EXHIBITION TOUR
The Carpenters’ Line Gallery Tour with Kose Hisanori and Ushimaru Takehiko

This event is fully booked.

Take a journey through 1,300 years of master carpentry in a guided tour led by Japan House London Programming Director Simon Wright alongside special guests from Japan.

Kose Hisanori from Takayama Wood Craftsmen Society and Ushimaru Takehiko from Takayama Board of Education’s Cultural Assets Division sheds light on an aspect of The Carpenter’s Line: Woodworking Heritage in Hida Takayama exhibition.

During the tour, guests have an opportunity to take a closer look at Hida’s extraordinary craftworking legacy from the rich natural resources of the Hida forests, to the tools and techniques used in the construction of wooden architecture in Japan.

The tour will last 45 minutes and will begin in front of the Gallery on Japan House London's Lower Ground floor promptly at the start time. 

About the Tour Leaders

Kose Hisanori (Takayama Wood Craftsmen Society)

Born in 1961 in Takayama, Kose Hisanori is a nationally certified carpenter with many years of experience. His work has spanned a variety of projects involving wooden architecture, from refurbishing Japanese Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to preserving the woodcraft techniques he inherited from his predecessors. He largely contributes to his craft by instructing younger artisans at the Takayama Wood Craftsmen Society while engaging in the development of the wider woodcraft community.

Ushimaru Takehiko (Takayama Board of Education, Cultural Assets Division)

Born in 1972 in Takayama, Ushimaru Takehiko graduated from Gifu University’s Faculty of Education and completed his masters in East Asian Archaeology at Senshu University’s Graduate School of the Humanities.

Throughout his career at the Takayama City Hall, he has been involved in a variety of fields, such as excavated cultural assets, building constructions, nationally recognized districts of preserved historical buildings, folk culture assets, registered Japanese heritage sites, and in general, cultural asset administration.

In 2006, he was dispatched to Gifu Museum for three years as a curator specializing in the Hida region. In 2015, he worked for two years in Japan’s Agency of Cultural Affairs, and was involved in preservation work relating to historical structures and nationally registered heritage sites. Currently, he is the Director of the Takayama Board of Education’s Cultural Assets Division, the Hida-Takayama Town Museum, and the Takayama Fudoki-no-Oka Education Center.

This event has been made possible with the support of Takayama City and Gifu Prefecture.