{"id":150,"date":"2026-07-19T00:12:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T14:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/?page_id=150"},"modified":"2026-07-19T13:53:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T03:53:49","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF THE HOUSE<\/p>\n\t\t

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The Strength of the House <\/i>is an historical novel that follows the Iwamoto House through Japan’s remarkable transformation from the Meiji Restoration to the end of the Second World War.<\/p>\n

The Meiji Restoration initiated one of the most remarkable national transformations in human history. In the span of a single generation, Japan emerged from centuries of feudal isolation to become a modern industrial nation, reshaping its institutions, economy, and society at a pace that astonished the world.<\/p>\n

While history often remembers the statesmen, industrialists, and military leaders who shaped this era, the true transformation of Japan occurred within countless communities that faced the challenge of adapting to a rapidly changing world.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop stands the Iwamoto House.<\/p>\n

Rooted in tradition and sustained by generations of labour, the House finds itself confronted by opportunities and risks that would have been unimaginable only a few decades earlier. Under the leadership of Jir\u014d Iwamoto, the family and its wider community begin a deliberate journey of renewal. What begins as an effort to secure the House’s future gradually becomes a wider transformation, drawing craftsmen, merchants, builders, and entrepreneurs into a shared vision of what the House might become.<\/p>\n

The arrival of French engineer Auguste Baschet introduces new ideas and perspectives, but the story belongs to the people of Iwamoto themselves. As they encounter the possibilities and challenges of a changing Japan, they must balance ambition with responsibility, innovation with tradition, and progress with the values that have sustained them for generations.<\/p>\n

As the years pass, the ambitions of the House extend beyond the boundaries of a single village. New industries emerge, unfamiliar technologies arrive from distant shores, and opportunities once reserved for great cities begin to appear in places long overlooked. The choices made by the people of Iwamoto echo across families, businesses, and communities, revealing how national transformation is ultimately built upon the decisions of ordinary people.<\/p>\n

Rich in historical detail and grounded in the realities of nineteenth and twentith-century Japan, The Strength of the House<\/em> explores themes of leadership, community, cultural exchange, stewardship, and the enduring relationship between tradition and progress. At its heart, it is a story about continuity: how a family, a village, and a way of life can adapt to profound change without surrendering the values that define them.<\/p>\n

More than a tale of industrialisation, it is the story of people discovering that the true strength of a house lies not in its buildings or its wealth, but in the character, purpose, and shared commitment of those who call it home.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF THE HOUSE The Strength of the House is an historical novel that follows the Iwamoto House through Japan’s remarkable transformation from the Meiji Restoration to the end of the Second World War. The Meiji Restoration initiated one of the most remarkable national transformations in human history. In the span of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-150","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258,"href":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150\/revisions\/258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinesmokepress.com\/the-strength-of-the-house\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}