The Anatomy of TateguThe Work of Traditional Japanese Joinery Revealed
Overview of the Exhibition
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. Particularly the doors of temples, shrines, and other buildings that have been designated cultural properties have been opened and closed through very long histories, Many of these tategu have been partitioning space for 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. Herein lies revealed the ordinarily unseen ingenuity and craft of the tategu artisan.
Exhibition title
The Anatomy of Tategu The Work of Traditional Japanese Joinery Revealed
Period
2025.３.８（sat）－5.11（sun）
Venue
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum 1F Hall
Hours
9:30–4:30 p.m. (Last admission 4:00 p.m.)
Closed
Mondays (the following day when Monday falls on a national holiday)
Admission
700 yen for adults, 500 yen for Odaka students, 65 years old or older, free for junior high school students and younger (including Permanent exhibition viewing fee)
Sponsorship
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, the Association of Traditional Craftsmen
Cooperation
National Traditional fittings Technology Preservation Society
FY2024 Japan Expo 2.0 Project (subsidized type) (Japan Arts and Culture Promotion Association / Agency for Cultural Affairs)
Handbill
You can download leaflets in A4 size and PDF format. (in Japanese and English)
Exhibits
1. Original parts of a sankarado door. Hondō, Honryūji Temple (Important Cultural Property).2. Original parts of a sankarado door. Hondō, Honryūji Temple (Important Cultural Property)3. Original parts of a shitomido shutter. Goeidō, Hongwanji Temple (National Treasure).4. Full-scale model of a sankarado door. Karamon Gate, Bankōrō, Ryōkōin Temple (Important Cultural Property).5. Full-scale model of a main hall mairado door. Hondō, Ōbaiin Temple (Important Cultural Property).6. Sword plane6. The lower end of the sword plane7. Tategu connecting joint models (reinstatement)
Venue photo
Venue video
Related events
■End of Lecture "The Appeal of Traditional Tategu: Past Woodworking Genius Revealed in Repairs"*
※Applications will be accepted in order of arrival, online only,
Many of these tategu have been partitioning space for hundreds of years. What secrets of traditional joinery and craft were revealed that could only be known from the work of repair? An expert who has long been associated with the repair of cultural properties and a veteran tategu woodworker talk about the fascinating details to be found hidden in traditional tategu.
