Kohseki Sashimono Shop: Japanese Master Carpenters

Yesterday, I visited Kohseki Sashimono Shop and Workshop. This company specializes in traditional "sukiya" architecture, which is used in teahouses and other traditional buildings. They also make some incredible lamps. For more on Kohseki, click here.

Here is a picture of a lamp made from a super-thin piece of wood and Japanese washi paper:


Here are some more of their lamps:


Here is a nice colored lamp:


Here is a master carpenter laying down ink on some wood to be used in the beams of a traditional kaiseki restaurant:


Here is an ink well, or "sumi-tsubo." These are like the chalk lines that Western carpenters use. Each carpenter carves his own sumi-tsubo and they usually have some special personal meaning. This one follows the pattern used by a master carpenter from the Meiji period: