Final Project Plans


My research theme of the present is "The Collaboration of Japanese Crafts and Digital Fabrication". Especially, My area of concentration is "Japanese Paper (Washi)" and "Japanese Lacquer (Urushi)".
And, I'm interested in "The Education of Material".I want to make "The Library of Materials" at my hometown in the future.

My motivation is to extend the possibility of crafts.Through experience in the Fab Academy, I want to develop tools which support the work of the craftsman.


[2016.05.25]

"The machine to make a bamboo blind"

I decided to make "The machine to make a bamboo blind (made of pieces of split bamboo or reeds tied together)" that capable of designing how to knit wraps when make a bamboo blind.
[Left image]
This is a bamboo blind that is one of the tool to make Japanese paper. And it is called "Su".
Generally, "Su" is made of thin sticks of bamboo or Japanese pampas grass (that is called "Susuki") and thin yarns such silk yarn or hair taken from the tail of a horse.
[Right image]
Because thin sticks are knitted with thin yarns using this tool, wraps are knitted only straight.
But wraps have very important role in "Su", because patterns of wraps appear on a Japanese paper. And I think that we will be able to make the Japanese paper of various designs if we can design it freely.
(Green lines show wraps.)

[2016.03.24]

I filmed videos about processing techniques of Japanese paper for researching.
1. Making a rubbed copy


2. Making paper


3.Making paper yarn



[2016.01.27]

"The module to hand down techniques of craftsman"

I want many people to experience of making Japanese paper, so I'll make the module to hand down techniques of craftsman.

Idea sketch of final project / Assumption of utilization
Idea sketch of final project / Specification
My theme of project at FabLab SENDAI is "The collaboration between digital fabrication and (traditional)crafts, materials, techniques". And, this project’s mission is thinking about “the future of making things” that is based on traditional crafts, materials and techniques. The reason why we focus on that mission, handcrafts are one of a primary industry in Tohoku, therefore we decided this mission to make use of background of Tohoku. (FabLab SENDAI is located in Sendai-city, Miyagi prefecture. Our area is called “Tohoku”.)

Especially, I focus on “Shiroishi-Washi” that had been made in Shiroishi-city located south area of Miyagi prefecture. But, In April 2015, "Shiroishi-Washi" came to an end due to a lack of successors. So I'm trying to succeed to the technique about the “Shiroishi-Washi”, using a digital technology.