![]() ![]() May and December are particularly interesting times to visit Kayabuki no Sato when they hold their Water Hose Festival. But mostly, Kayabuki no Sato remains as it has for centuries, populated with local people making their living from the land. Michel led us through the village, pointing out the various houses now converted into shops, museums, and cafes. Two ancient shrines are built in the hills next to the village, one nearly undetectable through the forest shroud. The mottled colors of autumn’s changing leaves speckled the mountains above the village, and the contrast of the warm leaves against the moss-covered roofs was a fantastic sight. Kayabuki no Sato has about 20 thatched roof houses that have all been beautifully preserved. Even the house that is now used as the Folk Museum burned down in 2000 and was rebuilt with great effort using traditional techniques. This means that homeowners in the area are making a financial sacrifice to carry on a local tradition for the sake of Japanese culture and the pleasure of visitors. The cost of building or replacing a thatched roof can easily exceed 10,000,000 yen (US $100,000), while a tile roof can be installed for a fraction of that. Ironically, the tables have turned in modern times. In feudal times, thatched roofs were seen on every peasant’s cottage because they were cheap to make, and peasants were forbidden to use higher quality materials on their roofs, like tiles. Kayabuki no Sato contains about 40 thatched-roof houses, the largest concentration of such types of homes in one village in Kyoto. In learning the process, his neighbors also taught him much about the history of the kayabuki (thatched roof) of Miyama and the people who lived under them. In this area, it is a common expectation that community members pitch in to help neighbors when roofs need repair or replacement, so he already had first-hand experience. Though only a resident of the area for two years, Michel already knew well about the traditional methods for building and maintaining thatched roofs. Our guide Michel was a transplant from France who came to Miyama to start an organic farm. Because Kayabuki no Sato is not recognized by UNESCO (although it is designated as a Preservation District for Historic Buildings), it is still not well known by overseas tourists despite the beauty of the landscape and the craftsmanship of the buildings. Kayabuki houses are similar, with steep high roofs made from grass, but the shape differs slightly. Many visitors to Japan are familiar with the gassho-zukuri style farmhouses of UNESCO World Heritage site Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture. Kayabuki houses in Kayabuki no Sato village are designated as a Preservation District for Historic Buildings, where you can encounter the original landscape of Japan. ![]()
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