木工品/Wood Working
熊本では、江戸時代から豊富な資源をもとに盛んに木工品が作られており、人吉球磨地方の挽物や箪笥などの家具類、熊本市川尻の桶・樽などが有名です。また、象嵌の技術を施した指物や欄間彫刻などが作られています。
Woodworking has thrived in Kumamoto since the Edo Period thanks to the prefecture’s many forests. The Hitoyoshi-Kuma area is famous for its furniture such as chests and various woodturning items made using a lathe. Kawashiri in Kumamoto City is famous for its wooden buckets and barrels. In addition to these, inlay techniques are used in creating various sashimono (furniture made without metal nails) and also carved window transoms.
熊本県の木工品について
指物
指物(さしもの)とは、釘などの接合道具を使わずに、木と木を組み合わせて作られた家具・建具等のモノや、素材をものさしで正確に計り、各部材を組み合わせて一つの作品を作り上げる技法を指します。
人吉家具
人吉家具
人吉・球磨地方は、昔から豊富な木材を使った木工業が栄えてきました。特に、明治36年から大正5年まで、球磨郡立工業徒弟学校があり、この地方の木工技術の向上と発展に寄与してきました。人吉・球磨地方の家具は、一枚板を使って作られており、鉋(かんな)と鋸(のこ)とノミだけで、金釘を使わず、剣留工法(けんどめこうほう)という技術で木を組んで作られており、美しい木目と堅牢さが特徴です。木口を直角やT字形、剣先のような三角形に細工して接合する剣留工法という技術が使われ、ニカワで接着し、重厚で味のある家具となっています。人吉家具は木を組み合わせることによって、複雑な形をした様々な大きさの品を作ることができ、あまり重くなく、強度があります。
挽物
挽物
曲物
曲物(まげもの)とは、檜・杉などを円形に曲げ、合せ目を樺・桜の皮などで綴じて作ったモノや、技法を指します。
一勝地曲げ
欄間彫刻
欄間彫刻
桶・樽
桶・樽
指物/人吉家具/挽物/一勝地曲げ(曲物)/欄間彫刻/桶・樽Wood Working of Kumamoto
Hitoyoshi Furniture
Hitoyoshi furniture is made using just one wooden board and assembled without metal nails.The wood is joined together by interlocking teeth and wooden pegs cut by hand. Types of Hitoyoshi-style furniture includes boxes, tables, shelves, and more. They are constructed from wood with beautiful grain textures, such as elm, mulberry, and cherry.
Hikimono
Hikimono are woodworking items that have been formed by carving down a piece of wood as it rotates on an axis quickly with a sharp blade. A varnish is applied at the end to make the surface glossy, highlighting the beauty of the wood grain pattern.This woodworking technique is perfect for making various everyday items such as bowls and trays.
Magemono
Magemono are round containers whose sides are made from thin wooden boards that have been softened in boiling water and bent into shape. These containers are usually made from cedar or cypress, with glue used as an adhesive. Cherry tree bark is wound into rope and used to stitch the ends of the board together. The container is completed by attaching a bottom board and a lid. Magemono are often used as lunch boxes.
Window Transoms
Transoms are installed between the ceiling and top of the sliding screen door frame in Japanese houses. They are meant to bring in daylight, allow for ventilation, and act as a decorative piece. Camphor, ginko, or Yakushima cedar wood is carved into the basic shape with a chisel, and then a smaller chisel is used for detailed carving. Thin boards 1-3 cm thick may be carved all the way through to make open fretwork, called “usubori,” while thicker boards 7-12 cm thick may be carved to make deep, three-dimensional reliefs, called “atsubori.”
Buckets and Barrels
Japanese wooden buckets and barrels are made from cypress. They are made by leveling down part of the wood with a plane so that metal rings may be wrapped around to hold the bucket or barrel together. Glue is applied and then dried.The rings (called “taga”) may be made of bamboo or bronze.
Sashimono/Hitoyoshi Furniture/Hikimono/Magemono/Window Transoms/Buckets and Barrels