In a traditional Japanese home, you don't just live in space — you live in time. Kominka were designed to breathe with the seasons. To live in one is to rediscover how nature shapes daily life, room by room, moment by moment.
Four Seasons, Four Ways of Living
Spring (春)
Open shoji to catch plum breezes and plum blossoms. Tatami cool under bare feet. The smell of earth returns to the doma.
Summer (夏)
Wind chimes sway in engawa shadows. Mosquito nets unfurl. Evenings stretch with the sound of cicadas and distant fireworks.
Autumn (秋)
Doors close. Rice fields glow gold. The hearth reawakens. Chestnut scent, and leaves pressed against sliding doors.
Winter (冬)
Kerosene heaters glow orange. Kotatsu season. Wooden beams creak with frost. A stillness fills the ranma above fusuma.
A Home That Responds
Modern homes isolate you from nature. Kominka involve you in it. These houses are not sealed — they flex, shift, and accommodate the natural world:
- Tatami and shoji regulate temperature and humidity passively
- Engawa doubles as a sun-catcher in winter and a breezeway in summer
- Fusuma and screens reconfigure space based on light and airflow
Relearning the Pace of Life
Seasonal living in Japan is not a nostalgic idea — it's an ecological reality. Festivals, foods, chores, and comforts all cycle with the seasons. A kominka brings you into alignment with these rhythms.
- Planting and harvesting support community identity
- Seasonal cleaning, storage shifts, and shrine care rituals reconnect you to the home
- Traditional holidays and festivals animate your neighborhood throughout the year
To live in a kominka is to let the seasons pass through you.
NHES helps you find not just a place to stay — but a way to live with nature again.
