Japanese carpentry highlights "deep relationships between humans and trees"

Earthquake-proof joinery, 10-micrometre-thin wood shavings and a scale model of Kyoto's Sa-an Teahouse are on display at Japan House London for The Craft of Carpentry exhibition.

Opening today, the show explores over 1,000 years of Japanese woodworking through a collection of tools, installations and videos.

The The Craft of Carpentry Drawing Life from Japan's Forests exhibition was curated by Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum associate director Nishiyama Marcelo, He aimed to unpack the enduring "deep relationships between humans and trees" in Japan – an iron-scare country where two-thirds of the land is covered in forest.

"The way to start this exhibition is to think about where the water comes from – forests – and to think about the way that carpenters work that respects the forest, respects the trees," Japan House London director of programming Simon Wright told Dezeen during a tour of the gallery.

Spread across one room, the show is split into three themed sections celebrating dōmiya daiku (temple and shrine carpenters), sukiya daiku (teahouse carpenters) and kigumi (wood joinery).

Among the first displays is a trio of large, wide-blade ripsaws, which were first introduced to Japan after the mid-Muromachi period between 1333 and 1573.

"Up until then, saws didn't exist," said Wright.

"Everything was split by chisels," he added, noting that Japanese saws are significant because they have always cut wood on the pull rather than the push stroke, allowing for a thinner blade that can achieve more precise results.

Visitors can also observe a traditional spear plane – the primary type of plane used in ancient and medieval Japan before planes with blades mounted on a wooden base were introduced.

Positioned above the tool is an 1858 paper and ink artwork by prolific Japanese woodblock printmaker Utagawa Toyokuni III, which is embellished with ultra-thin wood shavings measuring around 10 micrometres in thickness.

In the centre of the room is a Yoshino cypress 1:2 scale model of a section of the roof of Tōindō, a hall within the Yakushi-ji temple in Nara. The structural model is characterised by curved parallel rafters, a recognisable feature of Japanese architecture.

Close to the temple replica is a full-scale model of the cedar and red pine San-an Teahouse built in Kyoto in 1742. Constructed with delicate bamboo pillars, the model was reinforced with stone and other hidden sturdy joinery.

"These pillars can be very thin and they look quite flimsy. And in fact, this elegance, this flimsiness, is the point," considered Wright. "It's the aesthetic of it. But it would fall over if it was just like this."

Wright noted that although the model mirrors the San-an Teahouse in scale, portions of its walls, ceilings and fittings were removed to reveal how the original structure was made.

"Without pulling it apart, you don't know how it's made, so this is a very important teaching tool," he explained.

The intricate, glueless and screwless nature of traditional Japanese joinery is explored in the section dedicated to joints, which includes examples of woodworking techniques specifically designed to withstand centuries of earthquakes and other extreme weather.

Wright highlighted the contemporary conversation around machines prefabricated to make joints rather than the practice of traditional handcraftsmanship.

"Basically, you've got to be a very good craftsperson to make a very good joint for it to be safe. So you've got to balance these things up," he said.

"It's a similar narrative that I've heard from quite a few craftspeople – that you know, machine introduction is not such a bad thing."

Elsewhere in the exhibition, an intricate timber latticework screen is on display, while a separate interactive section has been installed on the ground floor of Japan House London.

In this space, visitors can experience the different scents produced by various wood species through shavings stored in boxes, and also try their hand at joining wood together.

"Since ancient times, Japan's craftspeople have been shaping their social environment," said Marcelo. "Their work continues to permeate all aspects of life, contributing to everything from the everyday to the most sacred designs."

"Timber is only a renewable resource if the growth period of the tree and the life of a building align," he added. "If we use a 1,000-year-old tree, we need to be prepared to take on more than 1,000 years of responsibility for the building we create."

Located on Kensington High Street, Japan House London previously presented a playful exhibition on Japan's history of hyperrealistic food models, which closed last month.

Other recent innovations with timber include a prototype jacket by clothing brand Vollebak made from 250,000 pieces of laser-cut American walnut.

The photography is by Jeremie Souteyrat and courtesy of Japan House London unless stated otherwise.

The Craft of Carpentry: Drawing Life from Japan's Forests takes place from 12 March to 6 July 2025 at Japan House London, 101-111 Kensington High Street, London W8 5SA. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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