Jiko Bukken

I have always been intrigued with Japanese culture, yes, as a boy, watching Godzilla and Ultra Man, but also attending  the Obon festival at a nearby Buddhist church, and certainly engrained by my film buff period, when I watched all of Kurosawa’s works (and even went to a Film Festival Screening to question him about the translation of Seven Samurai.) I was the US distributor of sophisticated equipment from the Japanese company Love and Challenge, and even before I had children I was in love with Totoro and Miyazaki. 

I do think it’s coincidental that my wife was hapa, as I didn’t go out looking for that, but I take some pride in the fact that my children descend from a samurai lineage. And while I haven’t studied Shinto as I have Taoism, my polytheistic studies have certainly made me aware of its relevance to my work. 

Given that history, it’s surprising that I was unaware of the term Jiko Bukken until recently.  This article defines Jiko Bukken as Distressed Property, but goes on to discuss Shinritekikashi bukken (“psychologically defective property”), which too, is right up my alley.

The fact that the Japanese recognize that properties are affected by their previous owners’ deaths and life trauma comes as no surprise at all.  Still, that an entire class of real estate exists (with financial distinction based on this understanding) validates my work in a multicultural frame, and makes me more than happy to offer my services to clients who would otherwise be suffering from this stigma.

Describe it in whatever terms you like, but contact me to restore it to its harmonious state.