Making Shoji

The construction of shoji--Japanese sliding doors--requires intricate skills and attention to detail. This guide to creating shoji brings together both traditional insight and technical mastery of the craft from the perspective of an apprenticed sliding-door maker. Step-by-step instructions, illustrated with photos of each work in progress, give detailed information on how to construct both common shoji and Japanese transom (a piece found between rooms and above sliding doors). The correct use of Japanese tools is discussed, as are techniques for marking lines, making specific joints and handles, using rice glue, and applying shoji paper.

• Shoji and Kumiko Design: Book 1 The Basics
• Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use
• The Complete Japanese Joinery
• Shoji: How to Design, Build, and Install Japanese Screens
• Shoji and Kumiko Design: Book 2 Beyond the Basics
• The Why & How of Woodworking: A Simple Approach to Making Meaningful Work
• The Art Of Japanese Joinery
• Shoji and Kumiko Design: Book 3 Hexagonal Patterns
• Building the Japanese House Today
• Discovering Japanese Handplanes: Why This Traditional Tool Belongs in Your Modern Workshop