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Thread: Shoin shoji makeover
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19th August 2009, 07:24 PM #1
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Shoin shoji makeover
Hi all
SWMBO and I decided that the first serious effort at applying what I'd spent twelve months at the Toyama College in Japan studying would be in our lounge room. It would be a good opportunity to identify and hopefully iron out any bugs in adapting complex shoji designs to an Australian setting before inflicting myself on the market.
It was a standard window with shocking vertical blinds begging for something to be done. The bottom design in the shoji is a futae kouzu pattern which I covered in a bit of detail in this thread, and the upper design is the asa-no-ha pattern (the two asa-no-ha bands contain over 600 individual pieces that had to be cut and the ends planed to set angles by hand).
The window frame is Tassie blackwood, and the shoji is Queensland maple. Even though I love QM as a timber, I don't believe it's suited to shoji - too much grain and colour variation. In Japan most shoji is hand-plane finished (no sandpaper), and the QM grain makes it difficult to get a consistent finish (not impossible, but a bit too time-consuming). The timber we used in Japan is not available here in suitable quality, so I've bought some kauri for the next trial project. Kauri is used for shoji to a small degree in Japan, and from the initial plays with my planes, it certainly has promise.
Thanks for looking
Des
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19th August 2009 07:24 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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19th August 2009, 09:51 PM #2
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Wow. That must have taken a huge amount of time.
Nice work.
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19th August 2009, 10:01 PM #3
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I love that. Wonderful effect. Can you show us a close up please?
Pugwash.
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19th August 2009, 10:38 PM #4
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Amazing work.
P:S Would love to learn this art.
Regards, Frank.
In trying to learn a little about everything,
you become masters of nothing.
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19th August 2009, 10:42 PM #5
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Thanks Wongdai and Pugwash.
The shoji took just under three weeks - or roughly two weeks productive time.
I've attached close-ups of the asa-no-ha. Let me know if you want to see any of the other bits.
Des
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19th August 2009, 10:44 PM #6
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G'day Des
You certainly went all out on that one!
I reckon your right about the kauri vs Maple,
I made one asa-no-ha for a shed window, it
was fun, couldn't imagine making 32 that size
tho, gosh!
Have you thought about using cedar?
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19th August 2009, 11:02 PM #7
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Thanks Frank.
Col, the timber we used for shoji at the College was bei-hiba - yellow cedar. Very tight and straight grain, and very consistent colour. Unfortunately, back here the only yellow cedar I've been able to track down so far is construction grade, and obviously not suitable.
Des
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19th August 2009, 11:18 PM #8
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Frank,
I can see that being an issue if you intend going commercial
with these, can you import it?
I was looking at this site a while back to see what they
were using but there's no clues.
http://www.shoji-tatami.com.au/index...=shoji_screens
Anyway i was thinking about red cedar, as aussies are used to
it as a window timber, pity huon pine is so rare and expensive
eh.
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19th August 2009, 11:20 PM #9
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They Look Great Des, very fine indeed , tell me Des what have you used for the glazing ? paper or some type of glass?
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19th August 2009, 11:38 PM #10
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Col,
They use Tassie oak, with stain or finish. A few others also seem to use Tassie oak, but for a glistening hand-planed finish, the Japanese planes seem to work best on soft woods.
Thanks chowcini. The paper is proper shoji paper I brought back from Japan.
Des
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19th August 2009, 11:47 PM #11
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Sugoi des ne.
(My Japanese is a bit rusty sorry. 
)
anne-maria.
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20th August 2009, 12:06 AM #12
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Anne-Maria,
Arigato
(It's fine)
Des
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20th August 2009, 12:36 AM #13
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21st August 2009, 07:54 PM #14
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22nd August 2009, 01:26 PM #15
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wow man i would like to get one done to my house window too. it looks very nice. thanks for the pics. it must have taken a lot of time to complete it.
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