Week-long Japanese
Boatbuilding Workshops
I have developed a one-week Japanese boatbuilding workshop in which eight to ten students build a Japanese river boat, using traditional tools and techniques, in a five-to-six day workshop. I have taught these workshops at craft schools and museums across the United States and Japan, including The Apprenticeshop of Rockland, Maine, Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend, Washington, WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, Maine, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland, as well as in Australia (twice), and France. Students learn about Japanese boat design as well as all the central techniques of the craft, including fitting planks with special saws, piloting nails with unique chisels, and edge-nailing planks together. The course ends with a traditional Shinto launching ceremony.
What is covered in the course:
Design
Fitting planks using special handsaws
Edge-nailing
Using the Japanese hand plane
Japanese boatbuilding joinery
Shinto ceremonies
Photo courtesy of Fred Zwicky, University of Illinois
WoodenBoat School, Brooklin, Maine
WoodenBoat School, Brooklin, Maine
Wasen Workshop, Takamatsu, Japan
Wasen Workshop, Takamatsu, Japan
Northwest Maritime Center, Port Townsend, Washington
Northwest Maritime Center, Port Townsend, Washington
Northwest Maritime Center, Port Townsend, Washington
The Apprenticeshop, Rockland, Maine
The Apprenticeshop, Rockland, Maine
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, Kobe, Japan
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, Kobe, Japan
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, Kobe, Japan
Mizunoki Museum, Kameoka, Japan
Mizunoki Museum, Kameoka, Japan
ESCALE Festivale, Sete, France
ESCALE Festivale, Sete, France
ESCALE Festivale, Sete, France
Wooden Boat Festival, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, Maryland
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, Maryland
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, Maryland
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, Maryland
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, Maryland