A 20-minute walk from Tsurukawa Station on the Odakyu Line. As you walk along the street lined with houses and shops of various sizes, feeling the relaxed atmosphere of everyday life, you will come across the lush bamboo area known as Buaiso.

Buaiso is the former residence of Jiro Shirasu and Masako Shirasu, where they spent much of their lives, and is now open to the public as a museum. The house features a traditional thatched roof, which is rare in Tokyo, and a garden surrounded by bamboo groves, allowing you to enjoy life surrounded by nature.

"Buso-so", the base of the Shirasu couple's life

The history of "Buso-so" began in 1942 when Jiro and Masako Shirasu, a married couple, moved to Tsurukawa in anticipation of the food shortage during the war. The name "Buso-so" is said to have been derived from the fact that the house is located on the border between Musashi and Sagami, and is a play on the word "buso" (surly).

Jiro Shirasu (hereafter referred to as Jiro) was a liaison with GHQ in the Yoshida Shigeru Cabinet after World War II, and was also a businessman who was active in many companies. Masako Shirasu (hereafter referred to as Masako) is known as an essayist who deepened ties with Japan's leading intellectuals, including Kobayashi Hideo and Kawakami Tetsutaro, and published works on culture and the arts, such as "Hidden Village" and "Pilgrimage to the Western Provinces." After the war, the two became active in their own fields, but they continued to live at Buaiso throughout their lives.

Buaiso was originally the residence of a silkworm farmer. The couple renovated it to create a comfortable space while retaining the best qualities of a Japanese house. The dirt floor was replaced with tiles to create a Western-style guest room with a sofa, and there is also a room with tatami mats and an irori hearth. The study where Masako spent her time contemplating and writing her books has been preserved in almost the same condition as it was back then.

The furniture used in the rooms was selected by Masako herself, and antiques that she actually used are also on display in the rooms. Masako was an antique collector and once ran a dyeing and craft shop in Ginza, and her beloved items give a glimpse into her eye for beauty.

To preserve memories and lifestyles, in a museum

The idea of turning Buaiso into a museum came from the wish of Keiko Makiyama, the daughter of the Shirasu couple. After Masako passed away, Buaiso was taken over by Keiko's brother, but he was unable to use it as he had hoped and asked about selling it.

For Keiko, who grew up at Buaiso from the age of two, it is a place filled with many memories. Wanting to take over the business herself rather than let it pass on to someone else, Keiko decided to take over Buaiso.

However, Keiko was living elsewhere at the time and had no plans to live at Buaiso for the time being. Since a house will deteriorate if it is left unoccupied, she thought that turning it into a museum that people could visit regularly might help maintain the condition of Buaiso. With this in mind, Buaiso was opened as a museum in 2001.

For this reason, the current director of the museum, Yoshio Makiyama, explains that Buaiso is not a place to promote the achievements and background of the Shirasu couple, but is instead founded on a desire to preserve their lifestyle and place.

"Buso-so was not started with the intention of publicizing the achievements of my famous parents, but from a desire to preserve this place. That desire has not changed to this day. So Buso-so is a little unusual, with a stubborn couple born in the Meiji era who had attended schools in America and England living quietly and modestly in an old farmhouse, renovating it to their own tastes. I would like people to see the lifestyle they lived."

What Buaiso conveys is not the achievements that the Shirasu couple left behind, but their lifestyle. This consistent message is reflected in the exhibits, which focus on the landscape of their life rather than their history.

Japanese life and culture are based on the change of seasons

The Shirasu couple valued living close to nature at Buaiso. There were bamboo groves on the north and south sides of the house, and the couple enjoyed living in the midst of nature, picking bamboo shoots and Japanese pepper close to their home and eating them.

Another thing that Masako liked was thatched roofs. After Jiro passed away, it became clear that it would be very expensive to replace the thatched roof, so the family suggested replacing it with a tiled roof. However, Masako insisted, "No. Keep it thatched as long as I'm alive," and so the family decided to keep the thatched roof.

Makiyama says that Masako's desire to preserve the thatched roof was influenced by her appreciation of Japanese culture and beauty.

"Masako believed that Japanese culture is a culture that exists because of the rich changes of the seasons, and that it has developed on a foundation in nature. Thatched roofs are a material suited to Japan's hot and humid summers, and are a very familiar material often used on farms. Masako recognized the context of the seasons and climate that lies behind Japanese culture, and I think she saw beauty in that."

"That's why I think they were happy to have found such a great place," says Makiyama. Although the war was what led them to discover Buaiso, they were fascinated by the richness of nature and history that Buaiso possesses, and knew the richness of enjoying life surrounded by nature. Perhaps the reason they continued to live at Buaiso after the war was because it was the perfect place for them to live a happy life.

A place to enjoy the original Japanese scenery

It has been about 24 years since Buaiso opened, and to date it has been visited by approximately 900,000 people. When asked what kind of place he would like Buaiso to become as the surrounding scenery and times change, he replied, "I would like it to be a place where people can enjoy the original Japanese landscape."

"Originally, being able to feel close to plants, the sounds of birds, and the presence of insects was a normal part of Japanese life. However, with urbanization today, there are more and more people who have never seen bamboo shoots being harvested or heard the sounds of birds. I feel that people who come to Buaiso have come to see it not as a place that is an extension of their everyday lives, but as an extraordinary space.

Buaiso is a place where the original Japanese landscape remains a part of everyday life. That's why I want people to enjoy this space surrounded by nature, not just as a place to see the houses and furnishings where famous people once lived. When you come here, you can hear the birds chirping, feel the refreshing smell of the bamboo grove, and notice the change of seasons. It's also a place where you can feel a little nostalgic and calm. That's the kind of place I want it to be."

Buaiso is the former residence of the Shirasu couple, who were active after the war. This explanation is certainly true. However, I feel that what Buaiso is telling us today is the essential question: "What does a rich life mean to you?" Buaiso is not an extraordinary setting where famous people lived, but a place where we can rediscover the richness of the everyday life that surrounds us.

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Former Shirasu Residence Buaiso
Address: 7-3-2 Nogaya, Machida City, Tokyo 195-0053
HP: https://buaiso.com/
*For details on business hours and holidays, please check the link above.