Blog

Update about the project of transferring the temple:

This makes me think that there is a great potential in acting as a bridge between the “shining new building addict” Japanese and the community of the japan-lovers worldwide.
It looks like a win-win situation.

There are hundreds of kura (storage house), kaoku (house) , minka (country house) and even theatre stages, ryokans, bathhouses that are being wiped away everyday.
If there is anything I can do to match the right building with the right owner, I will do it!

Here below is some of the feedback I received:

Dear Iacopo,

Not a crazy idea at all!! I think it’s a great idea. Please can you let me know dismantling and shipping charges to UK and I have a storage place here.
Also I want to use the tub now so can this also be shipped Asap!
I am going to use much more Japanese things in our projects in the UK and Europe.
Best Wishes

Hi Iacopo,

I must say you sure have a way to attract my interest !!
Well, as I might have told you I live in a house with approximately 11,000 square meters of land around it and therefore plenty of room, I think, for the temple.
Also, Cairns has a permanent population of about 3,500 Japanese who, I would think, they would be entusiastic to knwo that there is an progonal temple in their city.
Could you please tell me more Iacopo? Any idea how much it will cost to dismantle it and the sort of volume/weight of material it will generate to transport it to Australia. If I have that kind of information I will be able to start getting some quotes and some idea of the cost of transporting it to Cairns.
Further, I guess I will need to know how to reassemble it once here.
Depending on the expense involved I might try to engage the local Japanese community to ee whether they are able contribute to the project somehow.
I am really quite excited about this idea!
By the way, Iacopo, my invitation to you and your family to visit Cairns is still open ended! If Zeno wants to come to Cairns to study some English at my school he is always most welcome!
Cheers

Hello from France,
Your message as just reached us and we care about your project…as you said “teleporting” would have a smell of unthinkable ! We could dare…

Do you have floor plans and other pictures of the inside of the Temple house ?
We could be interested to find a new location in the other country of the biggest European Natural forest and Ocean coast near Bordeaux and Biarritz in France ( South West ).
We are looking forward to understand what is the inside shape and craftsmanship pieces with other pictures ?Do you have technical pre study about the process of transplantation with an architect ? Any idea about the cost involved ?
Let’s talk about it ?
Have a nice day.
With our best regards.
Cordiales salutations.

I wish we had the space!
It makes our hearts sing for Japan…
Thanks for showing me

Hello and thank you for your message regarding the temple. I own a large land in ***** in the north of France. I would love to make a special place for people to come and create/compose/write/meditate… Can you send me more details? Idea of costs? There is just 20km from my place one of the largest ports in France, Le Havre…. container ships arriving everyday from all over the world. I look forward to hearing from you
warm regards

Dear Iacopo,
Have you had any responses yet?
I have been wondering about some of my colleagues who may have large amounts of land attached to their properties out of London.
Also, I will forward to my contacts in the Oriental Studies Department at Oxford University- maybe the university would be interested.
I believe we could make this happen.
Kind regards,

Torrini, Wow. We should have just gotten the temple and not built the house. I’m not sure how our neighbors would take to it though.
We will be getting back to you on our Japanese room shortly. Thanks.

Hello
I am very interested. Can you tell me what is the cost and what are the dimensions?
I live in Arizona USA and I have just the perfect place
Thanks

Great iacopo,
We are looking forward to this project. I am sure we can make this happen.
We have the right people and space to rebuild and keep the temple in honor.
Thank you again and hope to talk to you later.
Warm regards,

Then, there are many courtesy messages and many people interested in the artifacts and parts of the building.
I think I will give priority to the projects which would reconstruct the building in its integrity.

There is even a friend asking the cost of the land with the temple on it.
Is he planning to move to japan? I will check with him in private…

Anyway, keep tuned. I will post here additional information and updates.
Sayonara!

Bring home a japanese temple!

I have to admit, I LOVE that we live in a day and age where we can think of the unthinkable.
Have you ever considered teleporting a japanese temple in your backyard and using it to surprise your friends invited for a genuine tea ceremony?

It sounds crazy? Actually it is.
But you can, and it is free.
Feel free to read here below for more details.

