"East Meets Tokyo"

This hammer has been used for more than 70 years. It is Master Maeda's precious belonging. One side of its metal part has a gentle curve, so it does not wound woods. And the handle is made of Gum-tree, so it does not wound the carpenter's hand either.

Sukiya carpenters mainly depend on their eyes, skills, and experience. Without all the deliberate care, it is impossible that the tearoom would be sustainable for hundreds of years.

Sukiya carpenters always work with partnership. One holds a pillar and the other unites a joint by hitting the wood. So, one is not enough and three is too many; they always work with two.

Master Shizuka Maeda, 59, from Kyoto. He is one of the top Sukiya craftsmen.

Master Maeda spent over three hours for sharpening the blades of his planer. Touch, feel, and caress. Sharpen, rinse, and touch. Again, again, and again.

With Maeda’s careful sharpening, the surface shaved from the wood reaches less than a micron in thickness. Maeda applies this technique as its finish on each wood. The strip is thin like a tissue paper, but still strong as a silk scarf.

One of the most distinguished characteristics of Sukiya is that there are no nails, but just joints of woods.

Carpenters and designers are discussing the progress in front of their "blue print." For sukiya-carpenters, the computerized blue print is not that important. Rather, they depend on their own eyes, skills, and experience.

Mr. Maeda (left) and Mr. Yoshikoshi (right) stand in front of the on-going construction site right before they close the day.

They relocate from Kyoto to Tokyo for a month during the project. They commute from their business-hotel to the site by subway everyday.

This project is unconventional. The tearoom is located in a modern office building just in front of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The tearoom is built as the symbol of a company's $6million-renovation-project.

"Normally tearooms are located outside, so we never have such a space-trouble,” Maeda explains while he is carefully examining the alignment by the office window

Architect Kiyoshi Kuronuma, who is in charge of the entire renovation project, checks up the details of the tearoom. With his arrival, tension takes over everyone in the location.

After taking off its final dress (Maeda shaved micro-thin surface of woods, c.f. picture07), the wood sparks fragrance. People enjoy its fresh scent and smooth touch.

This is the completion of the carpenters’ work. Essence of Japanese traditional tearoom is expressing eternity in its minimal space.

The very last moment of the two master-carpenters at the location. Since Sukiya does not use any nail, people can take apart the pieces and rebuild the tearoom anytime even after a couple hundred years.

After spending one month in Tokyo, two master-craftsmen return to their hometown, Kyoto.

A month later, the tearoom shows its final figure. A flower vase, wall papers, and calligraphy by the window make even accents. Architect Kuronuma palms the steppingstones with "purity" water for appreciation.