Mysterious Japanese Joinery

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#japanesewoodworking #traditionaljoineries #asmr #handtools #woodworking #woodjoinery #finefurniture #finewoodworking

[Stone_]

The crazy thing about this is that Osaka Castle was built in late 1500's (Finished construction in 1598 after 15 years of construction). The Tokugawa Shogunate took over the castle in 1615, and rebuilt the Main Gate (which sustained damage in the takeover) in 1628. The main gate has remained to this day. That means this joint was either originally used in the 1580's or 1590's by a guy named Toyotomi HIdeyoshi (豊臣 秀吉), Or in 1628 / 1629 by a guy named Tokugawa Hidetada (徳川 秀忠) .
PS : I'm always blown away at Japanese recordkeeping how easily we can look up and find this kind of stuff.

[DerekBlais]

What's really awesome about this was that it was a mystery to most people until 1983. The craftsmen of the past were really special. Thanks for sharing this with us, Dylan.

[Richard.Dawson]

It is so refreshing to see that there are still channels like this one on YT. The YT "woodworking" genre has turned into mostly ikea type furniture. Seems like a majority of all the "woodworking" channels on YT now "assemble" basic furniture, using the simplest joinery possible. While they all try way too hard to be funny (& fail) & their main priorities are advertising for sponsors & churning out as many videos as possible. I really appreciate your content & it's great to be able to learn new skills from you. It's great to see that there are still actual woodworkers that care about the craftsmanship that goes into their work. I can guarantee that this one joint took longer to create than an entire piece of furniture would take from most of the popular YTers. No screws, no mdf, no pocketholes, no CNC. Just sharp chisels, wood, time, patience & pride in your work. Great stuff!

[HabuTaizan]

The Japanese Castle and Shrine do not use nails.
There are sill special carpenter call 'MiyaDaiku' that makes wonderful Japanese construction without using the nails.
This is one of the Vertical Joints. Dylan made awesome job, and ask your favor to update with several wood joint technics still exist in Japan.

[iggysixx]

That is a beautiful combination of a complex design, and a simple (and very effective) way to put it together.
What I particularly like (since I think it's a vertical supporting beam), is that it takes downward force to push it in place...
In case of holding up a roof, the joint can ONLY stay strong and in place.

(It's reminds me a bit of construction wood that has been 'finger-jointed' together.
That's where the ends of smaller pieces of wood are made 'pointy', and then are pushed together and glued in place. To make 1 long piece of straight pole.
That is done in factories, though. And the joints are made to be invisible. To give the illusion to the customer / carpenter that it's 1 piece they are buying)

What I like about Japan, is that this wood joint was considered important enough historically to investigate it with x-rays.

[KansaSCaymanS]

Wow, the satisfaction you get just watching the joint come together! Beautiful work.

[teambellavsteamalice]

At 7:25, the broadest part of the dark wood slides in and seems to fit perfectly at every part of the way. The wide part has the right angles in three directions? It doesn't look like this should be possible!
Even worse if one doesn't know this IS possible, how does one conceive of it?! Simply brilliant!

At earlier points in the video, this crucial part is even less visible.

[carbonerd]

The Japanese craftsmanship is just insane. Can’t believe people back in more than 400 years ago invented those skills. It’s 2021 and people still struggle to understand and figure out how they did it.

[swamppifi]

That is clever, the joint is taking advantage of timber strength in compression. it will never come apart when a load is applied.

[jimh]

THAT is so amazing!!! I could not figure out how that fit together until they showed us.

[nameno]

こういう技法がの昔からあるのも凄いけど、
それをこうして現代でもできるようになるのも凄い

[sandrawest]

I am mesmerized watching the perfection of saw and chisels in your hands.. Your work is so perfect that complicated pieces just slide into each other and lock. Perfectly cut and clean corners, wafer thin slices of wood…I could go on and on. Thank you. Peace 💫

[randymiller]

Under compression, this joint has a built in stop against slipping apart. It looks like it would interlock well against lateral forces.

[Hutch]

I don't know if it gets any better than this.
Thank you, Dylan, for sharing this with us. Extraordinary!

[Dogsnark]

This skill requires a patience and desire for perfection that is increasingly beyond most craftsman in these hurry-up and get done times. I hope, though, there will always be those few who keep the art alive.

[ark]

Such a joy to see this joinery made in perfection. I've made it several times, but never nearly as good as yours.

[TheXaimaca]

Respect for tradition, imagination, precision.
I am an Italian cabinetmaker and I see great similarities
with your way of working. Congratulations.

[amaimonosukiyanen]

昔の職人の意地や若手への挑戦状みたいなものを感じるね
これよりも複雑なのもあるっていうのがヤバいよね

[lynxg]

WOW, absolutely amazing, thanks so much for sharing with us, that is such a cool joint. Was really trying to figure out how it went together after you showed the layout of both pieces and don't think I would have anyways, but the guys scrub planning in the background were so loud it was hard to concentrate LOL

[bluesteel]

Props to the guy that came up with this joint, must've been one good craftsman.