Based on the simplicity of casual usability, the woodworker Koji Hori’s
unique style with his subtle design as an artist is very attractive.
He carefully produces vessels filled with simple gentleness one by one,
which can bring a little warmth and serenity to your daily life, as well as time and space.

Mr. Koji Hori makes wooden utensils in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture. His tableware that brings out the universal qualities of wood, such as the grain and texture, is so well received that some customers wait a year for their tableware. We visited his workshop in Sasebo City to find out.

From a Self-Defense Forces Personnel to a Woodworker

The northern part of Nagasaki Prefecture. In a corner of an industrial area by the sea in Sasebo City, there is a small workshop. In a space of about 10 tatami mats, there are many pieces of wood, machines, and tools. On a shelf at the entrance, freshly finished wooden tools are randomly lined up.

Leaving the Self-Defense Forces to Work for an Interior Design Company

Born and raised in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Mr. Hori was influenced by his father, who was a member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, and after graduating from high school, he joined the Maritime Self-Defense Force himself. He has a unique background in that he was transferred from Sasebo Air Base to Yokosuka, where he was engaged as a Self-Defense Forces member.

After working as a Self-Defense Forces member for three years, he found a job at an interior design company in Tokyo, hoping to work in the furniture business, which he had always been interested in. At the same time, Mr. Hori had always wanted to make a living by making his own wooden furniture someday. His first encounter with woodworking was when he started attending a woodworking class on weekends. The more he learned about woodworking, the more he was drawn into its deep appeal. However, after conducting his own market research, Mr. Hori felt that it would be difficult to make a living making furniture. So he started making wooden trays as part of his tableware line, which included wooden bowls andcutlery that he had enjoyed since he was a young man.

Creating during the day, working part-time at a tavern at night

After moving to Kamakura and commuting to work at a company in Tokyo while continuing to make trays on weekends, it was around 2006 that Mr. Hori started his own business. At first, he had few clients, and in the evenings he made a living by working part-time at a nearby izakaya (Japanese-style pub). What brought about a change in his situation was a general merchandise store that he jumped into as a sales pitch. The owner, a connoisseur, selected and sold carefully crafted household goods, and the store was well known throughout Japan.

I’m really not good at sales,” he said. I researched stores that had a concept close to my own, and I gathered up all my courage and made a sales pitch,” he recalls with a wry smile.

I wanted to create something beautiful and usable for a long time. It was a great encounter with a general store that was quick to adopt such a now commonplace point of view, and once business began, Hori’s wooden tools naturally took on a life of their own . After the business relationship began, Hori’s wooden tools naturally began to take on a life of their own.

Tools for Any Occasion

Currently, Mr. Hori is working on a wide range of tableware, including trays, bowls, spoons, forks, butter cases, and more. His works, which are characterized by the carved patterns that remain on the surface of each piece of wood, are easy to fit in one’s hand and give a sense of warmth. After carving, he soaks the carved pieces in wood hardener, which preserves the texture and feel of the wood and increases its strength, and lets them dry. When we use urethane paint, it inevitably has a plastic feel. I use sesame oil because I want the wood to feel like it has its own texture,” says Hori. The natural texture of the wood is perfect for everyday use, special occasions , oras a gift, and can be used in any situation.

Speaking of Mr. Hori, round trays

One of Mr. Hori’s best-known creations is the round tray. In addition to having a deep and stable rim, the natural texture of the tray and the ease with which it fits in one’s hand make it a perfect supporting piece for a variety of dishes. The medium-sized tray can be used as a plate, while the small-sized tray is perfect for placing a drink and a small snack. The wood’s ability to change color with age and develop a deeper sense of flavor is also a unique quality of the wood.

Inspired by old folk tools sunk at the bottom of a dam

One thing that many of Hori’s works have in common is a unique carving pattern of straight lines wavy in the middle. This style was inspired by the Wagatabon of Ishikawa Prefecture. Wagatabon originated in the village of Wagaya (now Kaga City), where carpenters and joiners carved chestnut trees with a single chisel as a tool for daily life. It is said that the Gaya-bon once ceased to exist in the Showa period (1926-1989), when Gaya-mura sank below the bottom of a dam, but in recent years, a nationwide movement of woodworkers who are self-taught in the technique are trying to revive it.

