In Japan, people have lived alongside trees since ancient times and use wood in all aspects of daily life. From the era of myths recorded in writings 1,300 years ago to today’s sustainable way of life, the "culture of wood" continues to be passed down and cultivated.
As can be seen in Japanese temples and shrines, wood is a very easy-to-work and strong material, which makes it extremely practical. At the World Expo held last year in Osaka, Japan, the "Grand Roof Ring," a huge wooden structure, was recognized by Guinness as the "largest wooden structure in the world." Even today, the culture of using wood remains deeply rooted in our daily lives.
Here is a little story about us, at the heart of this 'wood culture'
＊Below, we share some photos and comments from the artisans.
A paulownia wood chest of drawers (kiri tansu) was delivered to the repair workshop.
The 'Kiri tansu' spread among ordinary people starting from the Edo period, and at the time when wearing kimonos was common — about 50 to 80 years ago — it became a popular item that women brought with them as part of their wedding trousseau.
As a storage place for delicate kimonos, paulownia wood is ideal because it can regulate humidity. In Edo, where fires were frequent, these chests were also appreciated because they were light and easy to carry.
For this reason, the chests that are discarded when building a new house or moving can still be found in some old houses even today, in the 2020s.
The owner's ancestral "kiri" tansu/shelf, preserved in our building, is no longer used to store kimonos. It is now practically used to provide toys and illustrated books to the children who visit this place.
From there, all the doors will be removed, the bent metal fittings will be reinstalled, and the wooden surfaces will be sanded and restored.
The metal parts were removed, and all the doors were also taken off.
Even a single drawer handle shows differences with modern furniture.
「The metal fittings for drawer handles are secured by inserting two prongs and bending them at the back to hold them in place. These split prongs are called waribashi (split legs), referring to the two forked legs located at the back of the drawer handle hardware.
Paulownia wood is soft, so if the handle is attached with screws from the front, the wood may split when the drawer is pulled with heavy items inside, and the screws may eventually come loose. With the split legs, the fitting is secured by pressing against the wood's surface, which is therefore structurally more appropriate than fixing it with screws from the front.
However, in modern paulownia chests, it is now more common to insert screws and secure them from the back with nuts rather than using split-leg fittings.」
When you see split-leg hardware, you can tell that the piece is older.
Here again, the craftsman discovered something.
“Since Phillips screws are currently the standard, seeing a flathead screw like this also gives a sense of the era.”
Once the metal parts have been removed, the entire chest is washed.
The finishing of a paulownia dresser is made from natural clay powder (tonoko) mixed with a liquid extracted by boiling the fruit of the yashabushi tree. This coating is first completely cleaned.
We are very grateful to the artisan who has been working on this since the cold season, when the snow was falling.
"After washing, wooden wedges are placed between the parts of the chest and they are stacked in a way that allows air to circulate well. Since paulownia wood is soft, it also dries quickly."
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And now, the craftsman is working on it…
We can't wait to see how it will be brought back to life.
