Current Watch Site

Recently, groups of concerned citizens have called for efforts to protect the machiya and to create incentives for their preservation. WMF included the Kyoto machiya in the 2010 Watch to focus attention on local efforts. (...)

Recently, groups of concerned citizens have called for efforts to protect the machiya and to create incentives for their preservation. WMF included the Kyoto machiya in the 2010 Watch to focus attention on local efforts. Following the 2010 Watch announcement, WMF partnered with the Kyomachiya Revitalization Study Group and the Kyoto Center for Community Collaboration for the restoration of a model machiya. The building is owned by the Kamanza neighborhood association, in the central area of Kyoto, and is a representative example of most surviving, individually owned machiya. The project demonstrated to private owners that even heavily altered houses can be restored to their traditional form. The building now houses a resource center for machiya owners. The restoration project was followed by a series of public events, designed to share the lessons learned from the project and to strengthen the network of stewards of machiya in Kyoto and in Tokyo, where some surviving machiya can also be found. WMF is now working to encourage long-term policy changes to alleviate threats to these buildings and promote their sustainable stewardship.

The second phase of the machiya revitalization project finished in spring 2012 with the restoration of another machiya, Furaibou, which was converted into a museum.