Its origins can be traced back to the Heian period. From the Muromachi period onward, specialized woodworkers appeared, and KYO Sashimono (Joinery) flourished alongside the establishment of the tea ceremony culture.
We offer high-quality Japanese furniture made from solid wood planks, as well as tea ceremony utensils made from turned, bent, and flat pieces that make the most of the natural woods such as paulownia, cedar, mulberry, and zelkova.

• Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques

  1. Drying should be done by natural drying.

   

  2. Woodworking shall be carried out by one of the following methods:
  (1) In the case of chests of drawers, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (i) The boards used shall be solid wood. In this case, the thickness of the boards shall be 20 millimeters or more for the top board, bottom board and side boards, and 16 millimeters or more for the shelf boards and support boards.
  (b) The joint between the top panel and the side panels shall be a dovetail joint of seven or more panels, a dovetail joint with concealed mitered joints, or a wrap-around dovetail joint.
  H. Attach the side foot.
  2. The drawer components shall be joined using wrap joints and dovetail joints.
  (e) When installing doors or sliding doors, both sides shall be covered with decorative panels, and the decorative panels shall be sawn boards with a thickness of 3 mm or more. In this case, the members shall be joined using mitered tongue and tenon joints and end fittings.
  (2) In the case of a display shelf, one of the following shall apply:
  (i) In the case of pillar-supported structures, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  1) The boards used shall be solid wood. In this case, the thickness of the boards shall be 15 mm or more for the top board, 12 mm or more for the bottom board and shelves, and 6 mm or more for the side boards and support boards.
  2) The visible and deep dimensions of the columns shall be 18 millimeters or more.
  3) When joining the top or bottom plate to the side plate, a mortise and tenon joint with a small hole shall be used.
  4) The joints between the column or support post and the top board or bottom board shall be made by mortise and tenon joints, and the joints between the column and the side board and the support post and the support board shall be made by grooving.
  5) The joints of the members at the four corners of the base frame shall be made by mitered joints or dovetail joints.
  6) When installing doors or sliding doors, the thickness of the board material used shall be 11 millimeters or more. In this case, the members shall be joined by mortise and tenon joints and end fittings.
  7) If decoration is to be added, it shall be done by openwork, relief, or flat carving.
  (b) For board-mounted items, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  1) The boards used shall be solid wood. In this case, the thickness of the boards shall be 15 millimeters or more for the top board, bottom board, side boards, shelves, and support boards.
  2) The top panel and side panels shall be joined by dovetail joints, mitered dovetail joints, wrapped dovetail joints, or mortise and tenon joints.
  3) The shelf boards and side boards shall be joined by mortise and tenon joints with small holes.
  4) The joints of the members at the four corners of the base frame shall be made by a mitered joint or a dovetail joint.
  5) When installing doors or sliding doors, the thickness of the board material used shall be 11 millimeters or more. In this case, the members shall be joined by mortise and tenon joints and end fittings.
  6) If decoration is to be applied, it shall be done by openwork, relief, or flat carving.
  (3) For low tables, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (i) The tabletop shall be made of solid wood or double-sided decorative laminate with a thickness of 20 mm or more. In this case, the decorative laminate shall be sawn veneer with a thickness of 3 mm or more.
  The legs used must be made of solid wood.
  The tabletop and legs shall be joined by a two-piece mortise and tenon joint or a concealed mortise and wedge joint.
  The joint between the base and the legs shall be made by mortise and tenon joint, and the joint between the base and the tabletop shall be made by perforated mortise and tenon joint.
  (4) In the case of a writing desk, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (i) The tabletop shall be made of solid wood or double-sided decorative laminate with a thickness of 17 mm or more. In this case, the decorative laminate shall be sawn veneer with a thickness of 3 mm or more.
  (b) The joint between the tabletop and the legs shall be made by a mortise and tenon joint of five or more plank legs, and by a mortise and tenon joint of two planks for square legs.
  In the case of square legs, the joint between the base and the leg shall be made by mortise and tenon joint.
  2. When doors are to be installed, the boards used shall be solid wood with a thickness of 11 millimeters or more. In this case, the members shall be joined using mortise and tenon joints and end fittings.
  If drawers are to be installed, the boards used shall be solid wood. In this case, the thickness of the front board shall be 9 mm or more, and the components shall be joined using wrap joints and three-piece joints.
  (5) For tea ceremony shelves, the following techniques or methods shall be followed:
  (i) The board material used shall be a single piece.
  (b) If there is a top plate, bottom plate, or shelf, the members shall be joined by a mortise and tenon joint or a mortise and tenon joint.
  (c) If there are columns, the columns shall be joined to the top or bottom boards by mortise and tenon joints or notched joints.
  2. If there are side panels, the side panels shall be joined to the top or bottom panel by mortise and tenon joints.
  If decoration is to be added, it should be done by openwork.
  (6) For wooden items used in the tea ceremony, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (i) The board material used shall be a single piece.
  (b) In the case of a lidded container, the joining of side panels to side panels, and in the case of a door container, the joining of side panels to the top or bottom panel, shall be by dovetail joints or flat nail joints of three or more panels.
  (c) In the case of doors, the door panel members shall be joined by mitered end-fittings.
  (7) For boxes used in the tea ceremony, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (i) The board material used shall be a single piece.
  (b) To make a "removed bevel" using a beveling plane or spear plane, or to make a "finishing bevel" using a base plane.
  H. When performing "finishing cuts," the joining of components shall be done by end fittings.
  (8) For turned wood products for the tea ceremony, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (i) To shape using a potter's wheel and a potter's plane.
  (b) After rough grinding, allow to air dry.
  (9) In the case of bentwood items for the tea ceremony, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (i) The lumber to be used shall be straight-grained board, and shall be either "spliced" or "finished planed".
  (b) Manual bending or cutting.
  If there is a spout, handle, lid, or legs, shape them using a plane, carving knife, or chisel, respectively.
  (10) For carvings and carved items for the tea ceremony, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (i) To make it from a single piece.
  (b) For carvings, carvings are made using carving tools or chisels in the form of round carving, relief carving, or flat carving; for carved objects, carvings are made using small planes, bean planes, or chisels.
  (11) For tea ceremony buckets, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (i) The lumber used shall be quarter-sawn board.
  For joining the wooden boards, use dovetail nails.
  When using bamboo for the taganoki, the bark must be removed and the nodes shaved off.
  2. The bottom boards shall be fitted using dovetail cuts and wood-blocking techniques.

