Kumiko (woodworking)

A complex kumiko panel

Kumiko (Japanese: 組子) is a Japanese technique of assembling wooden pieces without the use of nails.

Method

Thinly-slit wooden pieces are grooved, punched, and mortised, and then fitted individually using a plane, saw, chisel, and other tools to make fine-adjustments. The technique was developed in Japan in the Asuka Era (600-700 AD). Kumiko panels slot together and remain in place through pressure alone, and that pressure is achieved through meticulously calculating, cutting, and arranging interweaving joints. The end-result is a complex pattern that is used primarily in the creation of shoji doors and screens. Traditionally, the wood of choice was the hinoki cypress.

Patterns

Kumiko panels from c. 1921

The designs for kumiko-pieces aren't chosen randomly. Many of the nearly 200 patterns used today have been around since the Edo era (1603-1868). Each design has a meaning or is mimicking a pattern in nature that is thought to be a good omen. The patterns are designed to look good, but also to distribute light and wind in a calming and beautiful way.

Traditionally it is made with hand-tools only, but in the western society they have made new techniques to make these kinds of patterns, it involves a table saw, a sharp chisel, and some guides made by yourself, some can be made with plywood and some need to be made with hard or soft wood.

See also

• Shoji § Frame