Japanese DIY materials #2 Persimmon Tannin Dye “Kakishibu”

I have written a little about “kakishibu” in my previous blog Circa mid/late 19 centuries – our “new” door, but it deserves a dedicated blog post in my opinion so here it is.

History -It’s Ancient

“Kakishibu” is a traditional Japanese dye or paint made from unripe persimmons which have been fermented and aged for several years. Deep amber in colour, this natural material has many benefits and it is believed to have been around in Japan for 10,000 years. It was quite commonly used for its waterproofing, desiccating, antiseptic and strengthening effects. Applied to boats, fishing nets, umbrellas and raincoats as a waterproofing agent. It was an essential material to laminate paper used in stencil printing for kimono fabrics. It was also your insect deterrent, deodoriser, remedy for high blood pressure and ointment for burns. This unique and versatile material was quite a popular household item until chemical products took over after the second World War.

As a Building Material

My handy husband applying “kakishibu” paint.

“Kakishibu” is a source of the very image many of us associate Japanese traditional architecture with – that dark colour of timber. It has been an essential material for traditional buildings for centuries. Apparently every household had a pot under the house a few hundred years ago. We always keep a bottle or two around the house ourselves but I am sure people think we are quite eccentric. It can be applied on timbers such as walls, floors, beams and furniture to keep moisture out as well as to protect it from insects such as termites. I have never applied on anything else but apparently works on paper, concrete and stone as well. You can use a paint brush or a cloth. Just take a small amount, apply it, wipe the excess off with a cloth and leave to dry for an hour or so. Repeat this two or three times. It does have a strong smell (you thought natto was bad?) but that will go in a few weeks. Unlike modern paints, it is not mixed with drying medium so it is slow drying (I have brushed against our walls and stained my clothes so be careful). But if you are fixing an old house, I highly recommend this product. It gives such a beautiful natural vintage colour to your house and newly painted parts blend in quite well. Best of all, it’s natural and safe.

Natural and Safe – No VOC

I should have talked about this aspect first. Can’t get more natural than “Kakishibu” as far as a paint goes. If you have asthma or allergies and are concerned about indoor air pollutants or Sick Building Syndrome, “kakishibu” together with “shikkui” plaster is a winner. Sadly “Kakishibu” gave way to modern paints and almost disappeared from daily life of post war Japan but it is gaining popularity again as the world turn to more healthy and environmentally sustainable alternatives.

There were three places that are particularly famous for “kakishibu” production: Minoh (Gifu), Yamashiro (Kyoto) and Bingo (Hiroshima/Okayama). So chances are you can still find quality products from these places. Here is one boutique manufacturer in Hiroshima who are doing a great job of resurrecting their highly praised craft. Takanjo – Bigo Onomichi

If you want a faster drying “kakishibu” paint that’s free from toxic substances, “RJ” in Hiroshima has a paint called “Benkei Nagomi” which come in two different shades of vintage dark brown. One of our builders told me about this and we love their stuff. Check out their other products as well, they have great natural waxes or penetrating sealers for unvarnished timber etc. These are safe and perfect for use in traditional Japanese houses.

Unlikely Patrons – Pirates and Ninja

The Seto Inland Sea, known for its beautiful *archipelagos*.

So this is a silly little postscript. It was good to write this blog as I learnt a lot.

Did you know there were pirates in Hiroshima, one tribe in particular called the Murakami Pirates? They were more like an unofficial navy or “samurais” of the sea, rather than terrorists and thieves as the name might suggest. Around the 15th and 16th century, the pirates controlled waterways around the Seto Inland Sea which was a crucial maritime trade route. Feared, respected and influential, they even built a castle on one of the islands entrusted with “policing ” duty by the ruling Shogun of the time, Mohri. It might sound like a synopsis of the next hit drama on Netflix but it is true. “Kakishibu” is said to have been the Pirates’ must have item. They would have used it on sailcloths, bottom of the ships and fishing nets etc. Given the geography, I would imagine Bigo “kakishibu” must have been a popular commodity for those who work around the sea much more so than that of other cities.

Kouka Ninja – One of the two major clans of ninja (Shiga Pref.)

The other unlikely association to “Kakishibu” is Ninja. People often assume they wore black but it’s actually not the best colour to hide in the dark. In those days, dying fabric in black would have cost a lot more, hence it was not the most worn colour by the ordinary civilians – and this, blending in with the crowd, is in fact one of the guidelines of ninja, according to an old ninja handbook “Shohninki (c 1681)”. “Kakishibu” dyed fabrics could have darkened in time, but black outfit could not have been so typical. There might have been some regional differences but dark brown such as “kakishibu” dye or dark blue such as indigo dye would have been more realistic, given they were supposed to be peasants, merchants, buskers or mountain priests. They certainly weren’t your muscly James Bond in a tux. Don’t quote me on any of the above though, it is just my opinions and observations based on my own research.

