Japanese Swordsmith and Armor Makers

Sophisticated arts flourished in mid-15th century Japan, including sado (tea ceremony), noh (masked stage performance), kado (flower arrangement), and aesthetic interest in yugen-no-bi (subtle profound beauty) and wabi-sabi (quiet simplicity and restrained refinement). These led to tearoom carpentry and refined tearoom sukiya-zukuri (sukiya-style) architecture.

This wooden building style called suki (elegant taste) eliminates showy decoration while pursuing aesthetic refinement attuned to the sensibilities of those in the building. The subtle interplay of elements — such as rays of light, shades of wood materials, and woodgrain appearance — is all deliberately planned. Master builders of sukiya architecture are called sukiya-daiku.

Japanese craftsmanship is a way of life for artisans who continue faithfully making their traditional crafts while devoting themselves to enhancing their skills.