Bulletin of Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum

Report on the Historical materials (Carpentry Tools) of Tenaka-Myoo-Taro

Sharpening Stones and Ritual Implements

Kinya Hoshino, Tadanori Sakamoto

2023 Volume 34 Pages 3-44
Published: March 20, 2023
Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2023

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.50862/dougukan.34.0_3

RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT OPEN ACCESS

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This report is a continuation of a survey of carpentry tools formerly owned by the Tenaka family, among the materials related to Tenaka-Myoo-Taro, a cultural property designated by Isehara City. 1. Fifty-nine sharpening stones, 27 polishing-related tools, and 14 ceremonial tools used until the early Showa period (mid-20th century) were examined and their findings are described. 2. Many of the sharpening stones were used for engraving chisels and knives used to process curved parts in shrine and temple carvings and portable shrine production. On the other hand, there were few whetstones used for plane work, which is often used in construction, and it is thought that most of them were lost for some reason when the business was closed down.. 3. Ritual implements consisted of tools, costumes, and accessories. The main tools are ornately decorated, suggesting the prestige of the master carpenter family. The tools are thought to have been made in the mid-Edo (late 18th century) or Meiji period (late 18th century), and the costumes in the Meiji to Taisho period (early 20th century).

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Research on Zensaku, a carpenter's tool blacksmith

Tetsuya Nakajima

2023 Volume 34 Pages 45-101
Published: March 20, 2023
Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2023

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.50862/dougukan.34.0_45

RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT OPEN ACCESS

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In this paper, I investigated Zensaku, a family of blacksmiths for carpentry tools in Osaka from the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras. The main contents are as follows. 1. There are many lore and legends about “Zensaku”, but unti l now there has been no consideration based on accurate information. Therefore, in addition to information from books and the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, I also added information obtained from personal research by carpenters, woodworkers, and tool dealers to clarify Zensaku’s career. 2. I clarified the history of Zensaku from the first generation to the third generation. 3. I got a testimony from a person who knew where Zensaku III was evacuated. 4. I showed the criteria for judging the authenticity of Zensaku’s works. And I compiled a list of Zensaku’s works and stamps.

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Documents about The Life of Joseon's carpenter Bae Heehan, The saw of the Joseon Dynasty has gotten rusty, dictates wood procurement section.

Goeun Choi

2023 Volume 34 Pages 103-121
Published: March 20, 2023
Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2023

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.50862/dougukan.34.0_103

RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT OPEN ACCESS

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This paper introduces the wood procurement in the autobiography of Bae Heehan (1907-1997), The saw of the Joseon Dynasty has gotten rusty. He is the last generation to know about the architectural work of palaces and temples in the Joseon era. Pine wood is the predominant timber used in the construction of palaces, upper-class residences, and other top-quality buildings in Korea. The oral history presented here describes logging of pine trees that are regarded as the best building timber in Korea and how they are transported in the form of rafts from the 1920s to 1980s. It also tells how the transported logs are milled into timbers in detail from the perspective of a carpenter.

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