Final Field Trip

Last weekend, on our final trip away from Kyoto to another part of the country, we visited two museum villages—one Meiji era, one rural Japanese life from 16th-19th centuries. In each case, actual buildings from different parts of the country have been disassembled, moved and reassembled in the museum village setting. What a contrast!

The Meiji period buildings are massive and vary enormously in their design and construction—though all influenced by Western style. It’s hard to speak generally about them since they do vary so much. The simplest is a high school, a simple wood structure that could claim to come from 19th century U.S.; the most elaborate is the entrance and lobby of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Tokyo Imperial Hotel. Great bridges and the huge Kitasato Institute for medical research reflect the reference for engineering and science held by Meiji leaders.

A foreigner's western style house with Japanese style servants' quarters behind.

Hida-no-Sato, the rural life village is so different from anything else we’ve seen that it qualifies as unique. No tiled roofs with fancy ridge trim. No gracious verandas or soft tatami floors. Steep and thick thatched roofs tied down to prevent cold winter winds from tearing the house open. Gigantic, closely spaced rafters tied together with cord support meters of accumulated snow. Wood plank floors with large square fire pits in the middle of the room. Trees felled and planked by hand, then pulled on sledges, for building and firewood. It was a hard, hard life!

Roof construction shown from outside (above) and inside (below)

Both places are well conceived and produced. At Meiji-Mura, one can participate in historical leisure pursuits by riding an old tricycle with enormous front wheel or walking on stilts. At Hida-no-Sato, wood carvers and straw sandal makers work under the fascinated gaze of tourists. Both are laid out on hillsides, arranged as real villages. And of course…each has a saké brewery.