   

  3. The finishing process, with the exception of cedar and cypress wood, shall be carried out using the following techniques or methods.
  (1) Polish the paulownia wood using ibotaro wax.
  (2) After coloring the mulberry wood with lime, apply "rubbed lacquer" or "oil coating".
  (3) The zelkova wood should be treated with "rubbed lacquer".
  (4) Others should be polished using horsetail and hackberry leaves.

   

  4. When decoration is applied, it shall be done using lacquer painting, color painting, maki-e (gold or silver powder), inlay, foil painting, gold or silver paint, or gold or silver dust.

   

  raw materials

  1. The wood used shall be paulownia, cedar, cypress, mulberry, zelkova, cherry, Japanese yew, camphor, katsura, plum, persimmon, Japanese cypress, or yew, or timber of equivalent quality.

  2. Nails used in tea ceremony buckets shall be made of bamboo, and nails used in other buckets shall be made of deutzia wood.

  3. The bark used for bentwood items used in the tea ceremony shall be cherry bark.

  ４ 漆は、天然漆とすること。

  5. The metal fittings shall be made of copper or copper alloy, silver, gold, or iron.

   

• Work scene

  Work scene

  KYO Sashimono (Joinery) boasts a wide variety of products, but here we will introduce the general process of making traditional paulownia wood chests of drawers.

  Process 1: Arakidori

  The logs (raw timber) are stripped of their bark, stacked horizontally, and exposed to the elements for over a year to completely stop their growth. The logs are then cut into large pieces to determine the grain pattern (flat grain, quarter grain, figured grain, etc.) appropriate for their intended use. After another year of natural drying, they are sawn into boards or square timbers of the required size for the product and dried. These dried pieces are then marked (positioned) according to the dimensions of the product and cut.

