Minka Mall 2023

Writer's Booth Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Alex Kerr, a longtime advocate for the protection and preservation of Japanese built cultural heritage, has restored numerous minka throughout Japan, beginning in 1973 with Chiiori, his 300-year-old farmhouse in Shikoku’s remote Iya Valley. Kerr’s initiatives in the Iya Valley and beyond are models for the revitalization of rural communities through sustainable tourism. Kerr’s Lost Japan (1993, first written in Japanese) was awarded the Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize for best non-fiction. His other works include Dogs and Demons (2002) and Another Kyoto, with Kathy Arlyn Sokol (2016).

Writer's Booth Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Karen Hill Anton wrote the columns “Crossing Cultures” for the Japan Times and “Another Look” for Chunichi Shimbun for fifteen years. She lectures internationally on her experience of cross-cultural adaptation, and raising four bilingual, bicultural children. Much of her life living in a nouka at 懐山 is captured in her widely acclaimed memoir The View From Breast Pocket Mountain, Grand Prize Winner of the 2022 Memoir Prize for Books. Her novel A Thousand Graces is scheduled for a spring release. Originally from New York City, Karen has made her home with her husband William Anton in Tenryu, Shizuoka prefecture, since 1975.

Writer’s Booth Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Originally from New Orleans, Azby Brown has lived in Japan since 1985. A widely published author and authority on Japanese architecture, design, and environment, his groundbreaking writings on traditional Japanese carpentry, compact housing, and traditional sustainable practices of Japan have brought these fields to the awareness of Western designers and the public.

In addition to The Genius of Japanese Carpentry, he has written Small Spaces (1993), The Japanese Dream House (2001), The Very Small Home (2005), and Just Enough: Lessons in LivingGgreen fromTraditional Japan (2010). He retired in 2017 from the Kanazawa Institute of Technology, where he founded the Future Design Institute, and is currently on the sculpture faculty of Musashino Art University in Tokyo.

Writer's Booth Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Hannah Kirshner is author and illustrator of Water, Wood, and Wild Things: Learning Craft and Cultivation in a Japanese Mountain Town. Her reporting has appeared in publications including The New York Times and Food & Wine, and on the Proof podcast from America’s Test Kitchen. She’s a Solutions Journalism Network Climate Initiative fellow, and winner of an International Gourmand “Best In The World” award for writing on Japan. Kirshner grew up on a small farm outside Seattle, studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, and now divides her time between Brooklyn and rural Ishikawa, Japan.

Restored Traditional Sake Brewery (An Official Sponsor)
Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Marcus Consolini discovered Daimon Brewery in early 2017 and soon acquired it, turning it into one of the fastest growing sake breweries in the Kansai region. When not building businesses, Marcus and his team focus on acquiring, designing, and renovating traditional machiya and kominka in the region.

Daimon Shuzo was established in 1826 at the foot of the Ikoma mountain range. For 6 generations we have been producing some of the finest Sake in Kansai, the central region of Japan. With a focus on fresh spring mountain water, using the highest quality of rice and 200 years of refined skills - we bring our craft to the world.​ ​

The history and the future of woodcrafts, Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

In a documentary produced by film director Kazuhiro Ishikami, Tetsuji Fujiwara was described as the last Samurai furniture craftsman. In the Fall of 2013 he turned off all of the electronic machinery in his workshop and started doing all of his woodwork by hand. You can see the variety of saws, clamps, and more hanging on the walls of his workshop that he uses to carry out his craft.

Please come to the Minka Mall to chat with Mr. Fujiwara about woodcraft, especially disappearing techniques. He would especially like to share about the history and the future of crafts, especially "Matsumoto Tansu" (cabinets) in Matsumoto in Nagano, Japan.

Architectural Design, Minka Preservation, Renovation & Relocation (An Official Sponsor)
Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Toda Komuten, a longtime advocate for folk house preservation in Japan, disassembles kominka which are in very good condition but are going to be demolished and rebuilds them for use as homes, studios, home offices, community centers, Japanese garden structures, and shops in Japan and abroad. They also renovate existing minka, maintaining the beautiful aesthetic while creating a comfortable space in which to live and work.

Toda Komuten works with the Kominka Collective to preserve minka and old materials and raise awareness of Japanese traditional built cultural heritage abroad by organizing online and in person bilingual events and relocating and rebuilding minka that have been abandoned to North America and beyond.

Minka Preservation & Relocation Non-Profit (An Official Sponsor) Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

The Kominka Collective was conceived as a way to share traditional Japanese folk houses with people outside of Japan, and in so doing give these beautiful old houses a second life.

