Heritage buildings

I am not sure if it is sad news or happy news,
…but yes! we can definitely turn it into a 100%  happy news!

An old temple (called Josen-ji) located in Kameyama (Aichi prefecture) will be demolished in early 2023.
The building is said to be at least 150 years old (but judging from the photos I think even more)

The elegant noyane (double roof) slanted iri-moya roof (a mix between hip roof and gable roof) is finished with the “hongawara” roof tiles which means that there are 2 separate parts, one for the concave and one for the convex components.

The size of the hon-do (main hall) is about 11m x 11m + external corridor.

It seems unbelievable, but they are also going to demolish and dump the gorgeous gold plated altar and massive scuptured ranma panels (；ﾟДﾟ)！

See photos below. Also you can access the google drive below for more photos. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AEYzGB0nBRIv74tMXFIy2VUOA7bb_Nux?usp=sharing

or if it is easier, with google photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/q9kDS2pQ3GcqppxXA (same pics)

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I still haven`t been on site. It seems like there is still plenty of time (before january 2023) to evaluate the possibility of transferring the building to save it.
That said, the owner already has a quotation from a local demolition company (to just tear it down and clear the lot) and I am afraid that some penny-wise local interests may dictate the destiny of the precious building.

For this reason, (also considering past bitter experiences) I intend to proactively plan ahead a solution to carefully dismantle, transport and rebuild the temple in a location where it can be appreciated.

I would be grateful for any insight you may have.
Please do not contact me for picking up just some materials or spare parts: I am looking for a party who is willing to adopt the building in its entirety.

I asked a specialized company to visit the site and provide a quotation for the disassembling work and I will post here updates as soon as available.
It will be a rough evaluation, but I will also try to estimate how many containers are needed.

The idea is that for the rebuilding work, my carpenter can go on-site (also if overseas) to coordinate the reconstruction and instruct local craftsmen. In any case, the “foster family” needs to have clear ideas about how to finance the project, clear local building department filings, and supply the land and local construction company to handle the nitty-gritty of the project.

Or course, I remain available for any question or comment.

Best//

iacopo

google map location PIN is here:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.8046884,136.9171596,109m/data=!3m1!1e3

UPDATE 2022.march.28

Cost of demolition of the temple:
12 million Yen + 10% VAT
This quotation does not consider reusing of roof tiles.
I think reusing is better (also considering that for relocation out of Japan, it would be necessary to import roof tiles anyway) so the cost would increase (rough estimate = +2.5 million JPY)

Cost of rebuilding in Japan (as a reference):
scaffolding and temp. const. 500,000 JPY
foundations 2,500,000 JPY
timber frame (including new material 22,500,000 JPY
roof 15,000,000 JPY
plasterworks 3,000,000 JPY
paintworks 700,000 JPY
electricity and various 1,300,000 JPY

-> total 45,500,000 JPY + sales tax 10%
Of course, in the case of rebuilding overseas, the cost will need to be re-estimated.
We would be able to supply craftsmen to instruct local companies as needed.

Cost of transportation, import procedures, etc. to be determined.

Please let me know if you are interested so I can look into the feasibility of the project.

I received this SOS from a friend living in Hofu City, Yamaguchi prefecture.

Her 300 m2 traditional house with a beautiful roof and the refined interior are going to be demolished to make space for a new condominium.😢

I still have to obtain details. but it seems like the site must be cleared by the beginning of March 2022 so the dismantling work should start at the beginning of February.

Time is very tight and just to obtain a quotation (for the dismantling work) I will need to invest time and money to go on-site with a carpenter to evaluate the costs.

Anyway, If some of the “japan lovers” within the Bartok design community show interest in this option, I will teleport myself on site asap.

Please let me know.

Judging from the pictures, roof tiles are really stunning and very well preserved same as the tatami rooms with all the high quality details such as “ajiro” ceiling, hand blown glass, yukimi shoji, tokonoma details etc.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The kitchen area is quite spartan and the stainless steel sink are of course not original.
In case of a reconstruction, it would be nice to implement a “kamado” type of kitchen!

and maybe an “irori” to sit around the fire and during tea or maybe “atsukan” sake!

The bathroom also does not look very comfortable and the materials do not belong to the original plant.
Perfect space for a new hinoki bathtub + plenty of room for every other amenity you could wish for fitness or wellbeing.

The cost of the building itself is zero (free) for the art lover willing to help preserve the memory of glorious japanese residential architecture.

The cost for dismantling would be somewhere around 60-70,000 USD (ballpark value) and 30-40,000 USD for shipping (depends where). Cost of rebuilding depends on local conditions and how local craftsmen can be supportive. Of course we can supply carpenters that can coordinate reconstruction and train local workers.

I can obtain quotes but it takes time so I decided to start with the announcement.

google map location PIN is here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/2-ch%C5%8Dme-7-40+Ebisumachi,+Hofu,+Yamaguchi+747-0036/@34.0589881,131.5692087,47m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x354492f2fa675cd5:0x2dfb05a8341282ab!8m2!3d34.0590267!4d131.5692207

and 50 photos are here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1R_UH-lYbl3pLnFlL-jj7CKb_Ray1k7Os?usp=sharing

Please contact me asap if interested.

---

UPDATE 1/11:

Thank you everybody for your lovely emails!

I did receive a lot of feedback (23 emails) and kudos, out of which 3 people are making some practical considerations about this possibility.

Here are some replies to common questions:

1) There is no restriction to export the construction material of the house (artistic properties preservation etc.).
Actually, the toughest filing at the time of export is to prove that we are not sending industrial waste to some other country for landfill… but it is actually construction material (even if second hand…).
This gives you a hint of the consideration that is given to historical buildings in Japan…

2) It will be necessary to verify the building standards in the place of reconstruction because the building is timber frame and not fireproof.

3) The roof tiles are quite recent (maybe 30-40 years old) but are nicely hand made

4) I do not have a dimensioned drawing but you can scale the plan above considering that one tatami is roughly 6′ x 3′. Also as a reference, the present site (which does not have much of room for the garden) is about 43 x 21m. See below:

Update 1/25:

The story had an unexpected development.

A contractor from Fukuoka who had been in touch in the past with the owner, suddenly come back and offered to dismantle the house and rebuild it in Fukuoka prefecture.

This came out of the blue while a person from NZ that was introduced to me was considering it very seriously the project. My contact had experience with this type of project as already transferred minka from Gifu prefecture to Hawai years ago.

After all this effort and “crying wolf” and mobilizing people all over the world, I have to confess that this epilogue was quite irritating. And I know that Japanese companies tend to dump the roof tiles, ceiling materials, flooring, and tatami.

On the other hand, the schedule is really very tight and if my plan could not be deployed for some reason (financial, permits, timing etc.) the house would have been lost completely.

For this reason, re-thinking this story from a different angle, I think that the fact that the Hofu kominka is going to remain in existence is the most important point. How and where is kind of secondary.

Of course, it is ideal that those buildings stay in their environment (also considering in many cases they have beautiful retaining walls, gardens etc. that cannot be moved)

But if they have to be demolished or transferred, I think that moving them abroad – besides being a way to preserve and valorize them – would also have a greater impact on the public opinion and contribute to raising public awareness on the traditional buildings conservation issue.