass doors and traditional tea ceremony goods. The problem was that the doors were too big for my car. The demolition guys needed me to remove them immediately. A freaky coincident is that the office of the builders that sometimes help us with our reno was on the same street. I asked them if they would store them for me while I think of ways to transport them. They obliged but now I have to move them to their office on my own somehow. My man was in Sydney which is typical when I need him. The doors were SO heavy, I only walked about 5m with one on my back and nearly collapsed in the middle of the street. I must have looked quite desperate and helpless grunting and groaning, a knight in shining armour appeared out of nowhere. He was a fit looking tradesman, how perfect. I was so thankful.

Once the stone was removed, it was like a breeze.

There is a reason it took ages afterwards before these doors were installed. We got four door but needed one more for our space. What do we do with the missing door? If we get it made, it would cost more and look new. If we try to find a similar sized vintage door in Yahoo Auction it might take time or cost to fit. My indecisiveness stopped this project from progressing further.

Months later, out of the blue my husband came armed with his favourite interior bar and started ripping the aluminum door frame of the engawa. “Oh, wait! We still don’t have the fifth door! What about plan first?” Before I could protest, that side of our house was wide open. Looking satisfied, he randomly placed the four doors along the engawa and covered the gap with some shabby veneer. That’s how we slept the next few months. No lock. Lucky we live in such a safe neighborhood. Now this was my cue to move this project forward. I called my speech-impaired team of wood workers “Sourire”, got a quote for a new timber frame glass door as well as installation of all the doors and locks. We also needed to replace sliding door timber tracks, both top and bottom. I wanted vintage Japanese brass locks so ordered them online. It took many little adjustments before the doors fit well and rolled on the tracks smoothly. The locks took a little bit of care too because of their mechanism but my trusty silent team did it again, the whole area looks more cosy and inviting now, very satisfying results.

This wasn’t the end of the engawa project for my husband. He wanted to maximise the use of this space by adding a deck to the other side of those doors. The outdoor engawa is called “nure-en”, a wet deck. I was initially worried about making our yard smaller but that was not a concern of my husband. I decided to leave it to the hard working professional outdoor space creator. The biggest hurdle was moving all by himself a huge stepping stone which must have sat there for a century. We can see it in a black and white photo hanging in the house, of my great-grandfather’s 88th birthday party.

Digging and moving the stone little by little by using pipes, it took him about three days, while he still had to attend to his work matters back in Sydney whenever necessary. Once the stone was clear out of his way, it took no time to install deck boards. The stone must have been such a nuisance for him, it stayed there in that most inconvenient spot in the middle of the yard for ages before it was moved again under the new deck.

The wet deck became a very popular spot for all the family members. We have BBQs there, teas and coffees with friends there, kids playing card games there after school. Perhaps the biggest fan of the deck is my father who comes to visit us occasionally from Tokyo. He loves having a nap there. It means a lot to me that he loves what we’ve done. This is the house he grew up in and he left it in such a devastating state until we took on the renovation task. Sometimes I find him reminiscing the old times and detect a hint of sadness. I think he must feel a tiny little sad his childhood house is changing. But at least it is not on the verge of collapse anymore and we stopped it from having to demolish the house. While ago I was assured by one of our tradesmen that the house is now secure for at least another 50 years. Our kids also love the house and it will be theirs in time. I hope my father finds comfort in that.

A lay of sunshine is hitting on the deck. It was a beautiful morning. Our neighbour is walking her dog “Love-chan” as usual. She stops in front of the house and notices the change. “Oh, you house is looking better and better, isn’t it. Great work!”. Small gestures like that encourage me to do better.

民泊、やっと再開。蔵宿【こひんどう】

(English post to follow)

ご予約はこちらからどうぞ!

