Museums

The Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum is the only museum in Japan dedicated to carpentry tools. It was opened in 1984 with the aim of passing on the skills and spirit of the craftsmen who have supported the history of Japanese wooden architecture and was relocated to the foothills of Mt. Rokko in Shin-Kobe in 2014. The museum displays about 1,000 carefully selected carpentry tools and features a full-size model of the framework of Toshodaiji Temple's Kondo (Golden Hall) in the atrium space, along with the structural model of a tea ceremony room that conveys the delicate work of Sukiya carpenters. The permanent exhibition is divided into seven sections: "A Journey through History," "Learning from a Master Carpenter," "Tools and Handwork," "Tools Around the World," "The Traditional Beauty of Japanese Wa," "Exquisite Works of Master Craftsmen," and "Making the Most of Wood." Interactive touch-panel explanatory videos and various hands-on displays are placed throughout the museum, offering a multi-sensory experience that includes not only seeing, but also touching and smelling. The museum's building itself blends into the lush environment of Mt. Rokko's foothills and, despite its contemporary architecture, is dotted with expressions of traditional craftmanship, providing a pleasant space where visitors can experience Japanese craftsmen's outstanding skills and manufacturing excellence.

The permanent exhibition, which focuses on traditional Japanese architectural methods and techniques, adopts the concept of "experiencing with the five senses," combining real objects such as carpentry tools and materials used in wooden architecture with easy-to-understand explanatory videos. By connecting your smartphone to the museum’s free Wi-Fi, you can also access a dedicated audio guide website available in four languages (Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean).
The Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum is improving its services to foreign visitors in various ways. For example, English translations are planned to be included in text displays and published catalogs for the special exhibitions on wooden architecture and carpentry tools that are held about three times a year. English options, including web application forms in English and interpretation services, will be also added to the various events held throughout the year, such as short-term woodworking workshops, plane shaving experiences using carpentry tools, and special openings of the Itteki-an teahouse located in the museum grounds.

Main works

The museum displays a wide range of carpentry hand tools (planes, chisels, saws, axes, marking tools, rulers, gimlets, hammers, etc.), including actual and replica items, along with carpentry tools from overseas, such as China and Europe. Designed to appeal to all five senses, the exhibition shows the processes where these tools are used through full-size models and videos, and also presents the characteristics of different types of wood used in wooden architecture, allowing visitors to feel the differences in texture and smell through wood shavings.

The museum features full-size architectural models in the basement exhibition space, including a model of the pillars and framework from the Toshodaiji Temple's Kondo and the structural model of a tea ceremony room, which allow visitors to experience up close the complex and exquisite traditional architectural techniques that are usually not visible. For example, you can closely observe the carpentry that supports the roof of Toshodaiji Temple from the side rather than from below and enter the tea ceremony room model to experience its unique spatial dimensions and intricate craftsmanship.