In this stimulating account of how he found his life work -- the transforming of old farm houses into superlative modern dwellings -- Yoshihiro Takishita writes of an early influence. He saw the house that the late Meredith Weatherby had moved from Okutama and reassembled in Roppongi.
"I was captivated by the massive lustrous central pillar, the high ceiling, and the curved black beams that snaked beneath it, not to mention the breathtakingly impressive living room, as seen from the mezzanine floor."
He was also moved by this early refusal of a major architectural trend -- to tear everything down and start again from scratch. The only advantage of this still-dominant bias is that it is less expensive to destroy than it is to reconstruct. But where others saw only hazard, discomfort and inconvenience in ancient structures built of heavy wooden beams and straw thatch, the young Takishita saw enduring beauty and strength.