The purpose of this paper is to introduce the document left at Sanenji Temple in Tamaki-cho, Mie Prefecture, which relates to Toemon TAKENAKA IX, who worked as a master builder for the reconstruction of the main hall in 1818. In addition, it clarifies the area of activity and the contents of work of Toemon Takenaka IX as revealed by the same document, and discusses the actual works of a master builder in the late Edo period. As a result of reading the nine documents related to Sanen-ji Temple, the following can be pointed out about the activities of Toemon Takenaka IX in the Nansei area and his negotiations with the client. (1) In the f irst half of the 19th century, from the Bunka to the Tempou period, Toemon IX worked on many temple buildings in the Nansei area, including Sanen-ji Temple. Many of them are still in existence. (2) For the construction of temples, he mobilized a group of carpenters consisting of his own father and son, who were related to him by blood, as well as apprentices he trained. (3) Toemon IX was involved in several projects at the same time, and it is thought that he supervised them by sending letters and representatives to them while he was in Nagoya. (4) He negotiated the specifications and prices of the carvings in detail with the client through letters, and sometimes added simple sketches to his explanations. (5) The processing of carvings was separated from the main work and was ordered to carvers. Toemon IX was in charge of managing and supervising the work.

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The purpose of this paper is to introduce the outline and transcribe the ”Joto no maki„ (Scroll for topping out ceremony, completed in 1684), which explains builder's rites, out of the ”Kuroda unenobu Denrai Monjo„ (Documents from Kuroda Munenobu), a technical book on carpentry owned by the Takenaka Carpentery Tools Museum. Specific and detailed descriptions of the ceremonial offerings and origins of the rites in the ”Kazari no koto„ and ”Sonaemono kazari no koto„ sections, the order and dress of the participants in the topping out ceremony in the ”Joto gyoretsu no koto„ section, and the behavior of the ”Yakunin shosa no koto„ and ”Chona hajime no koto„ sections make this a valuable resource for studying builder's rites.

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This article is a reprint of a document about saws left by Mr. Hiromitsu MIYANO. 1. Hiromitsu MIYANO (1923-93) was born as the eldest son of the second generation Tetsunosuke MIYANO (1901-96), and worked as a saw smith after training under his father. He also ran a carpentry tool shop in Rokkomichi, Kobe since 1961, and had a wide range of knowledge about carpentry tools in general. 2. The texts and illustrations left by Mr. MIYANO contain a lot of information about saws and blacksmithing techniques that cannot be seen anywhere else.

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