Constructing, weaving, knotting

A reed roof has an average life of about 30 years, enabling each generation to assume responsibility for thatching the roof. In the old days, thatching was a joint endeavor in the village, and all the villagers helped thatch the roofs of each house in its turn.
In an old-style house, the structure consists of a main pillar in the center, and wood and bamboo are knotted with straw to surround the sides of the house. The roof is thatched with reeds by knotting them together, and then a mud-like substance is applied to the walls.
People gave beautiful name for each process involved in the construction. For example, the work of constructing the wall by knotting with straw ropes the points where bamboo slats cross was called komai-gaki. Words like this convey to us how important house building was to the Japanese of those times.
By constructing, weaving and knotting the blessings of nature, we are given a dwelling place for our soul. Essentially, humans can acquire nothing by themselves except the blessing of nature. Old-style houses seem to tell us this.

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