I've always been inspired by hand-carved Japanese furniture, especially the work of KOMA in Tokyo. So when I had the chance to sign up for a hand-carved Japanese woodworking class with Tak Yoshino at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, I jumped at it.

I first studied at the Center in 2015, in the 12-week Furniture Intensive under Aaron Fedarko, so I knew the place.

Tak is a Japanese chairmaker who has spent decades building chairs fitted to the body. He founded the Mt. Fuji Wood Culture Society at the foot of Mt. Fuji, where he is building a school for woodworkers from around the world. Yuri Kobayashi, a furniture maker who works out of the Center, taught alongside him.

What we did

We built and tuned several custom Japanese hand planes. We learned Tak's process and his perspective on designing chairs around the body. And we got to watch a master at work.

I built a chair too. It's not finished yet, so these are in-process shots.