Mr. Hori is one of those who are fascinated by the Gaya-bon. Because they are folk tools, they have a rough-hewn, rugged look and feel, and he has taken this and sublimated it beautifully into his own style. The wood used and the process of making the trays are different, but I cut the trays by hand, daring to leave straight lines. The power of each line is very powerful when you see the finished product.

A new base that combines atelier, gallery, and residence

In 2017, Hori returned to his hometown of Sasebo City, where he continues to work in his current studio. He commutes to his atelier every morning from his house a short distance away, but he is now planning to “eventually build a base that combines an atelier, gallery, and residence, and live surrounded by the things I make.

While working in silence, I serve tea to visitors to the gallery and invite people over for small parties. It’ s not fancy by any means, but I would be happy if I could lead a rich life in the sense that it fills my heart, and if I could fulfill my life with it. I would like to make art objects someday,” he says of his endless dreams.

The expression of the uneven wood that is visible and hidden in the simplicity and sharpness of the work. Hori’s wooden tools remind us that it is this fluid beauty that contrasts with the uniformity and orderliness of mechanical beauty, and that is why we will always be fascinated by them. We look forward to the birth of a new center in the near future where we can pick up Hori’s tools and experience their natural beauty.

Having even one “wooden” item on the dinner table every day adds warmth and serenity to the space and time spent there. I would be happy if you could feel a little healing by using my work in your hectic daily life and enjoy the pleasure of living with woodwork.

The post Wooden tools born by leaning on different wooden expressions Woodworker, Koji Hori / Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan first appeared on NIHONMONO.

We want to make cutting boards that will carry on the “taste of home” at home.
Morinaga Zaimokuten, located in Minamishimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture, is a lumber store that makes high-quality cutting boards and other products with this in mind.
Using ginkgo wood that has characteristics suitable for kitchen work,
the cutting board carefully made by a lumber dealer who knows wood well and takes time and effort is highly evaluated by professionals.

Cutting boards are indispensable for daily cooking. There are various materials such as plastic, rubber, and wood, but ginkgo wood, in particular, has long been considered the most suitable wood for cutting boards, and is used by professional cooks. We visited Morinaga Zaimokuten, which makes cutting boards from ginkgo trees grown in Kyushu, which are also familiar as sacred trees.

Characteristics of Ginkgo Cutting Boards

Professional chefs and cooks love to use this wooden cutting board. Hinoki (Japanese cypress) with its high antibacterial effect, hoo (Japanese pampas grass) with its good drainage, willow with its elasticity, and hiba (cypress) with its durability have long been used as materials for cutting boards, but ginkgo wood is most often chosen because of its good balance of all the characteristics. Ginkgo wood cutting boards have the following three main characteristics.

No spilling of the blade

Because of its moderate softness and elasticity, it does not damage knife blades. In addition, because it has strong resilience and does not leave scratches, the cutting board has the advantage of being long-lasting. The reason why a ginkgo chopping board makes a particularly pleasant sound when used is because of its characteristic of good blade contact. The fact that no small wood shavings are produced when a knife is drawn is another reason why cooks choose this wood.

Dries quickly and has excellent antibacterial properties.

Because it contains just the right amount of oil, it drains well and dries quickly, making it hygienic. In addition, the presence of flavonoids prevents odors from sticking to cutting boards. The shikimic acid contained in ginkgo has an insect repellent effect and prevents the growth of mold.

Less warping and distortion

Ginkgo trees do not differ greatly in the width of annual rings and grain between winter and summer, and their condition and quality remain uniform even after being cut. Therefore, warping and distortion are less likely to occur, and cracking due to temperature changes is also very rare.

