At the end of last year and last weekend, I went to Shikoku to research tea houses.
In December 2025, I will be traveling to Ehime Prefecture with Professor Kobayashi from Yasuda Women's University.
In January 2026, I went to Kochi Prefecture with Professor Kurihara from Kumamoto Prefectural University.
First up is Ehime Prefecture. I wandered around looking for tea houses, mainly in Seiyo City.
Although there was existing documentation, it was difficult to find data on old addresses from before the merger of municipalities, and to match the old roads with the current roads.
Shikoku has a rather tropical image, but the mountains are cold and there is still snow here and there.
However, there are still a considerable number of tea halls remaining, and we were unable to see them all.
Also, the stone walls formed on the slopes are amazing. At first glance, the terraced fields appear narrow, but local residents told me that construction work was carried out during the Hatsuna period, making them wider and gentler than they used to be. If you look closely, you can see the extremely narrow and steep stone walls of the old days, which were left behind by abandoned farmland.
I would definitely like to visit again.
And Kochi Prefecture.
The coldest wave of cold hit us. And it was snowing... and piling up. Am I in Shikoku? Or maybe I'm in Tohoku by mistake? In this kind of scenery, we quietly investigated the tea house.
The tea hall was a place for villagers to gather and to welcome travelers. I thought that tea halls are especially necessary in modern times. A place for neighbors to gather and talk, for visitors to interact and socialize... I wonder if people today have the time and the heart to do so.
A while ago, I went to Kyushu University for the Architectural Institute of Japan conference.
The campus is huge and there is also a hamburger restaurant.
Tsukuba University also has a large campus and there is a certain coffee shop there, but it has a different atmosphere.
It's new overall, but that's not all.
This presentation was a report on building shops in Shikoku.
I received valuable opinions and advice, so it was worth the trip.
I won't go into details, but I have just realized that there are two main types of presentations by each professor.
Professor Kurihara from Kumamoto Prefectural University gave a good presentation.
I feel like it was a memorable tournament.
The Kyushu University campus is entirely new.You can move around the campus via covered walkways. It seems that bicycles are not allowed, so I wonder what Kyushu University students do on a regular basis. Many students at Tsukuba University get around by bicycle.The trees seemed to be acting strangely. Could it be the effect of the intense heat?
This time, the survey was conducted jointly with President Watanabe of Daido University and Lecturer Kurihara of Kumamoto Prefectural University.
In the second half, Professor Kobayashi from Yasuda Women's University joined the session, replacing Lecturer Kurihara.
We conducted a field survey of the thermal and ultraviolet environment at Tamaru Bridge, a covered bridge in Uchiko Town.
Luckily it didn't rain, but it was cloudy.
Humans cannot beat the weather.
Tamaru Bridge.There's no doubt that it feels cooler on the bridge. There seems to be a combined effect of visual and auditory sensations.A dragonfly resting on the bridge.The butterfly is also leisurely eating on the bridge.
A paper from our laboratory was published in "Humans and the Living Environment" Volume 32, No. 1.
The title of the paper is
"Research into the current state of shop-style houses: Based on the results of a survey in southern Tokushima Prefecture"
.
I have often introduced the investigation into store construction on this blog, but looking back, it seems that the investigation into store construction began in earnest in 2021.
This photo was taken more than three years ago. Time flies.
It's been a while since my last update...this time it's Tsushima again.
This time, we will be investigating the stone roofs of Tsushima together with Professor Kobayashi from Yasuda Women's University.
Using the equipment provided by Professor Kobayashi, we were able to confirm things that were previously unknown.
"I see, so that's how it is," I thought, feeling somewhat satisfied with the results of the investigation so far.
When we decided on the survey date, we were worried, "Is it still the rainy season? Will we be okay with the rain?", but when we arrived in Tsushima, it seemed that the rainy season had ended in western Japan. It was hot.
Professor Kobayashi conducting research.The blue tarp on the stone roof had been removed. It looks like the roof has been repaired. Good.We were also able to conduct a survey of the thermal environment.A beautiful butterfly. I suddenly had a camera in hand, but I could only take one photo.The next day I saw a beautiful black butterfly and took a photo of it, but it seemed to be a different species.I can't fully convey the beauty of this place. My camera skills are limited. Sorry.The seven-colored feathers were beautiful.
This time we were supposed to be conducting a joint survey with Professor Kobayashi from Shimane University, but due to the snow caused by the strongest cold wave, Professor Kobayashi was unable to attend.
Our flight was delayed too, so we took a ferry to Tsushima for the first time.
Well, this was also a good experience.
Recent research has made me realize that humans cannot defeat nature.
The weather there was better than last month.We arrive at 4am and can wait on board until 7am.It seems like there is more snow than last month.
![The paper has been published [Humans and Living Environment Volume 32 No. 1]](https://www.geijutsu.tsukuba.ac.jp/go/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2025/08/IMG_2576-1200x800.jpg)
