How to Shape a Shoji, Step by Step
Every order Miya Shoji receives is different, but the procedure follows the same rough pattern each time.
"My father calls woodworking 'action meditation.' He says that shojis bring nature back into the house," says Zui Hanafusa, a craftsman at Miya Shoji.
After selecting the lumber, craftsman Naotaka Hakamada brings it to a jointer to ensure the wood is straight before cutting into smaller pieces with a table saw.
Photo: Brian W. Ferry
Next, to ensure that every single piece will be perfectly straight and square, Hakamada puts them through a jointing jig to guarantee complete uniformity. The carpenter is seen here using a planer.
Photo: Brian W. Ferry
Making the screen is like putting together a puzzle. Here, an attachment on the table saw is used to cut the grooves that will be needed for the final assembly.
Photo: Brian W. Ferry
Using a Japanese handsaw, the woodworker, in just one stroke, cuts a channel into the wood,
creating a slot for the rice paper.
Photo: Brian W. Ferry
Held in place by a wood frame, whetstones with varying grades of fineness are used to sharpen the blade.
Photo: Brian W. Ferry
Hakamada carefully pulls a plane across the wood's surface. He will use only one stroke to make sure that the surface is even. It is never sanded.
Photo: Brian W. Ferry
Before inserting the rice paper, Hakamada connects all the pieces by hand, then taps them in place with a hammer.
Photo: Brian W. Ferry
The addition of the rice paper, carefully slid into the inner channel of the assembled piece, completes the screen. The whole process takes a week on average.
Photo: Brian W. Ferry
Read the entire story of New York–based Miya Shoji here.
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