The landlord who built us a satellite office faces the reality that things are "different from before."
~ Interview: Toshiki Ooya (Ooya Construction Company) ~

We recently introduced the journey to completing the Kamiyama Satellite Office on Monosasushiki DIY , but one thing that was particularly impressive during that interview was the presence of master carpenter Ooya Toshiki.

Due to various circumstances, the architect was unavailable, and Kurihara, a member of the satellite office committee, was growing increasingly anxious, but the landlord said to him, "Let's work together." Even after that, he was always positive in responding to Monosas' requests, which were different from his usual work, and offered various ingenuity and ideas, and even helped out by actually putting his hands to work. The Kamiyama satellite office would not have been completed without the landlord. He is truly the savior of the satellite office. The more I hear about him, the more I'm curious about what kind of person he is.

This time, Kurihara spoke to the intriguing landlord about his memories of the satellite office construction, his own carpentry business, and working in Kamiyama.
(Interview: Courtyard)

Back left: Landlord. Right front: Kurihara (Creative Department). At the Kamiyama satellite office.

The beginning of satellite office construction and meeting with the landlord

Landlord (hereafter omitted)
In April of last year (2016), Manabe-san ( Food Hub manager and head of the production department) asked me to build a test kitchen for the Food Hub.* It was the first time I had worked on a job for someone who had moved here, other than through a bidding process, so I worked hard.

*The earthen floor was used as the Food Hub's test kitchen until Kamaya was completed. It is currently used as the kitchen for Monosus' satellite office accommodation building.

As a result, I was told, "Monosus also has a satellite office."
I thought for sure that Manabe would be in charge of conducting the satellite team, but it was someone called Kurihara, a name I'd never heard before, so I wondered who it was.

Kurihara: Even though it was the first time we had done business together, I didn't bring along the design documents. At the time, Monosasusu Juku had just started, so I was in a flurry of activity.
I finally found time in the evening to show them the design documents, and then I told them that the designer couldn't attend due to a schedule conflict. Then, they said they could do it without the designer.
*Kurihara was the principal of the second term of the Kamiyama Monosasu Juku, which began in July 2016.

Landlord : It's rare to have a job that requires an architect or supervisor. With renovations, the style is usually one where you talk with the client while proceeding, so I thought it would be no problem.
This is a good location, and it's set to continue to flourish with more people coming and going, so I thought it would be good for our company to have us work here.
There was no option to say "No." On the contrary, I think Kurihara-san was the one who was worried.

Kurihara: At first, I thought I should leave it up to the architect and the carpenter... I didn't know the process or the steps, and I didn't know what I had to tell them. So at that time, I was just anxious.

OIE: Well, I thought we could do it. I thought it would be good if we could get close to something that Kurihara-san and the Monosus people would say was "good."
What surprised me even more was that the estimate didn't include a shower.

Kurihara: Because our budget was limited, we got quotes for each option individually, but while we were adding and subtracting things, some things ended up being missing...
In addition to that, we ended up causing the landlord to spend more man-hours than expected, in addition to the construction costs.

I thought I could be a landlord , but I was wrong. It was a good learning experience. I realized how important estimates are.

We renovated a corner of a row house in Yorii Shopping Street, one of Kamiyama's main shopping streets, into a satellite office. The photo shows the exterior of the office before construction.

A unique experience that is different from previous jobs and cannot be replaced by money

Our landlord, Mr. Kurihara , came up with many ideas and was a great help.
Even when I was being selfish and asked for a light fixture to be installed on the first floor, they gave me ideas on how to get the light in.

When they asked me to get a landlord I was like "Whatever!" (laughs).
That's one of the disadvantages of not having a designer or an architect, but if I were to do it myself, I would only go so far. Well, the light came out, so I think the result was good.
I also brought some of the fixtures from home. I even installed an old soundproof door on the toilet. I also happened to be passing by a demolition site and gathered up some window frames for the interrogation room (conference room) on the first floor.

Kurihara actually became the accent (laughs).
Also, you use a lot of wood throughout the office. Do you normally use that much wood?

To allow light to shine into the entrance hallway on the first floor, a translucent corrugated sheet was used for the roof. The window on the left wall was found by the landlord at a demolition site.

Landlord : It's quite rare. Rather than choosing wood, people in Kamiyama tend to want what they don't have and are fascinated by the "way things are done in the city." They believe that pure white wallpaper is better for the walls. Monosus, on the other hand, doesn't like wallpaper and would rather use plaster. Also, when I asked him if he wanted prefabricated flooring, he said solid wood would be better. He's completely different from my previous customers.

We had originally planned to do the plastering ourselves, but the landlord couldn't bear to see us through and offered to help us out, even though he wasn't a professional plasterer.

Landlord : I thought this was impossible, we wouldn't make it in time. We'd come this far together, and I couldn't just say, "Just do the mud wall yourself." I had no choice, so I thought I'd do it together (laughs). Also, I thought the amount of plaster we estimated definitely wouldn't be enough. A professional would have the skill to apply it thinly, so it would be enough, but if an amateur applied it, it would be too thick and it wouldn't be enough. I thought it would be better to have someone who could put the brakes on a little.

