The First Minka House by Dr Bill Thomas

Table Of Content

• Nageiredo: Most peculiar traditional Japanese architecture
• Campaign to erect new city on Solano County ranchland submits signatures for November ballot
• NEW! Minka interior gallery
• Home of the Week: A 19th-Century Brooklyn Townhouse That’s Updated for the 21st Century
• Aside from tatami mats, what else can you find in a traditional Japanese home?

It is adjustable so that the pot or kettle can be raised or lowered, depending on the level of heat required. This is where a servant might sit, or where bundles of firewood might be placed. The oza is the seating space allocated to a guest, next to the hearth and to the right of the head of the household, who would be seated in the yokoza position (5). The tsuke-shōin is a bench often found under a window near the tokonoma. Also sometimes called an idashifu-tsukue, the tsuke-shōin once served as a study or library space.

Nageiredo: Most peculiar traditional Japanese architecture

The deeply sloped style of traditional Japanese roof is very suited to this mountainous region of Niigata which receives some of the heaviest snowfall of the prefecture. Simple white calls accentuate the earthy textures of the beams and reeds on the ceiling. While simplicity and understatement are the hallmarks of Kyoto style, interiors in Osaka often bustle with exuberance and spontaneity. This traditional Japanese house was built in an upscale residential area of Osaka over 70 years ago by the grandfather of the current owner, Teizo Sato. The square entrance to the tearoom, called nijiri guchi, is made very small, just 60 centimeters (about 2 feet) high in this case. The reason was to make the guests enter the tearoom on their hands and knees to make them leave their swords and egos behind.

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They are generally constructed of heavy and often uneven timbers, bamboos, thatched roof and mud walls. In spite of their charm, minka are often dark and cold, lack modern conveniences, and are very expensive to re-thatch and maintain. For these reasons, the number of these houses had been dwindling till quite recently. Karl Bengs, a German architect, has, over the past 20 years helped to save and restore several traditional Japanese buildings, including this 180-year-old farmhouse in Matsudai, Niigata, which is now his home. Think of a traditional Japanese house and what elements come to mind?

NEW! Minka interior gallery

In the times of traditional Japanese houses, there was no air conditioning or heaters, summers were hot and humid while the winter months were cold and dry. During the summertime, houses were susceptible to the build-up of toxic mold so raised floors and open spaces ensured proper ventilation. The walls of traditional houses were rather thin to withstand frequent earthquakes so it would get very cold in the winter, resulting in the need for 囲炉裏 Irori “Hearth”, 火鉢 Hibachi “Fire bowl”, and 炬燵 Kotatsu.

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The Japan Minka Reuse & Recycle Assn. educates the public on minka preservation and finds owners for unwanted farmhouses through its “minka bank” listings. The minka it lists are offered free, but moving and restoring one in Japan run about $350,000, roughly the cost of building a new wooden home, said Toru Kanai, director general. Instead, he presented it as a gift to Stanley, whom he met through the Assn. for Preserving Old Japanese Farmhouses. Takishita, its president, had saved his first minka in 1965, when dam construction was about to flood a village near his hometown of Shirotori in mountainous Gifu prefecture.

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Minka are houses lived in by ordinary people, but in architectural history or in ethnology, minka means noka or machiya that are built with traditional designs (old ones are also called kominka) in particular. In the way they were built minka reflected aspects of lifestyle, being closely linked to work (farming or commerce) and traditional events. Studying minka from the perspective of work and lifestyle, one is struck by what these reveal about the wisdom of ancient people.

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One of the many standout features here is the planted atrium outfitted with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which you can enter via the library. Elsewhere on the main floor, the minka has six en suite bedrooms—all with access to the outdoors. In the primary bedroom, one is greeted by gilded, gold-foiled wallpaper, along with built-in bench seating.

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The interior of a typical minka was generally composed of a large room (dôma) where crafts, farm work and food preparation occurred. It also had a raised living area with tatami, and for the most sophisticated, modular rooms where family activities took place. A minimalist residence in Beverly Hills has just hit the market and for a cool $12.9 million, it could very well be your new Zen-like sanctuary.

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Moving forward: Summer updates at the Minka.

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A common characteristic of traditional Japanese houses, the engawa provides indoor-outdoor access to many of the rooms. Engawa without rain shutters or exterior panels to keep the rain out are called nure-en. One of them is shoji, which is a traditional sliding door with wooden frames and translucent papers that allows natural light into the room without blinding the occupants. Shoji also maximizes the function of space, because sliding doors don’t take up as much space as hinged doors.

Two opposing sides of the roof are trapezoid, and the other two triangular. The illustration above shows the three typical roof-types of a traditional Japanese house. Located in the heart of Kyoto, Kondaya Genbei is an excellent example of an elegant Kyoto-style machiya, or merchant’s townhouse. It was established in the 1730s and has since served as a residence and a shop where kimonos and obi sashes are crafted and sold. The prosperous business is presently run by the tenth generation owner, Genbei Yamaguchi, who is also a kimono designer himself. A Shoji as a sliding panel or wall can be found in both the interior and exterior of a traditional Minka.

At that time, the thickness and the pattern of the weaving of tatami was an indicator of status in medieval Japan. There are several unique features of traditional Japanese housing, it’s important to understand why they’re designed the way that they are. Aside from its original roots in history and culture, the Minka has the primary intention of maximizing space and promoting functionality and practicality within the living space.

Historically, architecture in Japan was influenced by Chinese architecture. Traditional Japanese homes are called Minka 民家, "house of the people". You may have seen them in anime or television shows, they are characterized by sliding doors and elements of nature. The tenbukuro is an overhead cupboard with two or four sliding doors, usually found above the chigaidana or above an oshiire closet. A similar cupboard sometimes located below the chigaidana at floor level is called a jibukuro.

Tatami mats are made of rice straw and woven rush grass, which makes them most effective in absorbing heat. They also have the ability to draw water from the air, helping ease humidity levels inside the home. This characteristic also soaks up moisture from the body when sleeping on the mat. Situated to the left of the master of the household and opposite the guest seat, the kakaza was also convenient to the kitchen area. Nageshi are beams running between the posts of a wall, just above head height. In the past they served as ties to strengthen the building, but nowadays they are mostly ornamental.

This word is used in contrast to the large residences where people of ruling classes or higher classes lived. The bedrooms are tiny, with the exception of the master bedroom on the first floor. There is only one toilet for sharing on the second floor, and the bath is on the first floor. The “tatami” rooms are multi-functional and typically serve as storage areas or as extra bedrooms. Even for those without my personal interest in wood construction, this museum makes for a very enjoyable outing. While in Japan, he wrote Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings, which he illustrated with his own line drawings.

Instead, complex wood joints are structurally formed post and beams are held together by specialized joinery. Not only is it a functional and necessary means of building a Minka, but also acts as a sound design feature of the home. Because of this unique approach, there are several features exclusive to Japanese housing that you wouldn’t otherwise recognize in western architecture. With that said, Japanese design and architecture have become a popular trend in recent years in the western world, with more and more individuals emulating their homes after the Minka tradition. Tens of millions of people of all ages will find their houses, and housing stock in general, to be too big, too expensive and too hard to maintain.