Nikon D200 + Sigma 30mm f/1.4 — 1/60 sec, f/4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Seen Better Times
I noticed a tiny old house being demolished nearby the other day, and stopped in for a look. It could be anywhere from 40 to 100+ years old... the guys tearing it down didn't know, but it was built at a time when Japanese homes were still built with mud and bamboo for the walls.
There are still plenty of this kind of construction in Kyoto. Often, the outside of such walls are veneered in wood, as seen in my Randomly Photographed Stroll in Kyoto and Old Wood-Veneer Siding (Desktop Background) posts.
Nikon D200 + Sigma 30mm f/1.4 — 1/45 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Half-Exposed Bamboo Lattice
The shot above shows rough-hewn beams that were used for most of the major structural work, which were above the ceiling line before the demo crew took the ceiling out. The bamboo lattice is in the center of the wall, with the dried mud that had been on the inside having been removed with the ceiling.
The internal walls were also mud and bamboo...
Nikon D200 + Sigma 30mm f/1.4 — 1/60 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Internal Wall:More Mud and Bamboo
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
The total land area of the property was very small – perhaps enough to park four cars on comfortably – yet even with such a lack of space, a fair portion was still dedicated to a small garden. I think that says an enormous amount about how important nature is in Japanese culture. In the garden was this fairly large stone lantern, which stood about to my waist...
Nikon D200 + Sigma 30mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lantern in the Garden
The pieces are not sitting square in the picture above because I took it after having moved them to gauge their weight. I got permission from the demo foreman to take the thing home, but when I came back the next day to get it, I found that the bottom piece – which I thought would be just at the limit of what I could move by myself – was actually extended well into the ground, with less than half sticking out. It was way too heavy for me to move, so sadly, I abandoned it.
Nikon D200 + Sigma 30mm f/1.4 — 1/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Weathered Old Friend
The demo crew said that they'd probably just throw the thing away. It was quite weathered, which made it all the more charming, as far as I was concerned. While I was there, someone I took to be a real-estate agent stopped by, and chatted with the demo crew about the lantern's possible value. It seems that if it was made in Korea, it was old and had no value, but if it had been made in Japan, it was an antique and was worth a lot. No one knew which it was, but considering the low value of the house, one can guess it probably wasn't worth much.
Still, I liked it.
Nikon D200 + Sigma 30mm f/1.4 — 1/45 sec, f/2, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
All The Modern Amenities
I'm no expert on Japanese architectural anthropology, but it seemed clear that the house was built before electricity was available, as it seems to have been wired after the fact.
The hole hacked in the concrete below to make way for a light switch attests to something.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 17mm — 1/15 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
At Your Fingertips
It was very dark where I took the picture above. The photo was taken with a long 1/15th of a second exposure, at f/2.8, at ISO 3200. My D200 is not a D300, so an ISO 3200 shot looks, well, like an ISO 3200 shot. What can I say... it was dark, and I didn't have a tripod.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 17mm — 1/45 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sad
Driving by again the other day, the lot was cleared and level dirt, and was incredibly, shockingly small. I couldn't imagine that someone could build a house on it, much less one with a fairly sizable (relatively speaking) garden, so there's something to be said for the skill of the designer to make a microscopic three-room house feel merely “really really small”.
Fascinating series of photographs.
I have, and often enjoy browsing in ‘Japanese Homes and their Surroundings’, by Edward S Morse (Dover 1961 facsimile of 1886 book). It is well-illustrated, but these photographs bring the subject to life, as well as conveying the pathos of an abandoned home. Just a shame you couldn’t manage to rescue that lantern, or the nanten next to it!
Cool series. For some reason, the old bell in the first photo brought immediately to my mind the bell Mom had by the porch side door to call us in when we were playing in the fields. It’s a different shape & style altogether – but maybe it reminds me because it looks like it’s been there since even before WE were little kids.