THE ART OF SHIGUCHI
JAPANESE JOINERY ON DISPLAY: Tree Spirits of Mt. Hakusan

The present book is an introduction in text and photographs to the shiguchi that Yoshihiro Takishita has collected over a span of fifty years. The word shiguchi refers to the joints that connect pillars and beams via mortises and tenons. The photos show the shiguchi that were cut off of these beams and pillars and destined to be discarded. Instead, they were collected by Takishita during his work as a minka restorer and given names such as "The God of Trees," "A Youth," and "An Alien." In effect, he has breathed new life into these artifacts, producing impressive modern objets.