1870s wood house in Kashiwazaki, Niigata

Full description

Built in late Edo period, with roots in sake brewing families. The original owners lived in a nearby hamlet five minutes by car while the grandmother resided in this house. The property has been continuously occupied for 150 years without vacancy. The current owner, who desired a retired life in a traditional thatched farmhouse in the countryside, acquired this property from among several dozen candidates about 25 years ago. / After visiting an open garden property during a New Zealand trip to celebrate retirement and being inspired by the art of plant landscaping, and combining this with support for his wife's "tea flower" arrangements in her tea ceremony classes, the owner has been living here from March to December each year (250 km from Saitama), with occasional visits from about 50 guests per year including family and old friends. Since then, with focus on garden landscaping, in collaboration with the Kashiwazaki Plant Friends, the property operates as an open garden and was featured in Niigata Nippo's "CARREL" magazine in June 2019. / The tea room (modeled after the Urasenke Touin-seki) features floor pillars with black pine bark covering, a 4.5-mat room layout built in Heisei 16 (2004), with distinctive ceiling height, walls, colors, paper screens, traditional hearth (placed-type and chair-style) and table, beams of Japanese zelkova wood spanning 2 bays, and 6 large support pillars of zelkova wood measuring 24 cm square, key features of the property. Currently, the bath boiler was damaged in the Chuetsu earthquake and was not repaired because nearby hot springs are sufficient for single occupancy. Utilities: flush toilet and municipal main sewer line were installed in Heisei 14 (2002).

Specifications

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Utilities