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).

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.

ジーンときた話。

* English to follow Japanese

最近忙しいからか（完全な言い訳）、ブログ更新の頻度が激減。ダメだ。初志貫徹せねば。写真やブログで記録を残さないとすぐ忘れるし。

色々苦労もあった。民泊もじわじわ軌道に乗ってきた。好意的なレヴューのお陰でいい感じに予約が入ってくるようになった。ウチはチビ達がいるので、常に予約がいっぱいじゃなくていい。いつもいつも「静かにして」「片付けて」と子供達に言うのもフェアじゃないし。やっぱり生活の場だから。

やはり外国人が多い。特にヨーロッパから。古民家に興味を持ってくれる。お茶や着物も本物に興味を示す。周辺のレストランやアトラクションに送り込むと英語が通じなくても満足げに帰ってくる。自分たちだけが外国人なのを、密かに楽しんでいる感じ。

先日お迎えした独新聞記者のF氏。東ドイツ出身だ。私たちがどういう経緯でこの古民家を修復してきたか。伝統、歴史、家族、そんな話で盛り上がった後、F氏は似たようなテーマの独作家のある本について教えてれた。「いつか読んでみるといいよ。」

そう言うのだから英訳があるのだろう、すぐ読んでみたい。と思ったが、読みかけの分厚い本（それも長編シリーズ）があり、これを読み終えたら探してみよう、とその本を心に留めた。連日ウチの自転車で晴天の広島を走り回るF氏、紅葉の美しい季節をすっかり満喫したようだ。彼もまた素晴らしいレヴューを残してくれた。

数週間後、郵便ポストに何やらドイツ語が書かれた小包を見つけ手に取った。本だ！宛名を見なくても誰だか分かった。ジーン（涙）。

同封のカードには、「広島の写真を見ながら楽しかった時を思い出している。どうもありがとう」と。返信用の住所は書いていない。その粋な終わり方が、ふと私の大好きな東ドイツの映画を連想させた。

『善き人のためのソナタ』（独題: Das Leben der Anderen, 英題: The Lives of Others）

とにかく毎日一生懸命頑張っていけばいいんだ。とっても素敵なご褒美をいただきました。

I am doing OK, perhaps.

Too busy is my excuse. I am not documenting what we do often enough. Need to keep up otherwise I’ll forget.

A memorable thing happened a few days ago. I received an international parcel and as soon as I picked it up, I knew who and what it was.

We have been running this guest house for a while now. Over time we received great reviews and I am sure that has a lot to do with constant bookings of late.

We tend to have more European guests than others. People who stay here seem to show great interests in true and authentic traditions and culture, rather than something just seemingly Japanese. Our guests seem to love how they are not in the middle of a touristy place, and how they find themselves amongst locals who are pleasantly surprised to see them in this rather quiet residential area.

Mr. F was from Germany who stayed with us a few weeks ago. He asked me about this house and we ended up talking about community, traditions, family, history and so on. Mr. F told me about this book on an old house written by a German author which covers those topics and that he thought I’d enjoy it.

I was immediately interested and took a mental note. When I finish the book I am currently reading (rather thick, it is actually a series), I’ll find the book, must be in English, I thought.

For the next few days Mr. F went everywhere on one of our bikes, enjoying the beautiful autumn weather and landscapes of Hiroshima. He also left us a top review.

Then I received this parcel in the post a few days ago. I was so touched. A card was enclosed but there was no return address. He probably didn’t want me to worry about thanking him. Nice touch. Somehow reminded me of the great ending of the film “The Lives of Others”. It happens to be about East Germany, one of my favourite.

Sometimes it’s hard going. Too often I doubt myself. But times like this I get to tell myself, “Maybe I am doing OK. Just keep grinding and it’ll be OK”. What a gift.

ああ、まるでホラー映画。

(English followed by Japanese)

このところ、ちょっとブログが滞っていた。でも決して記録することがなかったのではない。今年も振り返ると少しずつだけどいろいろと改善された。

最近、広島は豪雨災害が絶えない。ウチも浸水した。黄金山にどんどん家が立ち並び、周辺の住居環境が変化したからか、山からの水の流れが変わった。そして母屋では水の被害があちこちで顕著になった。

居間の畳がトランポリンのように感じる箇所があることには、しばらく気がついていた。先日とうとう、恐る恐る畳を開けてみると、床下はすごいことになっていた。

顔を両手で覆いながらも、指の隙間から見てしまう、まるでホラー映画を見ているかのよう。どうやら祖父母が床下に作った「芋がま」にヒビが入り、水が溜まるようになってしまったらしい。冬の食料を貯めておく芋がまは、この辺りの古い家にはお馴染みの存在だとご近所に聞いた。いったい誰がこの汚水を処理するのか。

Tatami mats are not nailed but sit tightly on timber structure like this.

