Episode 19 Is This Shimenawa Rope Workshop? / Deck is Completed!

The "Yodoe Project" started the day before Christmas Eve in 2018. A major cleanup was done during the second round in late January 2019, and demolition and renovation proceeded during the third (March), fourth (May), fifth (July), and sixth rounds (September). Two months later, from December 13th (Friday) to December 23rd (Monday), 2019, the seventh Yodoe Project was implemented with some new members. 

On the 13th (Friday), Yoko returned to Yodoe by car with Kumiko (Kumiko Sahara) via the Tottori and San’ in Expressways. They prepared dinner in advance and welcomed local members such as Onigiri-kun (Toshiya Kobashi), Teru-chan (Teruko Yoshida), and Atsuko (Hirose Atsuko).

Among them, Shotaro (Shotaro Miyahara) was nowhere to be seen this time. He lives in Hamamura, Tottori Prefecture, and has perfect attendance for every Yodoe Project.

Shotaro was born and raised in Hong Kong, returned to Japan in his late teens, and graduated from a university in Tokyo. He is the leading researcher in the “Party Kenchiku/Party Architecture,” a traveling architect group that had been renovating vacant houses in the countryside. Later he settled in Hamamura and ran “Café Miracle” while working in the construction industry. He also planned events such as “Dumten Yagai,” which Yoko met some project members.

According to another member, Shotaro could not come because of his other work. Instead, he showed up on the night of the 15th (Monday). He had been contracted with Shimekazari-making job (a New Year’s Day decoration) and needed to make an enormous amount of it. He had been working very hard to meet the deadline. He even asked Hamamura locals to help, but it seemed that they might not make it on time. So he asked project members for help if they had time.

Shotaro brought a large amount of ingredients and taught our cooking crews,  Kumiko (Kumiko Sahara) and Atsuko (Atsuko Hirose), the entire process of Shimenawa-making.   

“Tomorrow, I have to go to the mountains to collect special ferns for this.”

As soon as he finished explaining it, Shotaro hurried back home. From that night on, the Japanese-style room turned into a workspace for Shimenawa-making, where the two women worked night after night. 

The following person joined to take the place of Shotaro:

★From Hamamura, Tottori

• Kyo-chan (Kyohei Nagakubo)

He is a carpenter and musician who was born in Saitama Prefecture.

He was a very reliable carpenter and, from this round, he had continued to play an active role in subsequent Yodoe Projects.

In addition to Kyo-chan, this seventh round of the Yodoe Project was centered around four other regular members.

• Shokichi (Shota Nozaki)
• Shu (Oki Osamu)
• Yatsuda (Kohei Yatsuda)
• Habucchi (Masaki Habuchi)

Yoko returned to Osaka for her other work on the 16th (Monday) and came back to Yodoe on the night of the 20th (Friday). When she arrived, she found that the kitchen's ceiling had become quite stylish, and new staircases leading to an attic had been added. Floorboards had been pasted on the entire surface, and sashes had been fitted into the large opening for the new windows. The groundwork for the backyard deck was also in progress. Yoko was so impressed by the change in appearance in a short period of time.

While Yoko was away, a wonderful neighbor, Mr. Maeda (Kazuo Maeda), brought lots of white onions, daikon radishes, broccoli, cabbages, and other vegetables to support the project. Kumiko utilized those vegetables well and provided members with plenty of meals every day.

When Yoko returned from Yodoe on the night of the 20th (Friday), local members such as Morisato (Satoshi Morita), Yuttie (Yuhei Kawazu), and their acquaintance Yasuda from Aomori Prefecture were having a drinking party. They told Yoko that some local people had stopped by to take a look.

Work continued steadily until the last day. They kept painting the walls and the backyard deck was completed by the end of the round. On the day before the final day, Sumire-chan (Sumire Hagiwara) from Hamamura (Tottori Prefecture) also joined the kitchen crews. A total of 19 people were involved in this project. On the final day, the remaining members gathered at the newly made deck and took a commemorative photo.

This long-term construction project was carried out in time for Yoko’s moving schedule in May 2020. The former five rooms (kitchen/living/dining room, Western-style room, rice storage, and attic) combined and became a stylish café space. The only thing left to do there was to install fixtures.

Yoko was very pleased to see all the transformation. On her way back to Osaka, she looked back on the various events that had happened since the first round of the Yodoe Project, which was exactly a year ago. She was so grateful for the encounters with such fantastic project members.