While cleaning up the doma I feel compelled to try and get into the roof.  I decide to rip a cardboard panel down and see what happens.  It comes down pretty easily and soon I’ve ripped down another and another.  So, it was a fake ceiling and from my experience of old thatched farmhouses I knew that one could gain access to the space inside the roof (used as storage) here.  Pointing a flashlight into the darkness seemed to confirmed this but I wanted to be sure so I pulled down  a couple more panels.

Just then, it occured to me that the wooden frame above the panels is very neat and square and the edges look cut.  I pushed it up and the whole thing just folded up on hinges.

Excitement builds as I get a ladder and a flashlight.  Climbing into the darkness. The space is much larger than I expected.  Very dry and dusty.  Boxes.  Straw.  An old birds nest.  Black beams.  Mummified rat.  Hakubishin shit.  The floor is covered with thin strips of wood and cut bamboo probably to help spread the weight for walking around.  It’s very quiet and the sounds of the insects outside are muffled.  It’s warm but not hot.

The boxes are very fragile and dry.  My cat likes sitting in one of the boxes.

She waits patiently as I take some pictures and explore.  The floor feels flimsy and I don’t want to fall through it, however, there is something in the far corner; it looks strange and I want to get a little closer.  It’s very gloomy over there but maybe it’s an old wood stove.  I get as close as I can then use the flash on the camera.

It seems to be a shrine.  What’s it for?