Master Carpentry with a 1,400-Year History

In Japan, temples and shrines are built and restored by specialized craftspeople called miyadaiku. Kongo Gumi Co., Ltd., located in Osaka City, is one of Japan’s leading groups of miyadaiku. Believed to have originated with the construction of the Shitenno-ji Temple built in 593, it is also known as the oldest company in the world.

Kiuchi Shigeo of Kongo Gumi is a veteran master carpenter with a career spanning more than 50 years. As a toryo, or master carpenter, he oversees the younger carpenters. Using a kanna plane, he planes wood into shavings that unfurl like thin strips of ribbon. His technique creates shavings thinner than paper, the result of years of training.

One of the most important traditional techniques in temple and shrine construction is called kigumi, a method of joining wood without nails or metal fittings. Kigumi leaves the wood less susceptible to damage caused by corroded metal, and these types of joints also absorb and disperse vibration, adding strength to withstand earthquakes.

Kiuchi explains, “The main kigumi techniques are tsugite joints, which splice two pieces of wood together to form a pillar or beam, and shiguchi joints, which interlock pillars and beams at angles. Depending on the strength of the timber and the design of the building, a variety of methods are necessary, and there are more than 200 kigumi techniques.”

Miyadaiku must possess not only full knowledge of the characteristics of wood, but also a thorough understanding of techniques for cutting wood and Japanese culture, as well. This is why it takes over ten years to become a full-fledged carpenter.

With the number of young people aspiring to become miyadaiku falling in recent years, training the next generation of carpenters has become a major challenge. Solving this, however, as Tone Kenichi, chairman of Kongo Gumi says, “is not simply a matter of teaching technique.”

“What we build are structures where the Buddha and the gods reside, structures that will be cherished by people in the community. Miyadaiku must also understand the emotions that the people devote to these temples and shrines.”