A japanese temple looking for a caring home.

I was having a coffee with a real estate company I am working with and heard that this temple , located in Osaka is going to be destroyed in february 2016.
The buddhist priest does not have heirs or apprentices and could convince the community that there is no future for the temple.
Since his family is owning the land, he is going to tear the building down, sell the land and use the proceeds for his retirement.

This is the external gate. The temple was rebuild after the WWII so it is not ancient but as every temple in japan uses premium handcrafted material.
The fact that it is relatively recent also means that the construction materials are still in very good conditions.
If we cannot save this site, how about rebuilding the temple somewhere else?

Alternatively, I also think it would make sense to reuse the material for other scopes. There are many statues in pristine conditions.
“hongawara type” roof shingles, doors, shelves, “ranma” carvings, tatami mats, shoji screens, framing material etc.
Japanese timber frame buildings can be dismantled and reassembled without major disruption.

I think we should give the good example and show to the japanese how much the traditional culture and historic heritage are precious.

What do you think? Do you need the temple? It is free!
Of course there will be costs involved in dismantling the materials and shipping them in a container.
But I think that it can be a unique chance to enter in possession of a precious artifact.
I am sharing this information just in case it may match you or your aquaintances schedule and plans.

My hope is that the action of a foreigner “adopting an historical building” may trigger a shift towards a different set of mind in Japan.
Please let me know if you want more information. We have to act quickly as the demolition date has already been set (february 2016).

Contact me at japan@bartokdesign.com for any question.

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!

iacopo

UPDATE 10/20

We had an overwhelming feedback!
Thanks everybody for the prompt and kind reply.
I will get in touch with the real estate company and get more information.
I am planning to get back to you before the end of october.

All the Best//

HINOKI TUB FOR JAPANESE SPEAKER

When we receved an email from Australia in spotless japanese we were so surprised!
The mistery was cleared as we were told he studied and worked in Tokyo for a few years in his youth.

I imagine that the aroma of hinoki must bring back powerful memories and dejavues!

The client even come to visit our workshop,then after about one year he finalized the details of the order with a tight correspondance in japanese.
(My carpenter was galvanized at the fact he could answer back easily without translation so I think he indulged in corresponding even more than strictly necessary…)

Here below are the specs of the tub:

material: natural Japanese Knotless Hinoki bathtub (quartersawn)
Sizes: L1100mm x W700mm x H761mm (ext. dim.) 661mm (deep)
Note: wooden dowels, coppper apron, iron brand at short side, top left
accessories:
– Hinoki wood lid (2 pcs)
– Hinoki wood traditional stool
– Asnaro wood floor mounted spout type E
– Complimentary hygrometer

SMALL TUB FOR SHOWER

Model/material: japanese Knotless Sawara cypress wood bathtub
Sizes: L850mm x W630mm x 740mm (630mm deep)
Note: stainless steel wire bands. Iron brand at front top-right

outlet round tub – sold out!

sorry, sold out!

This gorgeous barrel type tub was ordered by an architecture office.
Apparently the project was modified and they will have to reorder another tub with different dimensions.
For this reason, the client asked me to place the tub in the outlet corner at a discounted price. The tub is brand new, unused and ready for shipment!

The price is 450,000 JPY including the plywood box used for the freight.
Shipment cost is excluded and depends on the location.
Indicatively, air shipment to europe will be around 160,000 JPY.

But let`s go back to this very stilish yet primitive and powerful barrel type tub.
Here are the specs:
material: japanese Knotless hinoki wood round shape bathtub
sizes: diam 900mm x H740mm (int. depth 630mm)
details: stainless steel band. Iron brand at front center

The iron brand will be applied before shipment as the combined effect of the “burn” of the iron brand and the concentrated hinoki aromatic atmosphere inside the cellophane wrap may cause the wood around the brand to blur.

Custom kado-maru for Singapore

An architect from Singapore contacted us for this project.
It is a nice kado-maru model with custom sizes and internal seat.

The order process was very smooth. For the shipping, we proposed to use DHL as the new services price-list is very competitive and allows us to use a cardboard for the packaging, thus saving additionally on the shipping costs altogether.

