Saving Japanese Traditional Kominka Folk Houses
One Frame at a Time
Koji Toda & Kunito Niwa
While traditional Japanese folk houses, kominka, are widely appreciated for their beautiful aesthetic and for the skill with which they were built, many of these extraordinary structures are being torn down or abandoned – an immeasurable loss. In this presentation, we will first give some background about kominka and then describe initiatives the Kominka Collective is undertaking to preserve these structures, including disassembling kominka that are going to be destroyed and relocating them to other locations in and outside of Japan to be rebuilt.
About the Speakers:
Koji Toda
Koji Toda is a Japan-based architect at his family's design-build firm, Toda Komuten, and a member of the Kominka Collective. Koji is active in a range of initiatives in Japan aimed at preserving built cultural heritage and revitalizing rural communities.
Kunito Niwa
Kunito Niwa is the director of the Kominka Collective, a not-for-profit-company working to preserve, protect, and support the reconstruction of Japanese kominka folk houses while passing on traditional building methods. Kunito is active in a range of initiatives in Japan aimed at preserving built cultural heritage and revitalizing rural communities.