  Process 2: Correction

  The cut planks of wood may have warps or twists, so they are straightened. Water is poured on the inside of the warped side, the opposite side is heated over charcoal, and a heavy weight is placed on top, leaving it for 24 hours. The amount of water and heat is adjusted using the skill of a seasoned craftsman.

  Step 3: Rough cutting

  The straightened material is then planed down to the desired thickness and width.

  

  Step 4: Dimension determination

  Using a carpenter's square or ruler, and a wooden mold for standard shapes, precise measurements and positioning are marked on the material with a special blade called a "shirogaki." The key point here is that no writing instruments such as pencils are used.

  Step 5: Jointing

  There are several techniques for joining boards together. When strength is required, such as in boxes, techniques called two-piece, three-piece, or five-piece joinery are used. Three-piece joinery is used for the side panels of drawers in chests of drawers. In this technique, the width of the board is divided into three equal parts, and the opposite end of each board is notched with a chisel to match the thickness of the other boards. The ends are then joined together and securely fastened with wooden pegs.

  

  Step 6: Making wooden pegs

  To make wooden pegs, a log of the Deutzia tree is cut to a length of about 20 centimeters, then split with a hatchet into pieces about 4 to 6 millimeters thick. These planks are then split again along the grain into 4 to 6 millimeter-thick rods, similar to chopsticks. These are then rounded with a small knife to create a wedge-shaped cross-section, and cut to the desired length to make a single wooden peg. Repeating this process yields about 4 to 8 wooden pegs from one rod. The pegs are then roasted with rice bran to remove excess moisture.

  工程7： 組立

  The interlocking parts are joined together using adhesive, then holes are drilled with an awl, a small amount of adhesive is applied to the tip of the wooden pegs, and they are hammered in to complete the assembly. The adhesive used is made by kneading rice grains well with a spatula. The assembled drawers are then planed and finely adjusted so that they fit precisely into the chest of drawers without any gaps.

  

  Step 8: Finishing cuts

  The joints of each section and the outer edges are planed and finished with a flat plane. Flat surfaces are planed using a double-bladed plane (sometimes a single-bladed plane is used for finishing the front of chests of drawers) to make them flat and smooth. After planing, small planes or chamfering planes are used to create rounded edges, top edges, flat edges, and beveled edges. The width and thickness of these edges greatly affect the shape and appearance of the product, so this requires particularly subtle skills and knowledge.

  Process 9: Finishing

  After polishing the surface using fine-grit sandpaper, horsetail (a processed fern used as ground cover in gardens), and hackberry leaves (dried leaves of the hackberry tree), a finishing process is applied to bring out the natural characteristics of the wood. For the raw finish of paulownia wood, a technique called ibotaro wiping is used, in which flower ibotaro (a waxy substance obtained from the sap secreted by the ibotaro insect, which parasitizes plants, and which has become cotton-like and wrapped around the wood) is placed in a cotton bag and rubbed to polish the surface.

  

  工程10： 加飾

  After the finishing process, lacquer painting, gold leaf painting, maki-e (gold lacquer), inlay, etc., are applied as needed. Handles and other metal fittings are also custom-made and attached to complete the piece.

  

   

• Close-up

  Close-up

  KYO Sashimono (Joinery) challenges tradition with a wide variety of products.

  Those who think "joinery is just about chests and boxes made of wood" will undoubtedly be surprised by the wide variety of "KYO Sashimono (Joinery)." Utilizing diverse techniques, KYO Sashimono (Joinery) transcends the boundaries of traditional joinery and is creating a new tradition.

   

  KYO Sashimono (Joinery) is rich in expression and diverse.