Morinaga Zaimokuten, a lumber mill that makes ginkgo cutting boards

Ariake Town is located in the southeast of Shimabara Peninsula in Nagasaki Prefecture. Morinaga Zaimokuten, located near Ariake Onsen Shrine, one of the four guardian shrines of Kyushu with a history of approximately 1,300 years, produces cutting boards using ginkgo trees grown in Kyushu.

The representative of the company, Keiko Morinaga, and her deputy, Shigeo Morinaga, welcomed us to their workshop, which is lined with solid ginkgo boards. When Keiko’s husband Hayato, the second generation, passed away suddenly, Hayato’s younger brother Shigeo, who had worked as a city hall employee, came to support the family business and switched the main business to “ginkgo wood cutting board making” utilizing his history, knowledge, and experience as a lumber dealer.

When the company was founded 75 years ago, its main business was construction using traditional methods, but demand declined with the passage of time. After searching for the future of the lumber business, the company decided to start making cutting boards using high-quality ginkgo trees in parallel with its construction business in 1995. Ginkgo is a wood that is not planted on a large scale like cedar and cypress. Good quality ginkgo is only available at limited times, for example, when a sacred tree in the precincts of a shrine has fallen down due to a disaster. My husband, who was a connoisseur of lumber, would gather information on ginkgo trees from markets all over Kyushu and buy them,” says Keiko. All of the ginkgo wood used to make cutting boards today comes from the stock Hayato purchased during his lifetime. Keiko smiles, “It makes me so happy to think that the ginkgo trees that my husband lovingly and carefully stored are now being used in the kitchens of homes.

Features of Morinaga Zaimokuten’s Ginkgo Cutting Boards

~We want to master beauty over efficiency~.

Morinaga Zaimoku-ten’s cutting boards are made from ginkgo trees cut in the “cold” season, from November to March. It is characterized by its durability, resistance to rot, and lack of ginkgo’s distinctive odor. The logs are first sliced thickly, dried for one and a half years, and then further sliced. The same process is used to thin the logs step by step, and it takes about eight years before they are finally finished as lumber. Because of the time and care that goes into the process, our cutting boards are particularly free of splits, warps, and cracks. They are completely dry and extremely light, and we are also proud of their smooth and beautiful surface. Since they are used in the kitchen every day, we are particular about making products that can be trusted,” says Shigeo.

Product Lineup

Morinaga Zaimokuten offers a variety of ginkgo chopping boards in different sizes. Each size has a unique name, such as “husband,” “wife,” “eldest daughter,” “eldest son,” and “grandson. All are cut to a thickness of 2.5 cm, making them light yet solid and easy to use. The lineup is appealing, with a variety of sizes to choose from according to the occasion and lifestyle, from “Teishu,” a favorite of many professional cooks, to smaller sizes such as “Chouson,” which is useful for cutting fruits and bread at the dinner table. Sizes can be ordered and original branding can be added. Workshops are also available where customers can “make their own chopsticks” from scraps of ginkgo wood. The company also develops products that take advantage of the texture of wood, such as tables made from a single piece of 100-year-old ginkgo tree, and vessels and stools with beautiful wood grain.

How to care for the wood

Many people are concerned about how to take care of ginkgo chopping boards after purchase, such as how to remove stains from solid wood, how to dry them, and tips on how to use them for a long time. We asked Ms. Keiko how to take good care of it. Before use, wet the entire board with water. This creates a film of water that reduces color and odor transfer. After use, sprinkle salt on the surface, scrub along the grain of the wood with a scrubbing brush, wipe dry, and hang dry in the shade. If salt does not remove the stain, you can use vinegar. When drying, hang it vertically along the grain of the wood”.

If you can no longer cut food properly, it is a sign that the center of the cutting board is worn out. In this case, “re-sharpening” will remove mold and blackening and make the board as good as new. Morinaga Zaimokuten offers free “resharpening” in the hope that you will use your cutting board for a long time. We have many customers who have been using our cutting boards for many years while having them resharpened. We even have young customers who come to us looking for our cutting boards because their mothers used to use them. We feel that our chopping boards are a part of each family’s ‘taste of home,'” Keiko says happily.

