Next, we will describe the most important characteristics of each of them.

But, if you are not an expert, you should read the blog on basic concepts of wood so that you better understand all the terms that we are going to use.

1. Miyadaiku: the traditional Japanese carpentry of religious use

A Japanese carpenter (miyadaiku) must dedicate many years of his life to learning techniques for the preservation, construction and maintenance of structures, which means that the miyadaiku must not only know about carpentry, but must also be, at least in part. , an engineer.

You may or may not know this, but the fact is that Japan is an extremely traditional country in many ways. In fact, part of the appeal of Japanese culture is due to the confluence of traditions and modernity.

And it is here where the miyadaiku acquires great importance in Japanese society, since it is in charge of preserving history and tradition through the restoration and preservation of buildings that in some cases are millenary.

Now, we will see a little about the origins of this ancient art.  

Origins of the miyadaiku

Although miyadaiku is a Japanese art, in its origins it was greatly influenced by cultures such as China and Korea.

This is a very old profession that is more than 1000 years old and consists of the construction of structures such as buildings, houses, and even bridges without the use of nails.

The idea is that the pieces of wood fit together thanks to a tongue and groove system, that is, a system in which the pieces of wood are grooved along their edge (the edge is the lateral ends of the wood) so that they are assembled. as if it were a puzzle.   

In fact , did you know that the oldest company in the world still in operation is from the miyadaiku sector?

Its name is Kongo Gumi and it operated under that name for around 1,500 years until it was bought by a Japanese construction conglomerate in 2006. 

Another curiosity is that its founder was not a Japanese but a Korean architect-carpenter who in the middle of the 6th century BC. C. traveled from his native Korea to Japan,because he had been commissioned to build a Buddhist temple, since at that time that doctrine was gaining a lot of strength in the Japanese country.

So once in Japan,He decided to set up his own company for the construction of religious temples.

What is miyadaiku?

Carpenters who specialize in this art (also called miyadaiku) build shrines and temples by assembling wood together.

This is tremendously complex because ensuring that the foundations of a temple resist its weight is already difficult with conventional techniques, that is, through the use of glues, nails and other types of joints.

However, miyadaiku do not use conventional glues, but rather join the pieces of wood by embedding them together.

This is a complicated process that takes into account the temperature of the pieces, because when gluing one piece of wood to another, there needs to be more humidity (lower temperature) to make it easier to slide them together.

(Remember that generally speaking wood hardens as it loses moisture.)

On the contrary, when the joints need to be glued, the temperature is increased, which reduces humidity and hardens the wood, making the joint firm.  

Athough it does not seems,that union between woods is very strong, enough to support several tons of weight.

Also, on some occasions, a mixture of clay is added at specific points to strengthen the union of the pieces of wood, but that is quite rare.

As you can see, the miyadaiku must have a good understanding of engineering to do their job well.

Field of action of the miyadaiku

On the other hand, the construction of temples or traditional buildings is increasingly complicated, mainly because Japan is an island with a lot of seismic activity, which means that by law the buildings must be resistant to earthquakes and fires and, as you can imagine, this is not can guarantee if it is only built with wood.

For that reason modern temples are built in concrete. So although there is less work building temples, in the field of building repair employment remains stable.

In addition, in Japan, carpentry is considered an art and there are always people interested in learning it. This means that whoever knows about this discipline will never be unemployed, because if they do not work restoring old buildings,you can make a living being a teacher.

Additionally, in the last decade, more and more people from all over the world have been interested in learning about Japanese woodwork, as they believe that Japanese constructions are very aesthetically attractive, while being minimalist.

And the best thing is that there is little competition, because for someone to be accredited as a miyadaiku master carpenter, that person must have many years of demonstrable experience (on average 15 years).

That is to say, the miyadaiku must be recognized for having worked on the restoration of a historical building or better still, it must belong to a family that has worked on this art for several generations.  

Why aren't nails used in miyadaiku?

The miyadaiku carpenter does not make conventional constructions such as houses or apartments, he only dedicates himself to everything related to religious buildings.

In Japan, metal structures are prohibited in the construction of temples, mainly because pieces such as nails do not withstand humidity well and rust quickly if they are outdoors, which makes the joints not so secure and at the same time They detract from the aesthetic appeal of buildings.

That is why the carpenter is only allowed to work with wood and paper and rarely with clay.

2. Sashimono-shi: Japanese cabinetmakers

Origin of Sashimono

This art originated in the early 17th century. At that time, the pieces made by the sashimono-shi were taken all over Japan by wealthy merchants and samurai lords who were the only ones who could buy them because they were very expensive and of good quality.

 What is sashimono?

The word sashimono means "furniture" or "utensil" made without nails. These pieces of furniture are made using very thin joints that give the impression of being very flimsy, but are actually very hard and resistant.

