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, in some cases for several hundred years, and they keep on functioning. 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.

Name of the exhibition
The Anatomy of Tategu The Work of Traditional Japanese Joinery Revealed
Period
From March 8 (Sat) to May 11 (Sun), 2025
Venue
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum 1F Hall
Holding time
From 9:30 to 16:30 (admission until 16:00)
Closed days
Monday (or the next weekday if it is a national holiday)
Admission fee
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)
Related events

Lecture "The charm of traditional fittings-the skills of predecessors encountered by repairs"
※Web application only, first-come, first-served basis
in some cases for several hundred years, and they keep on functioning. What is the secret hidden in traditional fittings that can only be found at the repair site? We invite experts and craftsmen who have been involved in the restoration of cultural properties for many years to talk about the charms hidden in traditional fittings.

Date and time
February 23, 2025 (Sun./holiday) 13:30-15:00
Tutor
Tadashi Suzuki (Selected Preservation Technology Holder (Made fittings))
Norikei Tsuruoka (Professor, Kyoto Women's University)
Venue
Multipurpose Hall on the 1st floor of Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Participation fee
Free (admission fee is required)
Capacity
The first 80 people ※Advance application system from the web
English interpreter
If you wish, please enter ✓ (check) on the reservation page by 2/1 (Saturday).