家の修復もかなり苦労したけど、登録するまでの道も予想外の難航。保健所に届出が受け入れられ、さあ!と意気込むと、今度はAir BnBで一悶着。夫のアカウントでリスティングしていたが、オーストラリアの身分証明書と繋がっており、あちらはあちらでリスティングがあるため身分証明書を変更できず、私が新たに日本用のアカウントを作ることに。つ、疲れた。

でもオープンするや否や予約は入るし、思いもよらないところで、色々な人が進んで協力を申し出てくれた。かなり嬉しい。皆さん、本当にありがとう。

このサイトを偶然に読んでくださった危篤なアナタ(笑)、こちらが民泊のサイトです。

https://abnb.me/YYrmMHp4rR

今後も味のある体験をオファーし、伝統文化や知られざる広島・日本の魅力を発信することができるよう努力します。

微力ながら英語と日本語を通じて文化継承に貢献できるといいな。

 

Storehouse Accommodation “Cohindoe” open in Hiroshima.

A long and winding road, indeed.  But we did it.  Finally.  We can receive guests here at Cohindoe at last.  Come to think of it, it was almost 10 years ago in Kyoto when we first thought of doing this.  I can write about all our struggles to get here but let me just say I’m just relieved we are here now.   I would like to thank all those lovely people involved in making this place as it looks now.  It is still work in progress so watch this space!

Please click here for our Air BnB booking site.

If you are not that keen on making a reservation this way, you can just message us.

yuko@nakaohouse.com

I can confidently say that it is a very unique place.  We are very proud of it and would love to share this space with all interested.  I would like to believe that the house this close to the city or this old did not survive the A-bomb for nothing.  We can tell you about the history of this area, how people coped with the war and what this house went through.  It is still full of old tools here.

Have you watched the movie “In This Corner of the World”? If not, I highly recommend you watch it before visiting Hiroshima.  The girl Suzu reminds me of my grandmother who would have led a similar life.  My ancestors used to make Nori (seaweed sheets) here too, which Hiroshima boast the second oldest history in making it next to Tokyo.  It is one of the things I would suggest you buy to take home, by the way,  if you are into food like I am.

It’s past midnight.  I feel like I may not be making much sense as my eyelids are barely open.  Good night everyone, hope to see you here at “Cohindoe” one day.  Soon.

頑張れない日には。

久々のブログをこんなネガティブな気持ちで記すのは本望ではない。が、古民家再生における自分たちの記録だから正直に書くのも悪くないだろう。このプロジェクトを開始して一貫して言えることは、大変なのは、3m上から落下し負傷することでも、予期しないダメージに何百万円払う羽目になることでも、大工さんに「無理です」と断られることでも、ご近所から奇異な目で見られることでもない。家族に反対され、詰問され、理解がないために前進できない時だ。

意を決してシドニーから幼い子供達を連れて広島に移住して1年が経った。振り返れば色々なことを達成し、改善できた。漆喰を塗り、喘息気味だった子供達は剥がれ散る綿壁を吸いながら寝ることはなくなった。腐った板の間を張り替え、土間だった時より快適に冬を越すことができた(と言っても室温は−2℃になってたけど)。天井を開け梁を見せた空間にはシーリングファンを設置し、光熱費が軽減された。

It was so steep before, our chopsticks really rolled.

After weeks of cleaning up and polishing the floor, it’s now fit to sleep here!

数回

That’s right, the first plumber said we can’t do under the stairs. We did it after all.

の屋根工事を経て、瓦や外壁が通学路に落ちる危険を排除し、雨漏りの心配もなくなった。数カ所陥没していた畳下の床板も直し、トランポリン状態から脱した。蔵は徹底的に掃除・整理し、トイレを増設し、1階は快適なラウンジへ、2階は隠れ家的寝室へと生まれ変わった。

Roof top work is always costly.

