"I actually destroyed a minka," he admitted sheepishly. "My grandfather was living there alone, and when he died, we broke it down. It's a waste, really.
"If we had had this, it would have been very different," he added, fingering his company's glossy brochure with "before" and "after" photos of revived minka.
Stanley's farmhouse is due to be shipped to Boston early next year. All but one of the major beams measured 39 feet and 9 inches, just right for the 40-foot shipping containers. The ridgepole beam stretched 55 feet and had to be cut. Stanley has gone into debt to finance his dream of building Shizutani School, a place where Japanese craftspeople will teach their arts.
"I'm sure my kids will remember me for this adventure," he said. "Whether they learn to chase their own dreams or learn a big lesson in common sense is yet to be seen."
Even before the house is loaded onto the ship, Takishita, the go-between on the project, felt that maybe he had fulfilled his purpose.
"We have a saying in Japan: 'The lighthouse shines and you can see far, but not at your feet,' " Takishita said. "The villagers have treasures under their feet and they never noticed it before."
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Susan Essoyan was in Japan on a Fulbright journalism grant.
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Color photos online
For an in-depth, full-color look at minka in Japan, including the deconstruction of Harrelson Stanley's farmhouse in preparation for its shipment to the United States, please look for the extended picture gallery posted with this story at latimes.com/home.
