Japanese Carpentry
While traveling through Japan, it's common to marvel at the beautiful architecture of the country's gorgeous temples and shrines. However, it's just as interesting to take a closer look at how they were made, and why they last so long.
Japan has a long history of a type of carpentry focused on intricate joints where pieces of wood are connected to each other without the use of screws, nails, or glue. This relies on careful geometry so that the joints stay secure on their own.
Consider this construction, which is a part of Kochi Castle. This is a way to connect two long pieces of lumber to make a longer piece of wood. The rooms in the castle are quite large, and the lumber was connected using these joints to effectively distribute the load.
Consider this construction, which is a part of a house. The wood is notched in such a way that allows for the piece of wood covering the window to slide back and forth, depending on whether the occupant wanted the window open or closed.
Consider this construction, which is a part of a former samurai residence built during the Edo period. This is a way to connect two pieces of lumber at a 90° angle, using a third smaller piece as an anchor. The weight of the wood keeps the smaller piece in place.
One of the things I find most interesting about Japan is the cultural expectation that each person will focus on one craft for their entire lives. This is different from our expectations in the United States, where many people go through multiple careers over the course of a lifetime. But because so many Japanese dedicate themselves to just one skill, many of them become exceptionally good at it. In fact, I've heard that this is why the pizza is so good in Japan: pizza chefs train as apprentices, and then they spend their entire adult lives trying to perfect one dish.
Sample Problems
1. Study the animations at https://mobile.twitter.com/TheJoinery_jp and design your own wooden joinery model.