台所の床の傾きを直し、食卓で転がる箸を抑えなくてよくなった。ドアの開け閉めもままならなかったキャビネットは檜で作り直し、衛生面と機能面が向上した。業務用のコンロとオーブン、レンジフッドを設置し、より大勢の人に快適に料理が振る舞えるようになった。布団を打ち直し、毛布を買い足し、真冬でも二家族くらいは泊まれるようになった。

 

かなりのコストと労力と時間をかけてここまで来た。まだまだだけど、でもやっとここまで来れた。これなら民泊も、と張り切って保健所や区役所や消防署に通い、コツコツと書類を揃えていくうちに大きな壁に出くわした。不動産の名義が父ではなく、何十年も前に他界している祖母のものだった。保健所で民泊を担当している若い男性が申し訳なさそうに呟いた。「法務局で名義変更しないと前に進めませんねー。これは、ちょっと時間かかるかもしれませんね。書類は全て取得した日付から3ヶ月間のみ有効ですから気をつけて下さい」。

 

遺産分割協議、相続、となると東京にいる両親や兄、親戚が絡んでくる。最終的な相続人は内孫である兄の長男のもの、と主張する母は特に、私たちが勝手に修復したりすることに当初から大反対だ。名義変更した後、どうする気なのか、と大問題になるに決まっている。何にするにも取り敢えず、早目に父の名義にするべきなのは常識(二世代も飛ぶと手続きがえらい複雑)なのに。父は「(司法書士を通さずに)お前がやってくれるなら」と、私が広島法務局と遺産分割協議書、相続関係説明図などを作成する間、印鑑証明、戸籍謄本、固定資産税評価証明書などを入手しておくことに合意。父は自分の生家だし、私たちに多少の感謝を感じてくれているのだろう、母や兄との確執を悪化させない範囲で協力してくれている。が、危惧した通りここで母の妨害が兄経由で入った。

 

今までも東京の家族から暖かく応援してもらっているプロジェクトではないことは重々承知の上だ。それでも先祖の歴史、家を残す、潰してはいけない、いつか負の遺産ではなく比類なき家宝とみんなが気づくはず、という信念のもとに何を言われても頑張ってきた。が、今日のように家族との電話の後、朝から大泣きすることもある。「もう限界だ」と感じる日もある。

 

そんな日は冷蔵庫に貼ってある言葉に目を向ける。私が共感したのは、皮肉にも民泊を世界的なビジネスに導いたAir BnBの共同創業者たちを支えたとされる言葉。見かけより小心者の私は特に、人の言葉に一喜一憂しがちだ。よく「雑音に惑わされるな」をじっと見つめる。ブレるな。大義を忘れるな。

 

そして、何も言わずに一緒に全財産を突っ込み、大きな賭けに出てくれた夫がハグしてくれた。それを見て、いつもは言うことを聞かない猿のような子供たちに「ファミリーハグ!」と囲まれた。次は、涙を拭いてひとりお花屋さん経由で先祖のお墓へ向かう。中尾家の誰も理解してくれなくても、先祖は見ていてくれたはず。喜んでくれているはず。お花を生け、お線香を点けて手を合わせると、私にはおじいちゃんとおばあちゃんの声が聞こえる。「よう頑張ったのう。ありがとう。仲良くやりんさい。」

 

ダメかもしれない。けど、もう少し頑張ってみる、か。

 

When Going Gets Tough

Admittedly I’m down. Not sure if I am in the right frame of mind to be writing a blog.  But this started as a record of our project, didn’t have any real audience in mind any way so I will write it.   Today after I hang up a phone call from my brother, I’m asking myself, can I keep going.  Can I take it anymore.  Is it worth it.

 

It is not when I fall from 3m high cleaning the beams and hurt myself, nor when I find out we need to bear the unbudgeted cost of fixing the roof.  Not when the builders tell me they can’t do it.   Nor when people look at us like we are crazy.  What makes it really tough is the fact that my own family (in Tokyo) do not support us and disapprove that we are fixing the house that is NOT going to be ours.  And when it counts, they quite often try to make it difficult and punish me.   I don’t ask them for any help or support usually.  This time I cannot go further without their involvement.  Because it is a legal matter and I feel like I’m up against a big wall.

