There is a desolate place in the townscape of Asuke, which has been selected as an important traditional buildings preservation district in the country.

We will be redeveloped this place as a garden "Hundred-year garden" that will be familiar to everyone for the next 100 years or more, many people can enjoy in various ways and The "garden" continues to grow to enhance the charm of the townscape.  Please support this activity!

Introduction ・ Greetings

Thank you for visiting this page from among the many projects. My name is Hiroyuki Amano, the representative director of the Institute for Chemical Reactions of Regional Culture. Standing between people, people, things (resources), and the community, I wanted to play the role of a catalyst that creates fun things, so I personally launched the Regional Humanities Research Institute while the main business of Toyota City staff. , We are engaged in activities to plan various interesting things. In addition to this institute, he also has a face as a curator of the Toyota Gohei Mochi Society.

In the townscape of Asuke, which is the stage of this project, in order to "inherit" the value of the townscape, we have proposed to the local people for its preservation and utilization from 2007 in a direction different from the maintenance policy of Toyota City at that time. However, we have promoted the use of the system of the Preservation District for Traditional Buildings. And even after the townscape of Asuke was selected as an important traditional buildings preservation district in 2011, the abandoned old restaurant "Suzuya" was rebuilt to show the form of utilization beyond preservation. We are continuing the "Suzuya Revitalization Project", an activity to create new value in the townscape.

Project stage, Asuke townscape

The stage of the project is the old townscape of Asuke-cho, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. Korankei, the most famous spot for autumn leaves in the Tokai region, is known as a tourist destination. The townscape of Asuke is home to the people who have created and protected the landscape of Korankei Gorge.

The townscape of Asuke has a long history, and there is a record that there was a cotton and lacquer market in the Middle Ages. It prospered as a distribution center and commercial town for supplies along (currently National Road 153, also known as "Shio no Michi" and "Chuuma Kaido"). Even today, the attractive townscape that has continued since the Edo period remains, and in 2011 it was selected for the first time in Aichi Prefecture as an important traditional buildings preservation district.

In the townscape of Asuke, the seven herbs behave at Asuke Hachimangu in January, and from February to March, Hina dolls line up in the houses in the streets. Pretty flowers of mountain katakuri announce spring, there is a spring festival of Asuke Shrine, the fresh green of Korankei shines brightly around the consecutive holidays in May, and after the ban on sweetfish fishing is lifted in June, anglers arm in the river In August, cool down on the road where "Tankororin" lights up, dance Asuke, look up at the fireworks of the Asuke Summer Festival, and in October, at the Asuke Hachimangu Festival, the mountain cars of each town around the townscape. I was intoxicated by the splendid and majestic appearance and the roaring sound of the gun corps echoing in the valley, and from the next day I will prepare for the festival again next year ... There is a chronology rooted in the life of such an area.

Please see the website of Asuke Tourism Association for various events and the state of Korankei. → Asuke Tourism Association website

Almost in the center of the town, on the mountain side of the alley called "Jizo Koji" from the highway, the old restaurant " SUZUYA " that we are regenerating and maintaining is There is. And the land next to SUZUYA across Jizo-koji is the site of this project.

What we want to achieve in this project

Currently, we are proceeding with the "Jizo Koji Development Plan", which is an integrated maintenance of the Jizo Koji facing the Jizo Koji, in the form of taking the "Jizo Family Revitalization Project" one step further.

The central activity is this project to develop the land next to the Jizo-koji, commonly known as "Higashi-no-sono", as a garden "Hundred-year garden" that will be familiar to everyone for the next 100 years or more.

Being familiar to everyone for the next 100 years or more means that we will continue to create the garden itself and grow the place together with you, rather than having the garden that we have created come as a customer. Once the garden is built, it's not over. I would like to create a garden where the people who gather there continue to work on the plants and stones that they have planted, and add the necessary functions to the townscape from time to time. ..
We have already begun work such as cutting down overgrown trees, removing structures that were about to collapse, and maintaining some plants.

But here's the problem that In addition to logging trees and construction waste generated in past activities, waste materials such as existing fences and sheds to be removed for future safety are transported and disposed of. In a situation where the entire garden is filled with waste materials, the next maintenance will be hindered. On the other hand, the fences and sheds that were originally about to collapse have become severely damaged, and if left unattended any longer, there is a high possibility that they will damage neighbors and those who pass through alleys, and the need for urgent removal is increasing.

Although we are proceeding with the work with the help of various people, the opportunities for renting the SUZUYA and various lecture activities that we have relied on for income due to the corona disaster have decreased, and the funds necessary for future maintenance It is a very difficult situation. However, considering what happened after Corona, I couldn't stop here, so I decided to take on the challenge of raising funds through crowdfunding this time.
There is another important reason to challenge crowdfunding as well as financing. I would like all of you who have supported us to become "the garden friends" who will create this place together.
In the history of the town, might be a fraction of the time, a little bit of change, please join us in the planning of this one hundred years!

