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The past month has been filled with gatherings with friends and family. First, my best friend from high school traveled to Japan with his family for a vacation. He made the trip up the mountain to my place and I had some tough work prepared for him! We completed a pretty big pour of concrete for the kitchen floor. I made sure he carved his name into the wet concrete for safe keeping.

It meant a lot for him to make the trip up just to help with the renovation. To thank him for his time and effort, I took him to this great onsen in Ashiya called Shio-Ashiya Onsen Suishun (highly recommended if you’re ever near Kobe). It’s well-organized and has everything from massage baths, saunas, steam rooms, medicinal baths, electric pulse baths, to outdoor baths.

Just a few weeks ago, a huge number of aunts, uncles, and cousins made trips to Japan. On the first night in Kyoto, I took them all to Kimura Sukiyaki. It’s run by a very Showa-era family; that is to say, they only accept cash, store your shoes for you at the front door, don’t speak much English, have poorly translated menus, and offer a truly authentic Japanese experience. The next day, we all meet up at the beautiful Demachiyanagi Delta in Kyoto for a big Costco sushi picnic.

Next time, I hope I can host them all up at the fully renovated house.

The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry is an iconic essayist within the fields of agriculture and conservation. Today, I walk through some of his most powerful writing from the 70s to the 90s.

I first came across his work while in college and he left an imprint strong enough to compel me to revisit it today — almost a decade later. If you know me by now, its easy to see why. He speaks about how important land ownership and land use are to a healthy community and citizenry. He elevates this kind of discussion into a moral plane, for land owning and land use is not enough. Land is created not by man but by God. Land is a gift, and he argues that we must practice stewardship (and reject exploitation) if we are to deserve the privilege of private land ownership.

Most importantly, he believes that honest labor is inextricably tied to human dignity. We cannot expect to outsource work to machines or exploited human labor without consequence. Throughout his life’s work, he offers ideas of a well-functioning local economy as an antidote. Please enjoy this episode as we explore the critiques and hopes of Wendell Berry.

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Books Mentioned In This Episode:

When you purchase a book (or anything on Amazon) with the links below, you support me and the podcast at no extra cost to you:

* The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry by Wendell Berry

Links to More Resources:

* Wendell Berry

* Shio-Ashiya Onsen Suishun

* Kimura Sukiyaki

* Jeffersonian Democracy

* The Bank That Hamilton Built

* Swiss Cultural Landscapes

* William Carlos Williams

* The Beauty of Everyday Things by Soetsu Yanagi

* Jichikai (Japanese Self-Governing Associations)

* Learn Ikebana in Kobe (with me and a local expert!) on TripAdvisor

* The Akiya Project on YouTube

Unlock the rest of this post below, including 200+ exclusive photos, step-by-step videos, detailed supplier lists, and real renovation costs from my hands-on restoration of a 100-year-old Japanese farmhouse. See exactly how I navigated permits, found traditional materials, and saved ¥900,000 in contractor costs through DIY methods 👇