(Now the suffix shi denotes the profession of the person; therefore, sashimono is the art and sashimono-shi the artist.)

furniture appeal

The attraction of the pieces made by the sashimono-shi is that they are made one hundred percent by hand and only mechanical tools are used, so the preparation time is longer compared to conventional furniture.

This guarantees quality in the construction process, so much so that today several of these pieces of furniture are practically in perfect condition after several centuries of use.

However, it should be noted that not all the pieces are luxury and sashimono professionals also make very practical and inexpensive furniture for all types of use.

Scope of sashimono-shi

Japanese cabinetmakers specialize in the construction of furniture of all kinds, for example, they make interior furniture such as tables, beds, desks, chairs, etc.

They also make boxes and other packaging; doors and window frames. But don't think that's any easier than building shrines, as chunks of wood often require a lot more planing work to bring out the natural pattern of the wood.

There are even competitions in which participants must plane a piece of wood as thin as they can, without actually breaking it. The idea is that the contestants demonstrate their skills and receive recognition, which often leads to contracts for new jobs.

3. Sukiya-daiku: Japan's structural carpentry

Origins of Sukiya-daiku

This traditional Japanese woodworking style traces its origins to the mid-15th century Japan.

What is the Sukiya-daiku?

The sukiya-daiku are skilled 50% carpenters and 50% architects.

His technique is to eliminate excesses and ostentation in the decoration to make way for a refined and simple look (some would call it minimalist).

The objective of his works is that they have the traditional appearance of Japanese constructions, which is why the final appearance of the wood is sought to be a bit "abrupt" or "rustic", a fact that increases its aesthetic appeal.

Likewise, sukiya-daiku experts use various techniques to imprint details on the wood that enhance the grain of the wood, as well as its grain.

Fields of action of the Sukiya-daiku

The professionals of this art are dedicated to the construction of houses, hotels and shops, that is to say that they make floors, doors, window frames, beams and stairs among others.

On the other hand, this art is taught by sukiya-daiku masters who, like the miyadaiku masters, come from families that have dedicated themselves to this discipline for generations.

In addition, the teaching of these techniques is completely empirical, that is, students learn by observing and imitating what their teachers do.          

4. Tateguya: the traditional Japanese interior carpentry  

Lastly, there are the Tateguyas. To tell the truth, these professionals are more architects than carpenters and are dedicated to interior design with wood.

Perhaps you have seen in movies or documentaries about Japan, that in some houses or commercial premises there are sliding doors that separate or divide the rooms and are made up of sheets of paper mounted on a wooden frame. The point is that these doors are known as "Shoji" and are one of the specialties of the tateguya.

In addition, these artisans use bamboo wood as one of their main raw materials.

Infallible tools in traditional Japanese carpentry

As we have already seen, each of the 4 subdivisions of traditional Japanese woodworking is an art by itself.

However, Japanese carpenters have one thing in common and that is that in general, they all use more or less the same tools.

So, if you are interested in starting this art or you are just curious, we will show you what are the essential tools in any Japanese carpentry workshop.

Nokogiri

It is similar to the carpenter's saw; In some countries also known as "wood saw" or simply "saw" but the nogokiri does not cut when its blade is pushed on the wood but when the blade is withdrawn.

That is to say, since the nogokiri does not have a serrated blade, it works more like a knife since its blade is smooth.

Its design is so because it is used to make fine cuts in pieces of wood that are small and,a jagged blade like a saw would leave uneven edges, which would mean having to plane again each time a cut was made, thinning the wood. This would increase the risk of the piece being lost as it would be very thin and would not serve to make the joints.

KiwaKanna

It is the equivalent of the common mechanical carpentry planer, which is a very sharp metal blade mounted on a handle by which it is gripped.

this tool,allows the surface of the wood to be cut to match it by “smoothing” its texture so that the entire piece has even dimensions and elements such as paint and varnish can be easily applied.

There really isn't much difference between the Kiwakanna and a regular carpenter's planer.

Names

This tool is the classic carpentry chisel, which is nothing more than a screwdriver-shaped tool.

Chisels come in various sizes or gauges and are used to make fine cuts on wood surfaces, but unlike a planer to level an entire surface, a chisel is intended to do a little shaping to create a new design. on the wood.

Skin 

This is probably a tool that is not common in western woodworking.

However, its purpose is to drill the pieces of wood to generate small holes necessary to create the joints or joints through which another piece will slide.

This is a tool that requires a lot of skill to be able to use it well and the most common thing is that the master carpenter places a lot of emphasis on his teaching.

As you can imagine, there are many other tools in Japanese carpentry, but these 4 are the essential tools in any workshop and therefore the ones you should know if you want to start in this art.

In conclusion, traditional Japanese carpentry is an art that requires a lot of effort, dedication and practice, but once it is mastered it can become a source of income.,because each piece made with these techniques is considered almost a work of art for its beauty, functionality and complexity.