Background of launching the project and past activities
In the "SUZUYA Revitalization Project" that started in earnest in 2013, we will make it an interesting place where people inside and outside the area can gather, create new values from this place, and change it as a necessary function for the future townscape. With the goal of continuing, we have maintained and continued to utilize the abandoned old restaurant "SUZUYA". It is also a place for holding art events such as the "Asuke Goennale" and for practicing the local "Asuke Odori".

While continuing the "SUZUYA Revitalization Project" that started in earnest in 2013 while being warmly watched by the locals, the management of the adjacent building has come to entrusted by the locals. It was. And while the land "Higashi-no-sono" on the east side of the Jizo-koji from the SUZUYA, which is main site of this Projeckt, is also cutting down trees that have become bushes to improve the landscape of the Jizo-koji. In 2011, and   "Higashi-no-sono"  was obtained at the request of the owner.

Including the other buildings that were already in charge of management, the Institute will manage many parts facing Jizo-koji, and the SUZUYA revitalization project has naturally expanded in a face-to-face manner. .. From the beginning, we had planned to develop from point to line and from line to area, but we decided to embark on the regeneration as a "town block" although it is small from the base development so far. (Jizo-koji alley development plan mentioned above)

Prior to this project, a rest area called "Kojien" has been set up along Jizo-koji and is open for free. When I hear stories from tourists who use this small garden, many people say that it is good to have such a place because there are not many places where you can feel the "inside" of the townscape.

In fact, in the densely packed buildings in the townscape of Asuke, there are few opportunities to feel the space in the "garden" surrounded by the buildings as well as inside the buildings. The "feeling of life" that is one of the characteristics of the townscape of Asuke and its unique charm can be felt more closely by getting a glimpse of the interior space and using it. Therefore, in cooperation with the functions of the SUZUYA, we have a stronger intention to manage the land along the Jizo-koji more actively, to make it a place where everyone can gather and get closer to the townscape, and we are involved with many people. we organized a "hundred years garden" to foster a place with the times while.

How to use the funds
The collected support money will be used to dispose of the waste materials from which the dangerous parts of the Higashi-no-sono have been removed. Removal can be done by ourselves, but a large amount of waste must be manually transported from narrow alleys to transportation vehicles, and waste must be transported and disposed of in an appropriate manner. This work will incur costs. In order to secure a place for future work, we would like to ask for your support by focusing on the funds for transportation and disposal costs this time. In addition, a part of the funds received will be used for payment to the craftsmen of Asuke Yashiki who will produce the returned goods.

Waste transportation / disposal cost: 450,000 yen
Preparation / shipping of gifts, transfer fee, etc .: 150,000 yen


Implementation schedule
Before the typhoon season, we would like to demolish the collapsed walls and the collapsed sheds and dispose of the waste materials so that the dangerous parts will not collapse or the waste materials will scatter and cause inconvenience to the neighborhood. thinking about.

Until the end of August ① Demolition of fences and eaves and arrangement of waste materials: Scheduled for workshop work
-If this crowdfunding is successful by August 20-
Until the end of September (2) Transportation and disposal of waste materials (consignment to industrial waste companies: use of this support money)
After October, ③ Resumed ground maintenance at the site, which was cleaned up, through workshop work. Start shipping gifts
After that, reconstruction of the fence along Jizo-koji (necessary for landscape conservation in the Jizo-ken area), etc.

Introducing the return
For the return, in addition to the tableware used in the old restaurant Kotobuki family and the right to participate in the workshop in the future 100-year garden, in collaboration with Mr. Asuke Yashiki in Korankei, the Asuke Yashiki We have prepared a special product made by the Korankei family, which is made by craftsmen. These items are limited to local purchases or crowdfunding of the Kotobuki family.
In addition, a rare limited sake brewed with the flower yeast of "Four Seasons Cherry Blossoms (Sakura that blooms in autumn)" that our institute planned to detect yeast (scheduled to be brewed around November for the first time, total volume 300 ml x 250 bottles planned) , We will prepare it as a souvenir for your SUZUYA tour.

At the end
The charm of the townscape of Asuke is also the charm of the people who live here. I think that it is possible to maintain the tasteful landscape and events only if you live in the townscape. In order to inherit the townscape, it is necessary to devise ways to add functions that match the times to the town.
To help with this, we are engaged in activities such as the regeneration and utilization of the Kotobuki family, but the “points” of the Kotobuki family cannot complement their functions. We would like to add new functions to the "line" of the Jizo alley facing the Jizo family and the certain "face" centered on the Jizo alley.
I can't do what I want because of the corona, but I've been working on it little by little so that everyone can drop in safely. And if we can transport and dispose of waste materials, which are expensive, we can proceed with future work smoothly. We hope that you will continue to participate in activities to enjoy the streets of Asuke as a garden friend, as well as support for starting the plan for the next 100 years! !!