Abstract
The report reveals the following findings from the traces of an axe and adze on existing wooden buildings in Kinki region which were built between the Asuka period and Kamakura period.
1 2 axe traces and 91 adze traces were identified.
2 Traces of an axe and adze tend to be found on hidden surfaces.
3 Axes were used for lumbering. It is presumed that they were used to cut off raw wood and to make coarse wooden blocks out of a log. Though axes are considered to have been used for felling trees, traces of such use were not discovered in this research.
4 Adzes were the main tools for shaping building components after they are vertically split to form lumbers and for chipping the surfaces. They come in a variety of blade widths and shapes (straight/curved), and were used in accordance to the shape of the chipping surface (flat/rounded surfaces, joints) and its size.
