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Go The Distance Japanese Master Wood Carving -
GTD
Episode #007
- Show
In this show from Japan you
will meet Mr. Nobuyuki Takahashi a master wood carver (Sasano Ittobori). Nobuyuki-san has been carving
Otakapoppo for
35 years now and highly recognized in Japan and around the
world for his craftsmanship skills.
Nobuyuki-san carves logs into the
shape of a birds (hawks) as well as other animals
using only a flat, square-shaped chisel called a sarukiri.
Using a sarukiri, which has blades
on the side and the tip, a carver quickly carves the surface
of a log to make featherlike wood pieces curved in the same
direction. The craftsman must be careful that the object
does not absorb water because this would stretch the wood
and ruin the curls.
This process is only possible due
to the natural properties of the soft and viscid koshiabura
tree.
Although
Nobuyuki Takahashi
pieces are simple, it takes a great deal of skill to create
objects of the highest quality.
Using the viscid wood, the
craftsmen works on logs, trying to keep the grain straight so
that sharp lines are emphasized in the finished carvings.
He has visited several places in
Japan and overseas to demonstrate how to make
Sasano-ittobori.
His travels took him to Disneyland
in Calif., on six different occasions, where his
demonstrations were popular and onlookers were full of
curiosity as they watched him create a bird with a layer of
beautiful feathers using only his chisel and a log.
We hope your inspired by
Nobuyuki Takahashi skills.
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