The landlord (right) applying plaster

When it came to plastering the house in Kurihara , your landlord would come over after his carpentry work during the day, and the two of you would work together every night, helping out almost every day.

I told my landlord that I would be home late and that I would take a break after I finished painting.

Kurihara (laughs)

Landlord : When I heard that students and people from the town would be coming to help out on the weekends, I thought it would be all guys, but it's all women, and I thought what a great place to work (laughs).

Students from Kurihara Monosasu Juku and Kamiyama Juku came, and the landlord was really excited (laughs).

Students from Monosasu Juku and Kamiyama Juku came to help with the plastering on their days off.

Landlord : Whoa! What is this place? Well, that was a joke. (laughs)
I've never experienced anything like that before, but after a few tries I started to feel like I was moving forward. To be honest, I feel like I'm getting younger when I'm here (laughs). This is a valuable experience that can't be exchanged for money.

My mom and dad were nervous because their livelihood depended on it. I wasn't like that. I thought it would be good if it would be a positive thing for me in 10 years or more. Not in terms of money, but in terms of my feelings. So I thought I'd get actively involved.

I went to the graduation ceremony with my wife, and we really liked the atmosphere here, the energy, the atmosphere. She didn't complain when I said, "I'm going to Monosus." (laughs)

Monosasu Juku's graduation party was held in December 2016. It was held at the satellite office that was just completed in November.

A bouquet of flowers from my landlord on graduation day

Before the construction of Kurihara , you came with me to greet the neighbors. When I went alone at first, I was asked, "Who are you?" Then the landlord came over. He even introduced us to the neighbors.

When the two landlords decided to do it together, I thought it was something we had to do. We had worked together on plastering the house.
The graduation ceremony was fun. Kurihara-san was crying (lol) and wearing a "Christmas T-shirt."

Kurihara (laughs)

On the day of the graduation ceremony, Kurihara gives a speech wearing a "Kurusasu (Kurihara + Monosasu)" T-shirt given as a gift to students.

Commemorative photo of students in the completed satellite office

My grandfather, my father,
The inherited carpentry trade

Landlord : My father worked hard to make these desks. He's a pretty amazing carpenter, and I'm the third generation, but compared to my father when he was the same age, I'm nowhere near as good.

What level is Kurihara Carpenter at?

It's the technical ability of the master . He's not a master of temple construction, but my father can build a temple. He can do things like stacking pieces of wood, as long as the dimensions are fixed.

Did seeing your father doing that make you want to become a carpenter?

OIE : Yes, it was decided from a young age. If I were to say cool, I wanted to be like my dad.
Actually, my grandfather told me from the moment I was born, "You have to be a carpenter, you have to be a carpenter," and before I knew it, I was a carpenter (laughs).

Kurihara (laughs)

I'm a landlord , but I'm grateful to have a skill.
My grandfather and father built it properly, and I think that this is why Uoya Construction Company is trusted. I think that this is what I need to be most grateful for.

Kurihara: In " Kamiyama Now " it was written that you went to a vocational school. Did you study carpentry?

Landlord : No no no. You've already decided to become a carpenter, right? Getting a job right after graduating high school is a bit... I wanted to go out. If I wanted to be a carpenter, Kyoto would be the place to be, as there are temples there! So I asked my high school teacher, "Is there anywhere in Kyoto that's easy to get to?" and he said, "Yes, there is" (laughs). Well, please let me go.

Kurihara: What did you study?

Landlord : General architecture, chairs, interior design. But I wasn't really interested. I was told to just write about chair design, so it wasn't very useful, but I made a lot of friends there, which was good.

When I got home, I worked as an apprentice carpenter for my father, doing work by hand. These days, pre-cut construction methods are mainstream.
Looking back, I wish I had paid more attention. At the time, I was just focusing on having fun, but now that I'm married and settled down, I wish I had studied harder (laughs).

Work, get involved, and enrich yourself amid the changes in Kamiyama

After you got married, you lived somewhere other than Kamiyama , right?

I lived with my landlord, Ishii . At the time, I wanted to move out of Kamiyama and try living there. But then I had kids, and it was more convenient to be near my parents, and I was used to living there, so I thought Kamiyama was the best. It's quiet and easy to live in. It's easy because you don't have to worry about anything (laughs).

There's a lot of activity going on at Kurihara Kamiyama right now, but what do you think about that as part of your work?

If it was in front of the landlord , I wouldn't have been involved. If Nishimura (Yoshiaki) hadn't called me, I wouldn't have been involved.
But I think it's definitely to your advantage to get involved. Being stubborn won't do you any good.
I thought it would be good to know what immigrants want. Not many people do that, but I thought it would be good to try.
Maybe they're just being stubborn because they feel like it has nothing to do with us.

Kurihara: I read this in the "Kamiyama Now" article too, but are you also involved in the Seiun Dormitory Project*?

