If you’re a long-time enjoyer of what Japan House brings to its metropolises, you’ll already know that there is nothing so respected as Japan’s culture of carpentry; it stands tall through time like that of a redwood. 2022 brought The Carpenters’ Line: a superzoom into one region’s woodworking heritage. Now we’re returning to the forests for a wider view of the entire archipelago, for some important insight on an ever-enduring practice.
Having covered several Japan House shows, it’s always a delight to see how the curators will fill out the space. A testament to their ingenuity might be that the very same hall feels like a completely different room every time. In this case, they put a teahouse in it: a life-size construction of a sa-an teahouse stands proudly in the exhibition hall, not sponging up all of the attention from the other exhibits but a main attraction nonetheless. If you manage to catch The Craft of Carpentry: Drawing Life from Japan’s Forests, you’ll be able to peek your head inside and learn a very glaring fact: beauty is emphasised in everything. Even though iron may be inside some bamboo – and this is authentic to any sa-an – it’s concealed with the same wood so as not to interrupt the design.
If you manage to catch a tour, you’ll learn all the delightful little tidbits about these structures. And while we dare not spoil it all for you, we will share that this gorgeous token of carpentry was originally intended to bring everyone together: doing away with rank, to enjoy some hospitality over tea on the tatami mats. Even samurai must leave their swords outside.
Take your first step into the exhibition hall and wham! be hit with the most welcoming whiff of fresh wood you’ve ever encountered. This nose-love is of course by design; the exhibition aims to engage as many senses as possible, to truly make visitors feel like they’re in the Japanese forests. So much so, that they even want you to taste it. At the exhibition’s exclusive press day, a very special drink was concocted to truly bring the forest to all five senses. Exhibition curator Nishiyama Marcelo’s “tree gin”, produced by Shin Distillation Laboratory, includes juniper berry, coriander seed, angelica root, sake lees and Japanese cypress, and only 28 bottles were made of this rare mastery of senses. It is an indicator of the true love of carpentry that is expressed in the exhibition.
Japan House is not about just standing and observing. It’s a hands-on, heartfelt experience, and dare we say you’ll get more out of your visit than at one of the city’s renowned cultural centres. Study the artefacts of woodworking, or have a go at interlocking the wood blocks together. You might even get to pocket your own slice of Hinoki cypress to take home, masterfully cut thinner than hair. But make sure that whatever you do, take a deep, deep breath.
Tickets to The Craft of Carpentry: Drawing Life from Japan’s Forests can be found here.
