Nobody could answer this question when I first asked it, but perhaps one of the newer members can.
Back in the 1970s I saw a Japanese woodworker demonstrating joinery that doesn’t use nails. The pieces fit together like a puzzle, with one piece acting as a keystone.
Before cutting he would calculate the measurements–not with pencil and paper, but with a calligraphy brush and black in, on a piece of scrap wood. After finishing one set of calculations he said that what he had just done was no longer allowed in Japan, and that he was breaking the law by following traditional methods.
Can anybody tell me what he was referring to? It could be anything…perhaps nailless joinery was no longer allowed for buildings. His calculations were written in Japanese characters; perhaps building regs required calculations to be done in Arabic numbers. Maybe the calcs had to be on paper and kept on file. Maybe some architectural committee decided that certain formulae had to be used. I think it was the fact that he didn’t use a ruler to mark where to cut!
Whatever he was doing “wrong”, it worked for him. The cut pieces fit together perfectly, with no trimming.
Replies
It is all part of the show.
perhaps nailless joinery was no longer allowed for buildings.
Just a guess on my part.. I understand that Japan has very strict building codes now because of earthquakes..
I read someplace that the old wooden structures just 'come' apart. As in no nails or pegs etc.. I could be wrong...
The woodworker you saw was probably using the traditional Japanese system of measurement based on the ken module (1 ken appx= 6 ft). I believe that the Japanese government outlawed the ken-module measurement system when they officially "went metric". I'm not certain anymore about specific dates, but they've since changed their perspective and see the technique as a valued part of their heritage. I read that ken-module tools had to be sold under the counter during the metric dark ages. I'm curious, what was the woodworker's name?
I never got his name, because I was standing there goggle-eyed until the bells of the Campanile reminded me I was about to miss lunch at the dorm. Considering all the classes I cut during my less-than-illustrious college years, I'm surprised it didn't occur to me to cut my remaining classes and watch him work all afternoon.Thanks the information on Japanese building regs. I've been wondering what he meant for, well, decades.Janet
Edited 3/16/2006 6:28 pm ET by jyang949
Janet and all,The woodworker was likely referring to the use of "shakkan-ho", which is the Japanese traditional measuring system. To clarify, it is not based on the 'ken' module, as Michael Yates, asserted; rather the 'ken' is a special unit of measure based on six of the measures termed 'shaku'. One shaku equals 11.93" (30.3 cm), so you can see it is very close to an imperial foot. The shaku is further divided into 10 'sun' which are further divided into 10 'bu' which are further divided into 10 'rin'.To give a little historical background, shakkan-ho is based on Chinese antecedents, coming into Japan probably in ad 100 or so, with a period of trading opening up between the two countries at that point. With trade comes a need for agreed-upon measuring standards. The ken module appeared in the 1400's, originally denoting the measure of the interval between posts in a wooden structure. Eventually, over many years, the ken module settled down to a measure equal to 6 shaku. However, there is also a 'country' ken measuring 6.5 shaku. Since the ken measure related well to the space taken up be an adult sleeping on the floor on a tatami mat, amongst other factors, it gradually became a design module in residential architecture (not in religious architecture however).The metric system was adopted in Japan in the early 1890's, along with many things western, and shakkan-ho was 'outlawed'. I doubt people went to prison however for violating this law, and in fact it was still used, unofficially, by many carpenters. It is still used by many carpenters, but metric predominates in Japan overall in the construction industry.As for Will George's idea that "nail-less" joinery being no longer allowed for buildings, is not true. Japanese wooden structures can be taken apart - they do not simply 'come apart'. Many traditional buildings are supported by posts on stones, and it is fairly common in such buildings that the columns not be attached to the stones, save perhaps with a stub tenon. Pins ('sen') and wedges ('kusabi') have been standard in joinery there for 2500 years. Metal is also used - the romantic idea of completely metal free construction, that is 'nailless' - is not how it is done. While the vast majority of Japanese timber frame joinery uses no metal, certain key points have always been reinforced with metal crimps, spikes, threaded rod, and even chains. Rafters, for example, which are numerous in the decorative eave on Japanese buildings, have a perimiter fascia ("kaya-oi") over top of them, and it is spiked to each rafter - that's hundreds of spikes right there.Japanese structures are the product of 2500 years of continuous development in a typhoon and earthquake prone location. I think that the overall record is excellent, though the Kobe Earthquake of 1999 dealt a blow to the traditional building industry. There was a rush to judgement about the factors that lead to the collapse of a large number of buildings, tradional and modern, Japanese and Western among them. The 2x4 industry and the modular home industry were quick to blame the traditional building methods, and surprise, put forward their products as 'superior' alternatives.Frankly, traditional wooden Japanese architecture, done properly, is something only the really wealthy in Japan can afford. It's not just the astronomical cost of land and materials that make such homes so expensive - often the cost of the garden is double that of the home!The appeal of cheaper light frame construction, along with the growth of the factory built homes in Japan have nearly killed this 2500 year old tradition, sad to say.Japanese building codes have stiffened considerably since the Kobe 'quake,, most particularly in terms of concrete building standards. The Japanese pour almost as much concrete per year as the United States, if you want to have some idea of how prevalent concrete work is over there.I guess you can see what my pet interest is, huh?ChrisEdited 3/18/2006 6:44 pm ET by sparrowEdited 3/18/2006 6:45 pm ET by sparrow
Edited 3/18/2006 6:46 pm ET by sparrow
Now there is a man who knows his Japanese woodworking history!Nice read, thanks for the post.
saw a short video on the discovery channel last year on japanese architecture.
guy named william coaldrake was on part of it. think he as a book out "Architecture and Authority in Japan"
was talking about that the craftsmen typically spent 1/3 of their day sharpening their tools so the could do the work needed. amazing.
http://www.ibiblio.org/japanwood/phpBB2/
this is a site for japanese tool users and includes builders too.
jeff stafford
indianapolis
Hi Jeff,Coaldrake also wrote a book called "The Way of the Carpenter", which isn't too bad, though it is filled with a large number of factual errors, photo mislabelling, etc. His explanation of the uses of the Japanese framing square is especially confused and mistaken. He is an academic, not a carpenter, and often something gets lost in that look from the outside on in, it seems to me. I have quite a few books like that.Mind you, the best book on the Japanese roof that I've ever seen is Mary Neighbour Parent's book "The Roof in Japanese Buddhist Architecture" and she is an academic, sadly now diseased.Thanks for the link to the Japan tools forum - you do realize that I am the moderator on that site?Chris :^)
had not looked "sparrow" up here for a bio.hi chrisjeff stafford
indianapolis
They do use metric system and, in my opinion, we should too. That said, traditional Japanese joinery is probably some of the best in the world as the old methods still hold temples and buildings together to this day. Some of the structures are 200 plus years old and have survived multiple earthquakes and remain standing. The buildings as a whole structure flex somewhat and this makes them very safe, it's the very tall "modern" buildings that require the more modern construction techniques and they flex too.
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