A SMALL wooden plank was attached to the front wall of the Dutch-colonial style house. “YOUNG PATHOOK ‘43 GENERATION,” the text said. The next sentence was illegible as the paints had already faded.

The large house in Pathuk village, Ngampilan, Yogyakarta—around 1.3 kilometers west of Malioboro—did seem neglected. The paints on its walls and window frames had almost entirely peeled off. Weeds grew wild in the yard.