Fuoji photos

Fuoji, Sukagawa, Japan 1979

I was invited to Japan by Kohsho Nakazawa, the priest of this temple,in Sukagawa City,  Fukushima Prefecture and worked on this building under master carpenter Shoji Yoshida.   I was hoping to arrive for the erection,of the building but got there the day after.  Yoshida was very dubious at first , but within a week he had bought me tools and I was working with him.  Since I didn't speak much Japanese and no one except the priest spoke any English it was  very challenging at first, but it was a great opportunity to work on a traditionally constructed building.  Since it was to be a residence for the priest, it  combined elements of temple and domestic architecture.  I started by standing around and sweeping up or holding one end of a beam, and then started helping run wood through machines.  Since every visible piece of wood was hand planed, I eventually started planing,  first on places that were high up and out of sight and the insides of closets, but eventually the ceiling boards of the main rooms.

Daiku Woodworking

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