 

It’s been a year since we made a big decision to move from Sydney to Hiroshima with the kids.  Looking back, we have achieved so much and the house has transformed dramatically.  With newly plastered “Shikkui”  walls, kids no longer get asthma attacks in sleep inhaling fluffs off the deteriorated cotton walls.  Our chopsticks now don’t roll off the table with the leveled kitchen floor.   The rotten floor boards under the tatami mats are now fixed so they no longer bounce like a trampoline.  Utility bills don’t skyrocket anymore or we don’t freeze or boil to death as the seasons change because we sealed the earthen floor with timber boards, filled every gap, put ceiling fans, got a powerful gas heater and two additional air conditioners.   Our local school kids are now safe walking along the storehouse as the roof tiles, gutter and walls are reinforced.  We are not known as a “haunted mansion” now.   We have done a massive clean up in the storehouse.   Vintage lounge furniture replaced centuries of accumulated rubbish, and a new toilet was installed.   Renewed futons and additional blankets mean we can accommodate another family comfortably even in the middle of winter.  Upstairs of the storehouse has turned into a secret hideaway.  The dirty old kitchen has been demolished and replaced with a functional custom made cabinet which smells beautifully of Japanese cypress.  We also installed a commercial gas stoves, oven and hood range so I can comfortably cook for more people.

 

We thought maybe we are ready for Air BnB.  Maybe we can finally use this house for business.  We need to recoup some of the money we spent after all.  I started frequenting local government offices making inquiries, filling in hundreds of applications, obtaining various legal documents as required.  After about a month into it, we found out that because the house is NOT legally my father’s but it is still in the name of our late grandmother, we cannot do anything with it.

 

After checking all my applications, the guy at the Public Health Centre said sympathetically, “You will need to sort this out at the Ministry of Justice, don’t you.   And this may take a while.  Be aware, all these documents are only valid for three months so if expired you will need to obtain them again…”

 

So now I have to trace back all my grandmother’s line and getting their signatures for renouncing their right of inheritance, recognising my father as the hair on top of all the other stuff I need to do to get there.  I also need to either pay for a lawyer or produce legal documents myself.  As if this wasn’t a hideous enough task.   I could not do this without involving my mother and my brother, who are now very defensive about why I am so keen to do this.   It is actually to my brother’s benefit that I do this now before anything happens to my father, which would complicate this legal process even more, but they don’t even know that.  They certainly weren’t showing any appreciation when I offered to help with this owner change.   All I hear is the usual, what is your intention with the house, it is not even yours.  Shouldn’t you be asking for OUR approval with anything you do?

 

Maybe so but they never cared about the house.  Ever.  Had my husband and I left it as it was seven years ago, it would have been collapsed long ago.

I hang up the phone with my brother who conveyed annoying messages from my mother and I sobbed.  They don’t spend a cent, don’t lift a finger to save this house and yet, they can complain, disapprove what we do, better still try to stop me.

 

Then came my husband’s hug. And the kids joined.  A family hug.

Words that supported Air BnB founders. My favorite: “Don’t listen to people who say it’s not possible”.

When going gets tough, I do two things; one is to look at the note I placed on the fridge.  Ironically, those were the words that got founders of Air BnB through hardships, apparently.  “Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like”.  “Launch as many times as you need”.  My favorite: “Don’t listen to the voices that say something’s not possible”.

 

The other thing I do is go and visit my ancestors’ grave.  I got some flowers and walked up the hill.   I know who are happy.  I know who approve.  I know who cheer for me.  I tell my grans what a struggle it has been and I feel I have been treated unfairly.  I hear them say with their warm unpretentious Hiroshima accents,  “We are so proud of you, well done.  We appreciate your effort so now stop crying” (OK, I am feeling quite sorry for myself I admit). But I also hear them say, “Don’t fight with others, Yuko.  You have to make peace”.

Our original Nakao grave is down the hill but after about 400 years it could not host any more members. So my great great grans built a new one.

So I get up again.    Maybe I can go a tiny bit further.  One more baby step… maybe.