Art Of Japanese Joinery
by Kiyosi Seike
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kiyosi SeikeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1977-06-01
ISBN: 0834815168
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Weatherhill
Book Reviews of Art Of Japanese Joinery
Book Review: functioning words: "the ART of..." not "how-to"
Summary: 5 Stars
I inherited this book from my father and enjoyed perusing it from time-to-time. I loved that book dearly, and so, decided to share it with others by donating it to our local library.
Another reviewer was correct that it is not a typical "how-to" book, but it is an inspirational art book of classic Japanese joinery. The reason there is little "how-to" information here is because there are so many ways to accomplish these joints; by machine, entirely by hand, or with jigs and many combinations thereof. Also, the only people interested in this type of work are those who simply find it fascinating or are expert craftsmen. In either case, extraneous "how-to" info is not needed.
The book is beautiful, unique, and about an arcane subject, so it has high merit solely in that respect. If you love this type of thing, it is for you and highly recommended. Gorgeous photographs of intricate, hand-crafted joinery are intriguing for some of us woodworkers, even if we never intend to use these joints. And for those of who have made some of these joints, the excellent examples provide a high benchmark for grading our own efforts.
Most of the joinery in this book was cut by hand with traditional Japanese hand tools: Dozuki saws, chisels and wooden planes. Part-time "Home" craftsmen may find these examples inspiring, intimidating or outright depressing in comparison to their own work. My father was a world-class craftsman ( a violin repairman and pattern-maker) so he made many of these joints just for practice, although the methods he chose would undoubtedly differ from traditional Japanese woodworker's ways.
The few joints in here that I found practical use for were the construction joints that help isolate vibration while maintaining structural integrity. Although these timber-framing joints are intended to provide flexible-yet-strong houses in earthquake-prone Japan, they are also useful in building recording-studios where sound-transmission through joist-conduction must be minimized. I suspect that very few construction workers would have the confidence in their skills to cut some of these complex joints into an expensive 60-foot glue/ lam beam as I did. Of course, I would have never risked that without practicing the joints first on less expensive material with the expert help of my father. If you build recording studios, or want an Earth friendly yet Earthquake resistant home, you may find practical applications for timber framing joinery within. Although I have not heard of many architects using this joinery, I have thought of other applications. The metal-free joinery ( without nails or screws) in this volume could solve some design problems in structures that contain super-powerful magnets for nuclear medicine or particle physics labs.
If you want a "gee-whiz! YOU TOO can create these fancy joints with simple techniques and cheap tools" type of book, look elsewhere. This is not a book for the Sears Table-saw crowd.
This is a magnificent tome for an elite group of artisans and art-lovers.
Summary of Art Of Japanese Joinery
This lively introduction to Japanese joinery not only delves lovingly into the unique history and development of Japanese carpentry, but also reveals many secrets of Japanese joinery. Presenting 48 joints, selected from among the several hundred known and used today, this visually exciting book will please anyone who has ever been moved by the sheer beauty of wood.With the clear isometric projections complementing the 64 pages of stunning photographs, even the weekend carpenter can duplicate these bequests from the traditional Japanese carpenter, which can be applied to projects as large as the buildings for which most of them were originally devised or to projects as small as a sewing box.
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