 Explanatory Meeting, Wall Construction Workshop Held July 27 (Tue) 19:00 ~ 21:00 World Monuments Fund (WMF) Japan representative Mr. Mitsuhiko Inagaki was invited to attend a “Cho-ie” explanatory meeting at the Hasegawa Kaigado Co. conference room. At the meeting, the WMF’s Mr. Inagaki was joined by Kyomachiya Council, members, Ms. Fusae Kojima, Prof. Yoshifumi Muneta from Kyoto Prefectural University and his two colleagues, 3 members of the Kyomachiya Architects, 3 Kyoto City representatives and 4 representatives from Kamanza-cho for a total of 15 participants. According to a progress report from Mr. Shohei Oshita, partial dismantling of walls revealed that rain damage was worse than expected and that efforts to correct this problem would require making additional improvements to the foundation. This problem, however, is not expected to adversely affect the overall renovation progress. Renovation work is still expected to be completed by mid-October with a grand reception party planned for Nov. 12 (Fri) to which all related parties are to be invited. It is hoped that many Kamanza-cho town people will also be able to participate.
August 1 (Sun) 10:00 ~ 16:00 As proposed earlier by Kyomachiya Architects, a meeting to inform Kamanza-cho residents of the ongoing renovation and wall construction workshop took place on August 1. There was concern about the unusually hot weather, but a large number of local children participated in the wall workshop. The binding of the bamboo lattice and application of the earthen base coat were both successfully accomplished. Clay, rice straw, and water were first mixed into a muddy consistency emitting a characteristically peculiar smell, but adults and children appeared to fully enjoy working with the traditional earthen-wall making materials. A pleasant breeze blowing through the machiya kept the temperature surprisingly cool.
NPO Kyomachiya Architects Announcement
Thank you for participating in the “Cho-ie” Explanatory Meeting & Wall Construction Workshop! As mentioned in the previous page, the workshop was successfully completed in spite of the very hot weather. Twenty-six local residents (including 11 children) participated in the event. Your collectively completed wall should continue to support this machiya for the next 100 years!
Using the “Cho-ie” renovation project as a model for revitalizing all of Kyoto-‘s machiya, we hope to hold as many public inspections and workshops as possible over the coming years. Photos of July events and an announcement for October events appear below.
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