Trip Overview
Depending on funding, in the Summer of this year our founder, Daigo is planning to visit regions in Japan famous for different woodworking techniques and meet with the unique crafts men and women at the core of Japanese woodcraft traditions.
Also on the itinerary are meetings with the organisations preserving and shaping the woodcraft industry in Japan, including the Takenaka Museum of Carpentry and Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture.
Here is a map of the planned itinerary, split between visiting individual ‘Makers’ and organisations.
- Takenaka Carpentry Museum (Organisation Visit)
- Gifu Forest Academy (Organisation Visit)
- Kunimitsu Takatsuki (Maker Visit) – Okayama
- Yasuo Okazak (Maker Visit)
- Funatsu Funahiro (Maker Visit) – Yoita, Niigata prefecture
- Kazuto Yoshikawa (Maker Visit)
- Tomio Imaru (Maker) – Ishikawa-gun
- Takehito Nakajima (Maker Visit) – Yamanaka
- Yakumo Woodcarving Museum (Organisation Visit) – Hokkaido
Maker Visits
Kunimitsu Takatsuki – Okayama
Kunimitsu is at the heart of the revival of Gobarashikki, a tradition in wood carving and lacquerwork from Okayama in south west Japan.
Yasuo Okazaki / Miyagi Prefecture – Tohoku Region
Skilled kokeshi doll maker operating near Naruko Hot Springs.
Funatsu Funahiro – Yoita -Niigata prefecture
Funatsu is one of Japan’s most regarded chisel (nomi) and plane (kanna) makers.
Kazuto Yoshikawa – Setagaya, Tokyo
Kazuto Yoshikawa is contemporary woodworker, living in Tokyo.
Tomio Imaru – Ishikawa-gun
Tomio runs the Green Woodwork Craft House School (http://www.tomio-imaru.com/)
Takehito Nakajima – Yamanaka
A traditional woodworker of lacquerware in Yamanaka region (http://takehitowoodworks.com/)
Organisation Visits
Takenaka Museum of Carpentry, Kobe
Meeting with: Marcelo Nishiyama – Chief Researcher
https://www.dougukan.jp
Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture – Mino-shi, Gifu-ken
Meeting with: Masashi Kutsuwa – Associate Professor
https://www.forest.ac.jp/english/
Japan Woodcraft Association 