The Kominka Collective's mission is to save Japanese kominka folk houses and other traditional structures while preserving Japanese building arts. We are a not-for-profit company.

Alarmed by the loss of Japanese folk houses and other traditional structures, we decided to try to send the frame and other parts, materials, and furnishings of a 120-year-old kominka to Oregon to be reassembled and rebuilt. In doing this, we wanted to find out if this was possible, with the hopes that sending kominka that are going to be demolished abroad might be a way of giving them a new life. We also hoped that this would be way to give people outside of Japan opportunities to learn about and enjoy these extraordinary structures as private and public spaces, and that this might then also contribute in some way to a greater awareness and appreciation of their value back in Japan.
The first kominka that we sent overseas, the 600 sq ft Mikawa House, was carefully disassembled and wooden parts were numbered so that we would know their location when we rebuilt it in its new location. The disassembled house was taken to the Toda Komuten workshop where the wooden components – beams, posts, ceiling panels, and other parts - were washed, along with 800 ceramic tiles which had been affixed to the roof with mud. The house was preassembled in the workshop, repairs made as needed, and we packed the parts into 14 crates. With Mikawa House we sent shoji screens, ranma, tansu, kurado and other doors, and an array of old and interesting items that would have been destroyed had Mikawa House been demolished – including silkworm pallets that had been in the attic, two pack saddles, scrolls, and a number of other items. To our surprise and delight, when people learned that Mikawa House was going to Oregon, they gave us any number of treasures to send with her, and it pleased us knowing that this lovely small house would begin its new life together with so many familiar items.
Once in Oregon, the Mikawa House frame was assembled over the course of a day with guidance by Kominka Collective member Kunito Niwa, who had documented the disassembly of the house. The owner, another member of the Kominka Collective, Eric Carlson, has been rebuilding the structure between his other projects, and it is likely to be completed in December 2024.
As is the case with kominka that are relocated within Japan, Mikawa house is being built using new and old materials. As many of the original materials as possible are being used in the rebuilding, although sometimes in new and creative ways – such as ceiling panels being used as wainscoting.
The structure has been designed to meet building codes and requirements regarding insulation are met or exceeded.