The doors and partition panels that allow movement between spaces of Japanese traditional-style buildings are called tategu. They are parts of the buildings that are in constant use, day after day, year after year. The fittings of cultural properties, such as shrines and temples, continue to function even after hundreds of years. What are the secrets of their durability?
This exhibition looks into the internal structure of such tategu panels, as seen when they are dismantled and in the techniques used to repair damaged parts and restore their function. The exhibits probe deeply into the traditional technologies used in the production of tategu, which is part of the “traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan” inscribed in 2020 on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.


The venue is the first floor hall in Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum. The exhibition space has been set up so that you can take a closer look at the many techniques hidden in the details of traditional fittings. In this exhibition, in addition to explanations in Japanese and English, explanations of multiple languages (self, Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Français, Deutsch) are also available by reading QR codes (Japan Expo 2.0 assistance project).

At the venue, you will be greeted by Sankarado, a height of about 2.8m. It is a door that was actually used in important cultural properties. A door that has protected the temple while being exposed to the wind and rain for more than 300 years. If you look at the door and think about its long history, you may be interested in its deep charm. Please enjoy the rare experience of staring at only the door at the venue.

In the center of the venue, the door was "demolited" on a huge table of 4.6m x 2.4m as shown in the exhibition title. The karato in front of the venue is a simple door, but it is actually made up of 40 members.


In the actual repair, it is finished in an old color so that you do not know where the repair was made, but this time we are exhibiting specially with the repair location known. You can see the internal structure of fittings and elaborate repair techniques from multiple directions, along with actual dismantling and repair images taken through close interviews.

For more than 70 years, Tadashi Suzuki, a fitting artist who has been involved in the restoration of fittings for national treasures and important cultural properties, has been using the highest technology among fittings he has met so far. And Meishoji. You can see secret techniques that only the fittings who were responsible for the production can know.

A bamboo joint nail with a diameter of 3 mm is installed on a board with a thickness of 6 mm, and measures have been taken to prevent distortion or warpage of the fittings. Distortion can not only cause inconvenience to daily use, but also damage the precious paintings on sliding-door panel on the back of the door. You can feel the beauty of the craftsman's soul of the fittings who do their best in places where you cannot see it.

There is a mirror at the bottom of the door. Let's take a look at the elaborately carved hozo hole.

The original material (1636) of the Shitomi door of the national treasure Honganji Mieido is on display. You can see the fittings repair techniques up close along with actual repairs performed over 10 years from 1999.


From the traces of each delicate repair that does not take care of the details, the passion of protecting the original material and passing it on to future generations is transmitted.

This is a restored model of the gesture found in Shitodo in the early Edo period. Even if the fittings of the same building are dismantled, various shapes of hozo are hidden. It's surprising that curves are hidden in the fittings composed of vertical crossings. Thinking of the person who uses it, Venue, and doing a lot of work on invisible parts to ensure durability. It is a deep gem that gives a glimpse of the relationship between the owner and the craftsman.

This pier Karato (reinstatement) uses the most difficult technology among the fittings that Tadashi Suzuki met.


When this karato is dismantled, a complex gesture that cannot be imagined from the clean fittings placed in the building appear. In order to withstand hundreds of years of use, it is a completed form made by past fittings, one shape of a hozo, one width of a small hole, and thought out by past fittings.

You can see the handwork that has been handed down along with the tools and work images used for the restoration model production.

The plane of Mr. Tadashi Suzuki is on display. Since it is a world of fittings that do not allow a slight error, it is a completely different tool even if it looks similar.

In particular, Domiya fittings can have the same design and the same dimensions as ready-made products. It is also a feature of fittings that they produce and remodel themselves, and the number of types increases as the site is repeated.


In the hands-on corner, you can actually touch the gesture model introduced during the exhibition. This time, I made a part of the model with acrylic. Check how the hozo fits in the hozo hole and the change in the shape of the hozo when you hit the wedge while picking it up.
You can see short images on the monitors installed at various places on the exhibition, and in the video corner on the second basement floor, you can take a closer look at the techniques of Mairado at the important cultural property Koumein Hondo on a large 60-inch screen. In addition, you can see photos and videos taken during the installation of this exhibition on the official Instagram. Please be sure to take a look at the exhibits.
●Click here for official Instagram ➡︎
<Video work>
・Important Cultural Property Koumein Hondo Mairado technique (28 minutes | 2022)
・Important Cultural Property Koumein Hondo Mairado (shortened version) (1 minute 55 seconds | 2022)
・Repair of National Treasure Honganji Mieido Shitodo (6 minutes 30 seconds | 2009)
・Demolition of Karato (1 minute 25 seconds | 2025)
・Repair of shaft foot (1 minute 37 seconds | 2025)
・Chamfer and temporary assembly (1 minute 25 seconds | 2025)
・Processing and old color (1 minute 30 seconds | 2025)
(Curator, Tomoo Funahashi)