いろいろな対策を検討した結果、夫と業者さんとで水を出し、土を入れて水がたまらない高さにする。道路からの浸水ルートにも土を盛って高くして、母屋の床下に水がなるべく流れないように、その後、腐った木材を取り替える、ということになった。言うと簡単だが、かなりイヤな作業だったことは間違いない。関係者に本当に感謝。お陰でかなり気持ち良くなった。古民家に水は大敵。

My Husband L working on the base of the floor

It’s been a while since I last updated my blog. This doesn’t mean not much happened with the house. I’ll start with the most horrifying looking problem of the year.

For some time I was aware that our tatami mats bounced like a trampoline in one of our living rooms. Been just too scared to lift the mats and face yet another problems of the house.

I was mainly worried about kids running through the room. We sighed in despair. Just when we thought we could finally start beautification of the house rather than spending more money on structural issues, we thought. When we lifted the tatami mats, it was BAD.

There was so much rain water trapped in what is called “Poteto Storage”, built under the house by my grand parents back in the day when it was a good idea to keep food for winter. This under floor storage was apparently a common feature around this area.

It was like watching a horror movie. Covering eyes with hands and peeping through fingers. The damage was BAD.

Unlike many might think, tatami mats are not nailed securely on to the timbers underneath. So you really want to make sure it is good and solid under there.

We got some help from our local builders. We told them we need to do what we can do ourselves to save cost. It was really good of them to agree to this, they even gave us guidance and just took up the jobs that we couldn’t do ourselves. After contemplating different options, we decided that filling more soil into the old potato storage hole and stopping rain water from accumulating was the most effective way. This was easier said than done. Who wants to go in there and scoop out that filthy water? Hats off to my husband and the builders.

The garden ground also had a slight slope leading a lot of rain water into under the house rather than to the ditch where it was supposed to go so my husband laid out more soil on the garden, creating a gentle slope to lead water towards outside.

Water is really the biggest enemy when it comes to a traditional timber house like ours. Thanks to our team, the problem was solved in the end and the living room feels like a much healthier space to be in now.

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。

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.

明治大正からやってきた新入りさん。

やっと古民家らしくなってきた。やっぱり木材はいいな。 — 古材屋さんから古い蔵戸を購入し、玄関用に鍵などをはめ込んだ。やっぱり木材は温かい。

Bought from an online antique shop, circa mid 1800

(English blog to follow)

この家にはチグハグしたところが多々ある。四代の家主を経て、時代時代の改装を積み重ね、明治、大正、昭和の建築様式やトレンドが散りばめられている。

修復するにあたり、①なるべくオリジナルに戻す。②必要または許せる範囲の近代化は認める。③予算、材料の無駄を意識する。そんなゆるーいルールを頭に進めてきた。

patterned-glass-doors — 昭和の香りプンプンの笹柄ガラス戸。すでにレトロ価値ありという大工さんのアドバイスを尊重し残すことに。

これも昭和の香り濃厚だけど、醜すぎでキープならず。 — 以前のアルミドア、昭和の香り濃厚。しかし、あまりにも醜すぎてキープならず。

昭和の模様入りガラスがはめ込まれた建具は、今や希少価値、という大工さんのアドバイスもあり、まだまだ使えるしオリジナルでなくても残すことに。でも家の顔に当たる玄関のアルミ戸は見るに耐え難かった。今までは家を崩さないことを優先しなければならず、戸の付け替えは後回しになったが、今回思い切って明治大正時代の蔵戸をヤフオクで購入（崩壊の危機を脱した証？）、鍵やガラスをはめ込み玄関戸として使えるように改造することにした。

結果、長い間指に刺さっていた棘を抜いたくらいスッキリした。

自転車通勤、８６歳の大工さん

工事を受けてくれたのは近所の『スーリール』というNPO（聴覚障害者団体）。ひょんなことから彼らの存在を知り、腕のいい聾唖の大工さんがいることが分かり、一年近く気になっていた。なんと大工のボスは８６歳。それも毎日、自転車で片道４０分通勤しているという。手話通訳兼営業を担当するアルゼンチン人のダブル（ハーフ）大内氏に相談するとすぐ来てくれて話はまとまった。

mr-ohuchi-in-action — 手話で会話する大内氏。日本家屋に対する思い入れにも共感できる。頼もしい助っ人だ。

玄関周りにはドアの他にも気になる箇所がたくさんあった。柱の痛み。朽ちた板床をはがした後にさらけ出された土間。母屋の床下の風通しの悪さ…。

そんな頼んでいないところも気にかけてくれて適切なアドバイスに感動した。夫がやるつもりだった土間の板張りも、驚くほど良心的な見積もりに後押しされ、結局、お願いすることに。