  "Kyoto joinery" refers to the work of joining and fitting together boards, rods, and other pieces of wood. However, this alone does not fully describe KYO Sashimono (Joinery). Kyoto joinery utilizes a wide range of techniques, including carving, bending, turning, and KYO Sashimono (Joinery) (for buckets and barrels), to produce a diverse range of products, from furniture such as chests of drawers and boxes to tea ceremony utensils and fine arts and crafts. Each technique is handled by a specialized craftsman, and according to the Kyoto Woodcraft Cooperative Association, "Even though we say 'KYO Sashimono (Joinery),' there are many different products and many different types of craftsmen. I think that's what makes KYO Sashimono (Joinery) so good and interesting." The reliable skills of the specialized craftsmen and the exquisite way they are combined are what make KYO Sashimono (Joinery) so appealing. It's more accurate to call it "Kyoto woodcraft" rather than simply "KYO Sashimono (Joinery)," and its diversity is truly enjoyable.

  

  "Snip, snip," carving in a steady rhythm.

  The spirit of the craftsman who supports KYO Sashimono (Joinery)

  We spoke with a veteran woodcarver who has been practicing woodcarving for over 50 years and holds the qualification of a traditional craftsman. He handles a wide variety of orders, from large furnishings to small items, but says, "As craftsmen, our first priority is to faithfully fulfill the customer's requests for how they want their work done." To bring the image in the customer's mind to life, he uses various tools and carving techniques depending on the type of wood, dimensions, and shape. He feels a great sense of satisfaction when a hard-worked project is completed, but he doesn't let that get the better of him. "My job is to make and deliver," he says. "It's the greatest reward for a craftsman when the things I make are cherished by the people who use them."

  

  My hands remember the direction of the blade and the amount of pressure to apply.

  You're not a true professional until you've become one with your tools.

  A craftsman's skills aren't acquired overnight. He's sometimes surprised by his own mastery of tools after seeing the clumsy tool-handling of young people aspiring to be craftsmen. For a craftsman, familiar tools are like an extension of their own hand; without them, good work is impossible. Therefore, tool maintenance is essential. He sometimes sharpens his blades two or three times a day. It's through this daily accumulation of effort that one finally becomes a full-fledged craftsman. "It would probably take at least 10 years to be able to calmly accept and complete any job that comes your way. Experience takes time."

  

  A variety of tools. They are used subtly depending on the purpose.

  Even new things should have that "Kyoto-esque elegance."

  Meanwhile, Kyoto artisans are currently working on creating new traditions while preserving and nurturing the craft culture that has been passed down through generations. I was shown some of the incense boxes that a carver had made. Small containers with various designs such as sparrows, plums, and clams. They were all so appealing that you'd want to pick them up. Their goal is to create things that are both cute and elegant. The artisans continue to cherish and preserve the refined elegance and Kyoto-ness of KYO Sashimono (Joinery).

  

  A collection of incense boxes with intricate designs.

  I enjoy the process of creating; that's what gives my life meaning.

  As a craftsman, the struggles to create something to his satisfaction are endless. But those struggles are also enjoyable. "Even now, when I'm working on a job for the first time, I think long and hard about how to make it turn out well. But even that process of thinking is part of the fun. The process of creating itself is enjoyable." "I guess I really do love this job," says the tattoo artist, who says it's his habit to look at his workshop every morning and plan his schedule. "I've been able to do something that's like a hobby and a job at the same time, and I've been able to do it steadily for 50 years. I'm happy."

  

  Careful consideration and a pursuit of a satisfactory result.

  Anecdotes

  What are the characteristics of KYO Sashimono (Joinery)?

  The first characteristic is the rich variety of products available. There are many types and a wide range of techniques. From furniture and furnishings to tea ceremony utensils and fine arts and crafts, various techniques are used to create products with completely different appearances even from the same material. The second characteristic is the beauty of the wood grain.
  "We look at the wood and consider how to use it to make it look its best," said one craftsman. For tea ceremony utensils and incense boxes, each piece is sometimes uniquely shaped to highlight the interesting grain of the wood. They strive to bring out the natural beauty of the wood to the fullest.
  Thirdly, it boasts functionality suited to Japan's climate and environment. Great effort is put into preparing the materials to ensure they don't warp even after long-term use, by soaking them in water for years or completely drying them out in the wind. And finally, there's the elegant and refined design. The most distinctive feature is the refined, delicate, yet innovative design, unique to Kyoto, the capital city for a thousand years.

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