TOKYO - Mitsui Fudosan Group has renovated a 250-year-old traditional Japanese house in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward to make it earthquake resistant and opened it to the public on August 19th. The small residence, built in the late Edo period, has been preserved with much of its original character intact.
The restoration retained structural elements such as pillars and beams, while installing devices inside the walls to absorb seismic shocks. The roof was replaced with lightweight metal instead of traditional tile, reducing the weight to one-sixteenth and enabling the building to withstand tremors as strong as a lower 6 on the Japanese seismic scale.
By keeping most of the original structure, renovation costs were reduced to about one-third of what a full-scale reconstruction would have required. This is the first time Mitsui Fudosan has restored a residence over 250 years old.
A family considering moving back into the home expressed relief: "Being able to live here again brings peace of mind. The safety is completely different now."
Company representatives also highlighted the broader significance of the project. They noted that such restorations allow dormant assets to be put to practical use, serving as a potential model for addressing the issue of vacant houses. They added that taking on the challenge of reinforcing historically valuable wooden structures could serve as a foundation for future earthquake-resilient renovations.
Source: テレ東BIZ