板の間　VS　土間

Before shot – Original Earthen Floor 土間にしておきたかった気持ちもあるけど…新リビングスペースの可能性に期待。

土間はオリジナルだし、板の間にするか、かなり迷った。でも最近は家族や友達が頻繁に泊まりに来るようになったし、板の間にしてリビングスペースを広げられるメリットは大きい。そして無償で荒れ果てた中尾家の空家を修復する夫は、畳に長く座っていられない（オーストラリア人だからね、胡座さえかけない）。そんな彼のためにもソファなどが置ける板張りスペースを設けることにした。

できたてのフロアは、夫が広島の会社が出しているベンガラ塗料を塗って、きれいに仕上がりました。

『健常』とは。

しかし真夏の作業は大変だ。大工の皆さん、本当にご苦労さまでした（それもほとんどが７０歳以上）。

手話のできない私でも意思の疎通に問題がないどころか、ものすごくスムーズだった。仲介者である大内さんの人柄と努力も大きい（日本の建築文化を分かりやすく説明する頼もしさ。ウチの息子たちもこんな青年になってくれるといいな）。黙々と仕事にかかる大工さんたちに頭が下がった。私は８０になっても社会に貢献できるのか、到底自信がない。どちらが『健常』か。深い感銘を受けた出会いでもあった。

Circa mid/late 19 centuries – our “new” door

This old house features various styles and architectural trends through past 200 years. While some are fascinating and valuable, others are simply ugly and do not decorate the house in any positive way.

We have a few loose rules that we keep in mind when renovating this house;

1. Keep the original features where we can

2. Due to necessity or convenience, modernisation is allowed to a certain extent

3. To be budget conscious and minimise material waste

One of the things we kept that was not original was sliding doors with patterned glass panels. It feels very 70s but according to one of our builders apparently we cannot reproduce them so we took his advise to keep them. Besides, while they do not look the best, they are close to a century old which is old enough.

One thing we have been dying to replace, however, was the ugly aluminum entrance door. But our priority has been to NOT let the house collapse. So up to now beautification gave way to structural enhancement. In our 6th year of renovation, I think we can finally put more money and time in making the house look beautiful.

Sorry Grandpa but that door just had to go... — Sorry Grandpa but that door just had to go…

So buying this “new” door made me feel like we have come a long way. Very satisfying.

It’s an old storehouse (kura) door circa mid 1800. It was designed for indoor use so we needed to make a few modifications such as putting glass panels behind the grid and incorporating a few locks.

87 years old builder who rides push bike to work

We found this group of NPO builders near us and it was totally a coincidence.

The builders were lead by 87 years old boss, Mr. Nakagawa, and his apprentices were in their 7os. All with hearing difficulties. Mr Ohuchi is the only person who can hear and speak, and he manages the organisation as well as serves as a sign interpreter. Mr. Ohuchi also has sound Japanese building knowledge and thanks to him we had no communication problems.

Our excellent team of builders. Despite their hearing difficulties, no communication problems.

In fact they were all so nice to deal with, their quote was more than reasonable, I was so happy to make the decision of asking them to help with our house.

Earthen Floor vs Timber Floor

While we were changing the door, we looked at the earthen floor of the entrance area. It was a timber floor when I was a little girl. My grandma often had a nap there in summer as that was the coolest spot in the house. When we returned to this house 6 years ago after nearly 30 years, the floor boards were so damaged we had to rip them and the original earthen floor was revealed. I had never seen it like that before and a part of me really wanted to keep it that way. But putting shoes on every time we wanted to go from bathroom to bedroom was nuisance.

My husband smashing the concrete tiles to reveal the original earthen floor. — My husband smashing the concrete and tiles to reveal the original earthen floor.

Besides, having a timber floor there again meant gaining an extra living space which was too good an idea to dismiss. I also wanted a space where we could put a sofa so my poor hardworking husband can sit and relax. He is Australian and it i

s not so comfortable for him to be sitting on the floor all the time…

It took 5 days and our builders have done a beautiful job on the floor.

We painted the timber with this special brown paint (made locally) which is designed to give the ancient persimmon brown colour. The entrance area has really transformed.

Inspiring People

This bit of renovation was really memorable for me. It was so cool to see Mr. Ohuchi communicate with his team of builders in sign language.

Meeting these polite, energetic and skilled people with hearing difficulties really inspired me. Would I be able to contribute to society like they do when I am 80? Who will be disabled then? I am so in awe of them.

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.