MACHIYA RESIDENCE INN Takayama offers three private machiya holiday homes, each showcasing stunning plasterwork and artistic exterior walls crafted by Shuhei Hasado. A renowned plaster artisan from Takayama, Hasado preserves traditional techniques while mentoring the next generation of artisans. Through his large-scale creations, he seamlessly blends timeless craftsmanship with modern artistry, celebrating the beauty of machiya architecture and his deep passion for traditional Japanese plaster art.
There’s a boundary between the atmosphere and outer space—a sharply drawn line separating two entirely different dimensions. Sometimes, I feel that same kind of divide in the process of creation.
That line isn’t some external force; it’s tied to our perspective. Are we looking down at it, or looking up to it? That difference in perspective changes everything.
No matter how much you plan, how thoroughly you double-check, once you’re on-site, things you couldn’t see before come into view. Unpredictable accidents and unexpected challenges always arise.
This summer, I worked on a pair of artwork, each 9 meters tall, in Takayama. The 2-meter prototype I created turned out beautifully, and I was confident. But once I started working on the 9-meter walls, it was nothing like the prototype. I was completely lost.
The 2-meter prototype was like the atmosphere, and the 9-meter site felt like infinite outer space.
Water, earth, light—and a perspective far beyond my own scale. In the end, this wall was born out of a struggle, as I wrestled with forces greater than myself, within the vastness of nature.
Traditional Japanese Sakan Artist
Shuhei Hasado
Artist Profile
Shuhei Hasado is the founder of Shokuninsha Shuhei Gumi Co., Ltd. and Kikaku Phenomena Co., Ltd. Born in 1962 in Takayama, Gifu, as the second-generation plaster artisan, he trained in Kumamoto and Nagoya. In 1983, he won the gold medal in the plastering category at the National Skills Competition. After returning to Takayama, he worked on projects like museums and hotels before founding his own company in 2001.
Hasado creates unique walls using natural materials such as earth, sand, lime, and straw, with notable projects including The Peninsula Hotel Tokyo, Aman Tokyo, and the JAL First-Class Lounge at Haneda Airport. He also contributed the title logo and credits for NHK’s Sanada Maru and creates art using earth within frames.
His published works include Notau Tsutau (Mainichi Shimbun), the poetic trilogy Ao to Kohaku, Kantai no Seiyou-shitsu, Hikari no Mukou (Kibishisha), Sakan: Shuhei Hasado’s Living Power (Rokuyo-sha), and Hiritsuku Iro (Shimizu Hirobundo).
Craftsmanship Unveiled: Witnessing A Moment of Artistic Creation
Amid the intense atmosphere of the site, Shuhei Hasado swings his trowel toward the 9-meter wall. The silence is pierced by the creaking of scaffolding. His eyes focused, he faces the monumental wall. It’s a one-shot effort. The air around him seems to rise like a presence.
As Hasado moves gracefully, the trowel gleams, and the sharp sound of earth cutting through the air echoes. Occasionally, he exhales deeply, murmuring softly, “It’s alive. The line is alive.”
The noise and dust that once filled the air vanish as his movements draw me in. I hold my breath, captivated by the scene. The tension is palpable, and I feel a chill, my body aware of the life being breathed into the massive wall. It feels like a sacred ritual, a precious act between nature and humanity.
In fact, the first attempt had failed. Having witnessed the careful preparations of the craftsmen, I could almost hear the tension in Hasado and his team as they redid the work. They scraped away the surface and applied a new layer. Though I can’t fully understand the details of the mixture, it was clearly different this time. Hasado was alive in his movements, and the lines were vibrant, slowly weaving through the wall. The silence was broken as the wall began to speak.
Hasado said the title of the work should be left to the viewer. He wanted to create something not immediately understood, something with a long "airborne time." The trowel’s marks on the wall resemble drooping plants, strong roots, veins bringing warmth, or cracks in the angry earth.
When the final line was drawn, Hasado leaned on a nearby craftsman, saying, “Thanks to you,” in his familiar deep voice. Looking up at the wall, he whispered, “I’m saved.” After a brief moment of looking to the sky, he lowered his head and closed his eyes deeply.
There was a mixture of joy and relief in the air. Hasado’s team gathered around, smiling with a sense of accomplishment as they looked up at the great wall. This was the essence of plastering—the raw power of true artisans. I was grateful to be there, speechless, but shaking Hasado’s hand firmly. My skin still tingled from the experience.
On-site report: Director Wanoe, Naonobu Wakisaka
The Future of Machiya DesignBlending Tradition and Innovation
The street that runs from Takayama Station to the historical Takayama Old Town district connects modernity with tradition, inspiring the creation of machiya architecture that links the past and future of Takayama.
The two adjacent machiya homes, ‘Aonoha’ Machiya Holiday House and ‘Yukinoha’ Machiya Holiday House are symmetrically designed with light-filled courtyards and exposed wooden beams, featuring a 9-meter plaster art by Shuhei Hasado. The third townhouse, ‘Ichika’ Machiya Holiday House, blends seamlessly with the street’s historic charm.
By adding new elements while preserving tradition, we create architecture that bridges the old and the new, in collaboration with Hasado, to carry Takayama’s culture into the future.