We work with Toda Komuten of Shinshiro Japan to make reclaimed and restored Japanese kominka and traditional Japanese building techniques, materials, fixtures, and furnishings accessible to people outside Japan. Together, we also organize bilingual online and in-person events to raise awareness of Japanese traditional built cultural heritage.

We are not-for-profit company.

Organic & Sustainable Farming Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Chuck Kayser has been teaching over 25 years and growing vegetables for more than 12. He now manages 5 fields in Shiga and Kyoto, farming 4 days a week and delivering vegetable baskets all over Kyoto city. He sometimes appears as a guest lecturer for universities, groups and other gatherings both in person and online. With the goal of spreading the word about the power of organic farming he hosts tours, events and volunteers at the farm, he has created a YouTube channel, and has constructed a classroom in Kyoto City to begin a gardening education program in 2023. Chuck continues to search for new ways to allow others to experience for themselves the tremendous value of joining a community dedicated to raising healthy food in balance with the environment.

Tatami, mini tatami and tatami fashion accessories Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Ooe Tatamiten is a small tatami workshop in Sakai City, Osaka, that promotes the lifestyle of enjoying “wa” or Japanese style. We work in three areas - tradition, fashion, and modern interior. “Tradition” is our family business for two generations, for which we have been providing made-to-order tatami mats, fitting them into rooms, and recovering their surfaces. Our clients are temples, shrines, traditional and modern homes, including cultural properties. In “Fashion”, we established the “Classica” brand to create and sell accessories and home decors using goza (woven grass sheet for tatami surface) and heri (brocade to cover the edges of tatami). For “Interior”, we have “washitsu labo” to promote modern Japanese style in collaboration with paper artisans and furniture makers. https://www.ooetatami.com/

Fusuma, Shoji, Kakejiki, and Byobu Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Shitoya Nakano Hyouguten makes, mounts, and repairs interior and art products such as fusuma (paper sliding doors), shoji (paper screens), kakejiku (hanging scrolls), and byobu (folding screens). We have been providing these products for temples, shrines, minka, and machiya for three generations from Noe, Osaka City. Making the best of our knowledge of traditional materials such as washi, silk, lacquer, wood, and metals, we design, create, and install modern and contemporary fittings and interior elements, as well as those for truly historical Japanese architecture. We also create and sell small daily-use items and room decors using those traditional materials.

Minka Restoration & Culture Sharing
Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

We organize multilingual online and in-person activities and events throughout the year with the aims of sharing information, materials, and resources about the history and culture of Japanese folk houses, as well as providing support for those who would like to live or work in a kominka; passing on traditional building techniques through workshops and collaborative projects; creating opportunities to work together to restore kominka in Japan and relocated kominka overseas; holding art, music, and other cultural events in these extraordinary traditional old structures; and, sharing findings from domestic and international research related to kominka, old materials, and issues related to rural revitalization.

Architectural Design, Minka Preservation, Renovation & Relocation Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Our company is a lumber shop with a small number of employees and a homely atmosphere in Nishimikawa, Aichi Prefecture, which has been in business for 100 years, including its predecessor.

Attracted by the charm of old materials, we handle old materials and restore old folk houses. We also have sawmills and can handle various processing, so please feel free to contact us.

Furniture made of reclaimed wood from minka Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Daimaru Ironworks Studio designs and makes handcrafted furniture using wood from minka that have been torn down and combined with ironworks created in their studio.

Clothing made from upcycled kimono Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

I make new clothing for women using old kimono. Stop by my booth for a cup of tea and a chat and have a look at the shirts, pants, dresses, bags, and other items I have made specifically for the Minka Summit!

Research related to built cultural heritage and rural revitalization initiatives Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Initiatives to address issues related to kominka becoming vacant and/or being torn down go hand in hand with efforts to revitalize rural areas. With regard to both issues, the protection and preservation of Japanese traditional built cultural heritage and population decline in rural areas, the participation of a range of people is central and critical. Stop by our booth and learn about the research we are carrying out and how you can help!

Traditional Wood Baths
Languages: 🇬🇧+🇮🇹

I am an Italian architect living in Japan since 1998. I have a great passion for traditional Japanese architecture and I worked for 3 years for a well-known architectural office involved in the restoration of heritage buildings in the Kansai area. Needless to say, this experience changed my life: be surrounded by natural materials is such a beautiful experience that I wanted to transmit it to my fellow foreigners who have the taste to appreciate it. As many acquaintances asked me about natural Japanese products, I began exporting hinoki tubs in the year 2003. Our tubs are produced with hinoki wood from the Kiso Valley (Nagano pref. – central Japan). We purchase the material and order the manufacture directly to craftsmen I have known for years. By doing so we can offer low cost and high quality.

