In 1997, the Japan Minka Reuse and Recycle Association (JMRA) was established to promote the benefits and conservation of minka. One minka that belonged to the Yonezu family was acquired by the JMRA and donated to Kew Gardens as part of the Japan 2001 Festival. The wooden structure was dismantled, shipped and re-assembled in Kew with new walls and a thatched roof.
The social status of the minka owner was indicated by the size and complexity of the building. For thatched roof minka the number of crossed wooden members (umanori (馬乗り)) or bundles of miscanthus reeds along the ridge are a good indicator of the importance of the owner's status in the village. For machiya, the presence and elaborateness of an (udatsu (卯立))—a wall that projects above the roof line—has a similar status. The udatsu inherited the function of a fire break, but initially it was a method of establishing the extent of ownership in long terraces of row houses.
