Ozu, a city in Ehime Prefecture, is in a basin on the north side of the Shikoku Mountains. Located in the watershed of Hiji-kawa River, which is running through the basin, the region prospered. At the centre of the abundant land was the castle keep of Ozu Castle. The castle was abandoned and demolished after the abolition of the feudal clans in the Meiji period, but the castle keep was restored to its original four-story wooden structure in 2004. The respect for the Ozu feudal lord and the love for their home district of the people of Ozu led to the realisation of this restoration. Its castle town is called ‘Little Kyoto of Iyo’ where the historical townscape with good atmosphere still remains.

The accommodation facility of ‘NIPPONIA HOTEL Ozu Castle Town’ opened in July 2020 in the castle town. The hotel is divided into three groups with nine buildings in total. This is a style called a ‘dispersed hotel’ that is an approach to convert vacant houses scattered around the town into accommodation facilities in order to utilize the entire town as a hotel. ‘NIPPONIA’, born in Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture with the concept of ‘creating a nostalgic and new Japanese life’. The objectives of the nationwide movement are to preserve the buildings that will create charming townscapes and to pass the scenery down to the future generations, by utilizing cultural properties and deserted houses in places with old streets like Ozu. By the time we participated in the initiative, many people had already been conducting major cleaning and repair works, and conservation research of vacant buildings in order to utilize the historic townscape. We delved into the project in the midst of the vigorous transition from conservation to actual utilization.

The SADA House, located at the bottom of the castle keep, is considered to have been built in the late Edo period. It consists of four two-story wooden buildings. When the project started, the nation’s first attempt called ‘Castle Stays at Ozu Castle’ was about to start as well, so the facility needed to accommodate the reception and a restaurant as well as guest rooms. The restaurant building is fitted with an impressive curtain wall made of hand-blown glass with a wooden frame facing the street on the north. All the seats on the first and second floors are arranged so that the guests can enjoy the view of Ozu Castle on the north of the building in direct light. The dinner served while they enjoy a view of the castle illuminated at night is also exceptional. The backyard of the reception building is the office and the second floor is used for the guest rooms. At the end of the alley between the two buildings, the newly built entrance is situated. The other two buildings are for whole house rental.

From the point of view of preservation of the townscape, we were very much conscious of the necessity of maintaining and restoring the buildings’ original features and appearances as much as possible. Even so, the roof tiles were needed to be replaced by more modern alternative. As a solution, the new ones have been laid on the back side hidden from view, and the original tiles have been laid on the side facing the street. As for the new walls, although the colour matches the existing ones, the so-called aging method has not been applied. This renovation is halfway through at the moment, and in this way the old and new conditions of the buildings can be distinguished easily when they change over time. The same method is used inside of the buildings. We came to the conclusion after sharing the idea with the craftsmen little by little through countless dialogues throughout the renovation work.

The structure has been thoroughly reviewed from the foundation. Corroded or damaged parts or areas were vigorously replaced and renewed. Aseimatic repairs were carried out according to Japan’s Building Standards Act. One of the characteristics of machiya (traditional townhouse) is that the entire façade opens up to the street. However, when the structural strength was checked, it was pointed out that the structure did not satisfy the necessary strength in modern standard. Therefore, in order to gain enough structural strength while taking advantage of the characteristics of the machiya architecture, we decided to give the structural strength using the balance of the entire building. As a result, it was possible to create a structure that prevents the imposition of an excess burden on the joints against the shaking of the building.

When we were showing guests around the completed buildings, a man asked us “what has changed?” It looked as if nothing had been changed to his eye. We would say it is the best possible compliment for a renovation work which aims at preserving the original townscape. Now, the building groups that have been changed to the accommodation facilities are marked with the Japanese style curtain with a logo of ‘NIPPONIA HOTEL Osu Castle Town’ hung at the front gate. We are glad that the four buildings have regained their former appearance against the backdrop of the cherry trees in Shiroyama Park, where the cherry blossom festival is held in every spring.