Westerners visiting a Japanese home for the first time are often surprised to discover how cluttered they are. The minimalist creed of decluttering guru Marie Kondo is an impossible ideal for most people here, which perhaps explains the enduring fascination of gomi-yashiki (trash houses).
Every month seems to bring another TV report about a home crammed to the rafters with rubbish. In a country where tidiness is second to godliness, the gomi-yashiki is a cautionary tale. Viewers watch with a mixture of curiosity and fear, thinking: There but for the grace of Konmari go I.
Hoarding is a serious social issue, but it’s given a disarmingly breezy treatment in Takayuki Kayano’s “Hoarder on the Border.” Across a series of linked episodes, this scruffy ensemble comedy follows the activities of a business that specializes in cleaning out the most junk-infested residences.
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