I’m delighted to share that I’ll be joining the upcoming MinkaMeet@Miyama, hosted by the Minka Preservation Society, as a panelist for their discussion Restoration, Renovation, Redesign: Preserving Minka in the 21st Century.

Taking place this June in the quiet village of Miyama, the event brings together craftspeople, preservationists, architects, and designers from Japan and around the world who care deeply about the future of kominka — Japan’s traditional rural homes. For me, this isn’t just a professional subject; it’s a deeply personal one. Since moving to the countryside and renovating a 100-year-old kominka in Higashiyoshino, I’ve been trying to find ways to not only preserve these buildings but to make them desirable places to live once again.

The panel will be held on June 7th at Hotaruan, and I’ll be joining an incredible group of contributors including Yoshihiro Takishita, Haruo Nishio, and Nils Wetterlind. Together, we’ll each be sharing our own restoration experiences and then turning our attention to a live case study: the Ryuseikan House in Fukui Prefecture, which Nishio-san is working to save. We’ve been asked to propose what we might do with the building and how we’d approach bringing it back to life — imagining its future role and the community it might serve.

I’m looking forward to the conversations, the exchange of ideas, and most of all, the shared belief that these beautiful homes deserve to be part of our future, not just our past.

The event will also feature skilled craftspeople sharing traditional techniques like thatching, plastering, carpentry, and more — giving attendees a rare chance to experience the methods that go into building and maintaining a kominka. For anyone interested in heritage craft or just curious about how these homes were originally made, it’s a brilliant opportunity to learn directly from the masters.

If you’re interested in Kominka, rural revitalisation, or the art of thoughtful restoration, I hope you’ll follow along or join the event in person. Tickets are available here.

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Felix Conran

Ha Partners