Making Shoji FROM THE PUBLISHER
The construction of shoji -- Japanese sliding doors and screens -- requires great skill and attention to detail, however the task is within the reach of amateur woodworkers, and the results will add grace and serenity to any interior.
With Toshio Odate's help, woodworkers can tackle this traditional craft with confidence. Odate, who served a craftsman's apprenticeship during his youth, unites traditional insight and technical mastery in a way that anyone can understand. Step-by-step instructions, illustrated by photos taken at every stage of the work, give detailed information on how to prepare materials, lay out joints, cut the parts, and assemble two shoji projects: the common sliding screen with hipboard, plus an intricate transom featuring the beautiful asanoha pattern. Building on this foundation, Odate gives construction details and notes on eight shoji variations. Technical chapters cover the Japanese mortise-and-tenon joint, shoji paper, and home-made rice glue.
Drawing upon his unusual life, Odate includes richly moving stories of his sometimes harsh apprenticeship in post-War Japan, an era almost incomprehensibly far from our own. These revelations help put traditional Japanese woodworking techniques and attitudes into their cultural context. Odate's authentic account thus will enhance every woodworker's library.
SYNOPSIS
The construction of shoji -- Japanese sliding doors -- requires intricate skills and attention to detail. This guide to creating shoji brings together both traditional insight and technical mastery of the craft from the perspective of an apprenticed sliding-door maker. Step-by-step instructions, illustrated with photos of each work in progress, give detailed information on how to construct both common shoji and Japanese transom (a piece found between rooms and above sliding doors). The correct use of Japanese tools is discussed, as are techniques for marking lines, making specific joints and handles, using rice glue, and applying shoji paper.
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