Chiiori

Chiiori (篪庵, House of the Flute) is the name of an Edo period minka farmhouse in the Iya Valley, western Tokushima, Japan.

(The oldest, nearby Kimura House, is designated an Important Cultural Property) Chiiori preserves its original structure, irori 囲炉裏 floor hearths, and pine floors blackened by hundreds of years of smoke from the irori.

Over the course of a year, the roof was re-thatched, walls and underfloor structure redone with damage repaired, earthquake protection incorporated, and amenities built in, such as plumbing, bath, toilets, lighting, and heating systems etc.

Working as a consultant for Miyoshi City, of which Iya is a part, Alex went on to restore eight other thatched houses in the hamlet of Ochiai, further up the valley from Chiiori.

Today Chiiori Alliance manages all nine houses as places for people to stay and for cultural events.