Then later, he was guided by some curious coincidences to the world of Edo joinery.Īt age of 18, he moved to Tokyo from Chiba Pref. Watching and being fascinated by a neighbor’s beautiful house-raisin, he made up his mind to become a carpenter. When Toda was in the six grade of elementary school, he got in this line of work.

I got to his place without a big trouble to find. Looking for Toda’s workshop, I found the place where there were scores of woods around its entrance. Basically, when Japanese verb is combined with another word, the ending of the verb is declined. “Shashi” in “Shashimono” is verb conjugation of “Sasu”. (“Shashimono” is a compound word of “Sasu,” a verb with original meaning of pointing, and “mono,” a noun meaning an object. As a professional Shogi player, I already had a sense of intimacy to “Sashimono.” Sashimono and Shogi have a word “Sasu” in common. In Shogi, we use a Japanese word, “Sasu” to describe an action of moving a piece. It is said that the Japanese name Sashimono came from that action.

In Sashimono, or wood joinery, some pieces of woods are joined together facing each other. Edo joinery is designated as a traditional craft by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. I visited an artisan, Toshio Toda who is Edo joinery (or “Edo Sashimono” in Japanese) master.

How to make a sashimono