Abstract
Based on 20 traces left by nokogiri saw blades on wooden building materials from the Asuka Period to the Kamakura Period in Japan, the following features of the usage and shape of saws during that time were identified:
1. All the material gathered was found on the end grain of the components and not on the components' surfaces (the surface cut parallel to the wood fiber). Therefore, it is thought that the saw blade was primarily used while cutting timber and not for vertical sawing.
2. As for the production of fitting joints (lap or halving joint, notched joint), the saw blade was frequently used to cut to the middle of the component, and then the wood was split along the wood fibers.
3. Prior to the 8th century, the width of the nokogiri saw-tooth (set width) was 3-4 mm that is of a thickness and set width greater than modern nokogiri saws.
4. Of the components researched that were cut using a nokogiri saw, the greatest width was 31.8 cm and the least was 15 mm. Thus, it is believed that different nokogiri saws were used according to the size of the component being worked on.
