Best Face Forward: The Magic of Japanese Carpentry

A typical board of Japanese cedar (sugi).

Plain-sawn boards are cut flat from one side of a log until a set depth. The log is then turned 90 degrees and the process is repeated, until only a square column remains at the center. A board cut in this way generally has the end grain—the pattern visible on the ends of the board—running lengthwise along the narrow end face.

For quartersawn wood, the log is cut into four quarters, which are then sawn into planks so that most of the grain is vertical to the cut face.

Riftsawing is both time consuming and wasteful, so it is mainly used for expensive objects like musical instruments.

Detail of a door made from quartersawn wood.

A carpenter, fitting together beams for a minka home reconstruction, works with the natural curves and twists of the beams.