The main note about this tub is that the client absolutely wanted it in hinoki wood, although usually we employ sawara for this type of barrel construction models.
Sawara is easier to work in curved elements and the bands make a better grip into the softer wood, but … we will make that extra step if we can satisfy the client`s wishes!

Here are the specs:
Model/material: Japanese Knotless Hinoki “Oke” bathtub
Sizes: L1100mm x W630mm x 740mm (620mm deep)
Options: Hinoki wood internal seat W400mm
Accessories: Hinoki wood step stool W400mm x D320mm x H300mm

Knotty tub for Germany

I have been contacted in 2014 for the tub for a new construction house.
The client is an architect who is building her own house and as a professional she had a perfect understanding of the material, site preparation (gradients, waterproofing) and details.

She choose the oil finish for the apron and was concerned that the difference of color may not look good, so she considered having the front face of the tub treated with natural oil as well. It is a very good insight, but finally we went on with our standard detail for two reasons:

1) if we were to apply the oil on the front side, to keep the system balanced and prevent internal stresses/distorions, we would have to treat the 4 sides.
This should be relatively safe, but to be honest, we never did until now and would prefer to apply the oil only on the cross section of the bottom plank.

2) The bottom plank cross section looks of a darker color when treated with oil. But this is mainly an effect due to the camera lenses. It is not so evident in reality

The tub uses beautiful knotty planks with their natural pattern.
Here are the specs:
Material: Japanese Hinoki wood K grade (knotty)
Sizes: L1300mm x W750mm x 660mm (550mm deep)
Features: Natural oil finish, Wooden dowels, Iron brand at front top-right

8 tubs on the roof

Well, there are some moments in life that make you feel proud.
I could not contain my emotions when I saw the pictures of the tubs on the roof top overlooking the ocean…

The carpenters went on site to verify that the tubs were installed properly and that the maintenance instructions were implemented correctly.
Too bad I could not make it… but I will definitely go when the project is 100% completed to enjoy the view … and the hot water!

Each tub is comfortable for 6 people.
Material: japanese knotless sawara wood.
Size: Dia 2000mm x H730mm (600mm deep)
Option: internal seat

Each tub is equipped with a step-bench in asnaro wood W600 D320 H300mm
and a floor mounted Spout in asnaro wood (E type)

stress relieving tub for Minneapolis

This minimal tub is dedicated to a very kind client and her family of Japan lovers.
Apparently, she and her husband have stressful jobs and commute for more than 2 hours everyday.
They recently made a trip to Japan: “We felt physically, mentally and emotionally so much better after soaking every day while in Japan.
We very much want to improve our lives by doing this at home – to be surrounded by your natural and beautiful wood and aroma.”

The tub specs are as follows:
internal dimensions: Dia 767 x Depth 630mm
external dimensions: Dia817 x H740mm

As per the client`s request, here are some photos of the tub being constructed with passion and dedication.
The individual planks are cut and planed. Then, they are assembled in an approximate shape, pulled together and finished to create a perfect barrel.

A craftsman used to build rectangular tubs would not succeed in creating a round one: you need maybe less precision but more sense of balance.
Actually he keeps saying: do not trust the measure tape, trust your feelings!

Sushi counter for HK

Well, it looks like the edge of a huge bathtub but it is actually a sushi counter!
The wooden blocks of laminated hinoki wood are covered by a 7mm layer of solid quarter sawn thick veneer so it looks like solid lumber without the cracking and deformation problems that solid wood would have.
Besides, a trunk of such a dimension that can show straight grain on 2 sides probably exists only within the walls of the famous Ise Jingu Shrine…

Very close to the hinoki trees of Ise Jingu, we were very lucky to find a quarter sawn lumber more than 7 meters long. This way we could make the full length with the same plank: it means that the wood veins run seamlessly from one end to the other.

For the shipping and assembly we split the counter in sections.
After joining together the blocks, the counter will be treated with kihada ichiban, a full penetration water repellent. This product is based on the nano technology and (for reference imagine the Goretex fiber used for trekking and outdoors wear) prevents the large H2O molecules to penetrate inside while letting out the aroma and lets the wood breathe.