I’ve just finished reading this fine little book about the machiya (町家) of Kyoto. Machiya are the traditional narrow wooden townhouses of the old capital. Once, their tiled roofs and wooden lattice fronts typified Kyoto’s urban landscape. However, since the end of WW2 this traditional landscape has in large part been replaced by high rise buildings and parking lots. 13% of Kyoto’s remaining machiya were leveled between 1996 and 2003, and sadly this process continues even today. However, not all has been lost and in recent years there has been a movement to renovate and restore old machiya. Many of them have been converted into cool modern shops, cafes and businesses while maintaining their integrity as traditional structures. To visit these places is to experience old and modern Kyoto simultaneously: a modern Kyoto that respects and takes pride in its history.
Machiya Revival in Kyoto is produced by the Kyoto Center for Community Collaboration, an NPO that works to protect and restore old machiya. The book is divided into four parts. The first gives a thorough grounding in machiya history and design. Cross-sectional diagrams reveal both the typical structure of these buildings and also their design genius. [Read more…]