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THE WORLD OF YABUUCHI SatoshiEsculptor
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| Japan is sometimes referred to as the "land of wood" but it would be truer to say that it was the "land of the cypress". I learned this through my involvement with the restoration of ancient cultural properties, but in contemporary Japan it is a fact that is becoming harder to appreciate. For this reason, I have decided to write a few words about the relationship between the Japanese and Cypress wood.Trees may be divided into two groups, gymnosperm and angiousperm. Compared to the angiousperm trees such as cherry, oak and camphor, gymnosperms, which include conifers such as cypress or cedar as well as gingkos and ferns are botanically-speaking much more primitive. Structurally, the cells that comprise the tall, straight cypress resemble a bundle of identical straws that run the length of the trunk and for this reason it is possible to drive a wedge into the butt end of log and split it vertically to create building timber. The timber used for the walls of the famous Shosoin building at Todaiji Temple in Nara City was prepared this way, the logs being split to create triangular timber that was then used to build the structure using a technique similar to that of a log cabin. This is known as the "orange segment" method and is the most basic and least wasteful way of preparing lumber. (see illustration) By contrast, the strawlike cells that comprise the broadleaf trees are all of different widths and are tangled together creating a complicated structure that cannot be split cleanly with a wedge. As builders in ancient times relied almost totally on coniferous wood, such as the cypress, that they could split with wedges to create planks, the use of a rip saw to prepare finished timber was extremely rare until the late middle-ages. Looked at from the point of view of the global development of tools, this is a unique situation and illustrates the degree to which carpenters in this country relied on cypress in their work. The cross-section of the trunk of the tree consists of numerous concentriccircles. As the tree grows broader and taller, tissue builds up on the outer circumference, this growth being rapid and uneven in the summer and slower and denser in the autumn and winter, thereby creating rings. It is the repetition of this cycle that creates the grain of the wood. The craftsmen of the past went to great lengths to try and prevent wood from splitting as it dried. In the case of a log, the outer sapwood dries first, shrinking and causing cracks to appear at the weaker points. In the case of a piece of squared lumber that has been sawn so as to avoid the central core, the denser cells on the side that faced the center of the log are more likely to crack from drying and so when the wood is used for sculpture, the outer side is carved. In the Nara period, when Buddhist figures were carved from a single log of wood, a square window was opened in the back of the figure, the inside hollowed out to prevent splitting and then the hole was hidden with another piece of wood. It is said that the mountains of Japan used to be covered with primal growth forests of cypress and the Japanese people used this wood as the basic material for both building and the formative arts. In ancient times, whenever an Emperor was succeeded, the capital city was rebuilt in another area. Although they were not as large as Heijokyo or Heiankyo, the construction of the cities in Asuka, Shigaraki or Nagaoka must have been a huge undertaking for the people of the time and was only made possible by the vast amounts of cypress wood that were then available in the Kinki area. However, the construction of these capitals, the construction of huge temples and their subsequent reconstruction after they were destroyed during the Genpei and Onin wars, resulted in the virtual disappearance of these forest by the middle ages. It is said that when Todai-ji temple was rebuilt in the twelfth century, priests set out to visit towns and villages across the whole country in order to raise the funds for the work, but at the same time, they were also looking for cypress trees large enough to be used in the construction. When the two statues of the guardian god, Nio, from the Nandaimon Gateway of the temple were restored recently, it was discovered that the cypress wood used to make them had been brought all the way from Yamaguchi Prefecture. It is also said that it would be impossible to build another gateway today of the same size and using the same building techniques as the Nandaimon because there are no cypress trees left in the whole of the country that are large enough to provide the timbers. When the building that houses the Great Buddha was rebuilt at the beginning of the eighteenth century, it had to be reduced in scale, but even so, the numerous pillars that hold up the roof could not be made out of single pieces of wood, but of several pieces held together with steel bands. Today, for and individual to be able live in a house that has been constructed of cypress wood is considered to be a great luxury.I sculpt my figures in cypress wood that comes from the Kiso area of Japan and as a result, I am able to enjoy the beautiful perfume of the wood as I work everyday. The oil of the Japanese cypress contains a chemical called hinokitiol that is said to have medicinal properties and whether it is due to this or not, I do not know, but I have not suffered a day's serious illnesses for over ten years. I cannot help but feel that this is because I am work under the protection of the cypress. Translated by Gavin Frew |
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