Since the later 19th century， skilled carpenters have used 9 types of knife–bladed tools in 5 different categories for building work in Japan. What types of knife-#8211;bladed tools did they use for building work from the 17th to the 19th centuries? My research of reference materials from that period has yielded the following findings. (1) Architectural knife#8211;bladed tools used from the 17th to the 19th centuries can be classified into three categories : those for planing， splitting board， and foming grooves. At least about 12 types in 6 different categories have been used. (2) The names of knife#8211;bladed tools used for building purposes from the 17th to the 19th centuries have remained in use since the later 19th century. (3) The shape of the cutting edges of blades of architectural knife#8211;bladed tools changed between the late 18th century and the early 19th century as curved cutting edges were replaced with straight cutting edges. (4) Architectural knife#8211;blades were categorized as large， medium， and small， and it is estimated that the large ones were 6 sun (about 180mm) in length， while the small were about 3 sun (about 90mm) long. (5) It is estimated that it was the16th and 17th centuries when， against a backdrop of changes in building productivity， architectural knife–bladed tools were categorized by the way the blades were attached to the handles.

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While European and Chinese saws are push–type， Japanese saws are pull—type. It is possible to offer the following brief answer to the question of when Japanese carpenters began to use the pull—type saws now seen in Japan， by examining surviving saws (both those excavated and others passed down from generation to generation) and studying old paintings， etc. to find out more about the forms of saws and the ways in which they were used. (1) In the late 5th and early 6th centuries， which were the latter years of the era of the great burial mounds (the late Kofun Period)， the shape of the saws changed， the shape looks like strip of papar has replaced that attached their handles. (2) During the Kofun Period small saws were introduced， but their size increased between the 8th and 10th centuries. (3) Until the fifteenth century， the saws used had “motoba” or “hakoyame” teeth so they would cut when pushed and when pulled， but about that time they were replaced by new types of saws which only cut when pulled. These were “ibarame” saws used to cut at right angles to the wood fibers and “gagarime” saws used to cut in the same direction as the fibers. (4) Judging from saws which have survived， it was the 15th century when a clear distinction was first made between push and pull saws. (5) In the nineteenth century， the position adopted by carpenters when processing building members also changed， as sitting gradually gave way to standing. (6) Old paintings of workers forming lumber almost always show them standing. (7) Old paintings show basically workers held their saw in both hands， but some workers cutting a small building member held their saw in one hand. (8) Pictorial evidence originating after the 17th century confirms that saws were pulled.

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Abstract
A surface finishing tool called a yarikanna　(spear point plane) has been used in Japan since ancient times. But this tool has only been used as a ceremonial device since the appearance of the modem carpenter's plane relegated spear head planes to the status of museum pieces. As part of efforts to learn more about past processing technology， old dictionaries were used to gather and categorize the words and characters used to write the names of tools used for plane finishing of wood surfaces， and old illustrations were examined to clarify the shape of spear head planes. The few remaining samples of this tool were also examined in order to compare their shapes. There were two kinds of spearshaped plane finishing tools : the S–type used primarily to from flat surfaces and the W–type used to from smooth curved surfaces. The S–type were made in two forms : the wooden handle type with a wooden handle forming a large proportion of the total length of the tool， and the iron handle type consisting of a short wooden handle and a long iron shaft extending to the blade. At the end of the 16th Century， the tip at the end of the iron handle type， formerly shaped like bamboo grass， was replaced by one shaped like a sword point， and a knot was added at the location on the shaft corresponding to the handle. This knot can be seen on surviving spear head planes and those used on ceremonial occasions. Pictorial documents from the middle ages include only two illustrations of the wooden handle type. This category of tool, referred to generally as spear head plane， was in fact a multi–function tool which could be used to finish both plane and curved surfaces， to form deep cuts， or even grooves. It appears to have lacked a fixed shape with various forms suited to specific uses， and even the names change to reflect these variations.

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