Designer, photographer, natural farmer, and minka owner Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Designer, photographer and natural farmer Rupert Singleton is based in Fukuoka Prefecture – and owns two kominka – the oldest of which is located in the valley where the first tea seeds were planted in Japan from China over 600 years ago. Stop by his booth for a cup of authentic tea roasted according to ancient methods in cast iron 'kama' and the chance to learn about 'Yame-cha' tea culture and hear all about his kominka life experience in rural Kyushu (which has been featured on TV multiple times). The Summit coincides with 'shin-cha' new tea harvesting season so he will endeavour to roast a 'Summit-cha' specially for the event. As a photographer he has documented his Japan and minka life over the last 10 years and will showcase his photos. Prints will be for sale. Presently he specialises in 'Satoyama' photoshoots and will also be available for hire for a portrait shoot in the Citizens Forest during the Summit. In addition to tea, he will be selling (in limited supply!) his ancient grain of Japan: 'kodaimai' black rice cultivated and processed entirely by hand. His booth will be adorned with all things Kyushu!

At Local Japan, we are connecting local Japan and its people with the world. Through podcasts and social media, we feature entrepreneurs, artisans, and other leaders who are sustainably revitalizing the country. By promoting them, we aim to support their work and grow a socially conscious community. Local Japan is hosted by Olivier and Jarrod, co-founders of The Akiya Company. Together with their team, they are on a mission to transform akiya into spaces that bring together local and international communities. We are very excited to be part of the Minka Summit 2023. There we hope to make meaningful connections and learn from the work of talented creators. We look forward to meeting with you!

Community support through sustainable practices Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

Canaan is a non-profit organization running programs to help people with disabilities. In our premiere program Wings, we provide job opportunities to those who have difficulty working in a typical workplace. Our other program, Linkuru, is a daycare facility for children with special needs.

We are also passionate about the sustainable use of the rich nature of Okumikawa. As part of the Wings’ business, we upcycle thinned trees into firewood, surplus deer into venison jerky for pets, and leaves of Hinoki (Japanese cypress) into essential oil, scented candles, and other aromatic products, all of which would otherwise be discarded or go unused.

Our booth will proudly feature our products. Please visit us online or in person.

A range of antique items Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

A secondhand shop produced by Shinkawa Daisei Shoten, a building and wood dealer in Hekinan City, Aichi Prefecture.

We mainly deal in old Japanese furniture and tableware, as well as accessories, books, and fittings. Old tools, which are crystals of the wisdom of our predecessors, are also treasures of Japan.

I would like to pass on the Japanese culture and history that is packed with antiques to the next generation.

Decades ago, old things that were "obvious" in everyday life. At some point, it fell out of use and sat quietly for decades. "I want to let people see things that have been kept in a dark storehouse for a long time without anyone seeing them."

Dyed Goods Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

We moved from Nagoya to Toei Town, near Shinshiro City, five years ago and have been living in the countryside, mainly doing rural-based work such as herb dyeing and tea making.

We are planning to sell our herb-dyed products and to give a simple demonstration/experience of Arimatsu shibori.

Wooden boat manufacturer Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

We are the first manufacturer of wooden boats in Toei Town. We turn trees nurtured by nature over a long period of time into wooden boats.

Our goal is to connect people all over the world with nature using wooden boats and to synchronize them with nature.

If you feel like you are overwhelmed in a sea of information, please take a ride on a marukibune and reset your mind and body.

Iron goods and iron products. Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

In 1929, Shigeharu Shida, the first generation, started Shibata Kizo Seisakusho in Hekinan City to manufacture hone for clay kneading machines for roof tiles, etc. In 2010, Mika Shida, a fourth-generation blacksmith, took over the company and continues to this day.

We produce stained glass lamp bases, architectural fittings, nameplates, signboards, etc.

Shibata Kouzou is a manufacturer of iron goods and iron products. We make interior and exterior products such as iron hooks and towel hangers. We are a blacksmith in Hekinan City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Community-driven project to renovate abandoned houses Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

AKIYA is a community-driven project to restore and renovate empty houses around Japan into creative residences. Starting first with a 250-year-old home in northern Kyoto, we aim to breathe life back into a historical artifact so it can become a continuously inspiring container for human flourishing: one that blends deep cultural heritage with modern creative endeavors. We are a collective of artists, builders, and humans who care about improving experience design, connected living, and rural revitalization enabled through technology, and hope to inspire others by open-sourcing our entire operational playbook.

Tea Ceremony Languages: 🇬🇧+🇯🇵

We are a small class learning the Omotesenke tea ceremony in Nagoya. It started 2005 with a group of friends. We are always having fun learning the way of tea.

In tea house Japanese sweets and delicious matcha will be served with care and attention.

We hope that the matcha we make will be your cup of tea