* A project to renovate the former Kamiyama Junior High School dormitory, "Seion Ryo," into an apartment building.

The landlord construction work itself has not been decided yet and it depends on how hard I work, but I was invited to a meeting for an apartment complex and participated. I wondered what kind of person the architect was and what he would be doing.
I am actually involved as a carpenter in a private home restoration project.* I am building trial homes together with the public corporation's representative who connects with the construction team.

The old house is currently under renovation, with the landlord also taking part in the construction. Once completed, it will be transformed into a trial house (a facility where people considering relocating can stay on a trial basis).

Landlord during construction

Kurihara: Are you connected to today's working group ^* ?

^* A working group considering strategies for regional revitalization in Kamiyama Town. On this day, the landlord participated for the whole day.

Landlord : I think it will probably come together, and I hope we can keep it connected.

Today, we had a one-day discussion on "good meetings," and everyone had their own opinions. I was sitting next to Ominami (Shinya)*, and I was worried about speaking up! It would be embarrassing! But I just went ahead and spoke up (laughs).

*Chairman of the board of directors of the NPO Green Valley. He is working on "creative depopulation," which aims to address depopulation in creative ways through art projects, job-seeker support training, and the attraction of satellite offices.

We will be split into separate committees at the next meeting, and I wonder if I will be in the "Housing" category. But it would be no fun to do something safe, I want to do something different. A completely different field would be more interesting.

Even so, the working group is worth taking time off work to participate in. It brings together people who are passionate about doing something in Kamiyama, so it's amazing.
I'm just repeating what Ominami-san said, but I think we need to enrich our hearts. No matter how well things are going at work, if we don't enrich our hearts, we can't say we're revitalized. Maybe they're all connected in the end, but I wonder which comes first: making money or enriching our hearts...

How was it when you created the Kurihara Monosasu office?

It enriches the landlord's spirit and gives him a "spirit of service" (laughs).

Kurihara (laughs)

The landlord said, "That's a joke, but we'll figure it out somehow," and we managed to get through it. There will be a lot of foot traffic, so it will be a good business. The landscaper immediately saw the desks here (satellite) and ordered a table for Kamaya in the food hub.

Kamaya table made from Kamiyama cedar

I was also asked to make a round logo for the Kamaya sign out of wood, but I thought it was okay to make it round. Then I was told, "Make it even rounder. Make it a pretty circle even if it's shifted." So I made a real circle (laughs).
They said they wouldn't apply paint, but I'm worried it will be dangerous from the rainy season through to summer.
But then I'll make it again.

The round part of the logo on the Kamaya sign was made by the landlord with all his heart and soul.

Thank you, Kurihara .
I wish we could give something back to our landlord...

Landlord: Speaking of which, we had to break tiles this week too. We're currently doing a large-scale house recovery, but we need to cut costs, so who's going to break them? Then people around us asked, "What about the young kids from Monosasu Juku?"

Kurihara (laughs)
I'd like to do something clever, like a community activity time.

With a spirit of service to all ?

With a spirit of service to Kurihara (laughs).

Monosus Kamiyama satellite members participating in tile breaking

Looking back on the interview ~Letter to the landlord~

The landlord has always been positive and enjoyable in the construction of the satellite office, which was full of obstacles, and the new developments in Kamiyama. He is an irreplaceable presence for Monosus. His human side, which he sometimes shows, has made us feel even closer to him.

The relationship between the landlord and Kurihara continues to this day, with the landlord often sending Kurihara photos of furniture left over from demolition sites and asking, "Do you need furniture like this?", or dropping by the office.

Kurihara, who has been so kind to his landlord, wrote him a letter to express his gratitude.

Dear Landlord,

Kamiyama was full of firsts, and renovating an old house was also a first for me.

Even though I had no idea what the next step was or what I should do, my landlord was kind enough to work with me and help me move forward in unison.

When I was having trouble with internal coordination, he would come up with solutions one after another, and we would discuss it together at a convenience store late at night after work.
With only a few days left until completion, they worked on renovating the satellite building during the day and stayed up late at night helping with the plastering work they did themselves.

Even on their precious days off, they helped out with enthusiasm, saying, "We've already started on this mission!" without any complaints.
I am truly sorry for cutting into the time you could spend with your family, and I am so grateful that you stayed with us until the very end.

thank you very much.

Thanks to you, our office has become a comfortable place to be. (It was still cold in the winter.)

Since then, he has been dropping by the office every now and then to check on us and see if we're experiencing any inconveniences.
I'm sorry for asking you so many things without any hesitation each time.

Due to my landlord's personality and the fact that we are only one year apart in age, I ended up relying on him for many things, as if he were an older brother I could talk to about anything.

I will continue to rely on you in the future (laughs).

As we were saying before, let's go to the city and eat something delicious! I'll contact you.

Creative Department/Satellite Office Committee Member Isao Kurihara

Left: Landlord, Right: Kurihara from the Creative Department