Thoughts of Morinaga Zaimokuten

Around here, mothers used to give their daughters a ginkgo wood cutting board as a wedding gift, ” says Keiko. For those who stand in the kitchen every day and prepare meals while praying for the health of the family, a cutting board has always been like a right arm or a partner. I think it would be wonderful if the cutting board could continue to be a part of the sounds coming from the kitchen and the memories of home tastes, even if only a little. Morinaga Zaimokuten’s cutting boards are made of ginkgo, a tree of longevity that is also familiar as a sacred tree, and are finished with time and care. Each piece created by Keiko and Shigeo will be a part of someone’s warm memory today.

When a dent appears on a cutting board, it is a sign that it has been used for many years. We offer free repair services to those who have carefully used our cutting boards for many years. In order to make products that you will be happy to use, we spend our days working closely with wood. Please be healed by the sound of the cutting board that echoes with the warmth of wood.

The post Ginkgo cutting board made by “Morinaga Zaimokuten”, established 75 years ago, with lots of time, effort and love / Minamishimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Kongo-gumi, the oldest construction company in Japan

Kongo Gumi, located in Tennoji Ward, Osaka City, is a construction company specializing in temple carpentry that builds and restores shrines and temples throughout Japan. The history of the company began with the Kongo Construction Department in Shitennoji Temple. It is the oldest existing construction company in the world.
The name “XX-gumi” is sometimes misunderstood (laughs), but Kongo Gumi is a shrine and temple construction company that owns eight temple carpenters called “Takumikai. Kiuchi Gumi, which I lead, is one of them. It is said that there are currently 200 to 300 companies in Japan that contract temple carpentry work, and about 110 of them work for the eight groups of the Kongo-gumi,” said Shigeo Kinouchi, a master carpenter of the Kinouchi group.
Kongo-gumi’s temple carpenters travel to shrines and temples throughout Japan to build and restore them. The main difference between ordinary carpenters and temple carpenters is that carpenters build “houses for people to live in,” while temple carpenters build “houses for gods and Buddha to enter.

The buildings we build are objects of worship, and it is not unusual for them to remain for 200 or 300 years. It is the job of the miya carpenter to use traditional techniques to create sturdy buildings that will not be defeated by any natural disasters. For example, we do not use metal nails for structural materials. For example, we do not use metal nails for structural materials because they rust and the wood rots from there,” says Kiuchi.

How advanced are the techniques of miya-daiku (temple carpenters)? This was immediately apparent when I saw Mr. Kiuchi planing the wood. He runs the plane lightly over a square piece of wood with a familiar plane in his hand. The shavings that came out of the plane were so thin you could see through them.

The Craftsmanship of a Palace Carpenter

The standard for plane shavings is 0.1 mm or less. Today, I’m not in good shape, so I’d say it’s about 0.07 mm (laughs). Some of our carpenters can plane as thin as 0.03 or 0.02 mm,” Kiuchi said.
Nakata also tried his hand with a plane. Nakata’s plane shavings were thicker and the thickness was not consistent, even though he was using the same tool in the same way.
Nakata said, “You can’t use too much force, and you can’t use too little force either. You have to pull with a certain amount of force all at once, but it’s very difficult.
Planing is one of the skills of a master carpenter, but it is not just a matter of being able to plane thinly and evenly. For example, compared to machine-finished floors, floors finished by miya carpenters are more resistant to water and dust and retain their beautiful wood texture even after 20 or 30 years. Miya carpenters have a number of such techniques, which have been passed down from generation to generation.

Inside the processing center, a model of a 2.5-meter-high tower had already been assembled. A scaled-down version of the model was made by precisely calculating each pillar and the angle of the roof’s warp, and the work process and durability were checked. This kind of meticulous craftsmanship has continued since the time of Prince Shotoku. These craftsmen are preserving Japanese architecture and culture.

The post Kongo-gumi,” a technique of palace carpentry inherited from the Asuka Period / Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.