A little boy came out of a thatched-roof house and jumped up and down as if he was released from gloom

As I walked up the path, beside the Takakura, which was relocated from Okinoerabu Island and stands casually on a small path reminiscent of a mountain road, I reached an old house called Hirose Residence. This is the Japan Minka-en (Japan Open-air Folk House Museum) in Kawasaki. The Hirose Residence is a relocated 17th century farmhouse built in Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture.

The Hirose house is built on the landing of a slope, and with its stocky appearance, it looks like a little fort. There are no earthen mounds or moats, so it may be a bridgehead. In any case, traditional Japanese houses are often open, but I did not feel such an open atmosphere in this Hirose residence.

You can't see what's going on inside the house from the outside. It has a closed atmosphere. Only the front of the house is open for people to enter and exit, and there are only a few windows on the other three sides. The eaves of the only doorway are so low that even a normal person could catch his or her head. There was not the slightest hint of a welcoming atmosphere for visitors.

The inside of the house, which had almost no light, must have been dim and closed. The little boy who was touring the inside of the house jumped up and down as soon as he came out of the house, as if he had been released from the gloom.

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