Japanese nail-free joinery (tsugite and shiguchi)
Carpintería japonesa de ensambles sin clavos (tsugite y shiguchi)
- Date
- c. 650 · confidence medium
- Place
- Ikaruga, Nara, Japan
- Credited to
- Asuka carpenters (miyadaiku) with Baekje influence
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A family of timber splices and joints (tsugite, shiguchi) that join beams and posts with tenons, wedges and dovetails without nails or glue. Hōryū-ji preserves the world's oldest timber buildings with this kind of joinery.
Nails and metal fittings are used in roofs and reinforcements, so 'nail-free' is a simplification; the most refined joints are later (Heian and Edo periods). The date is that of Hōryū-ji's reconstruction after the 670 fire.
What it led to
- temples and castles of timber that resist earthquakes through jointing flexibility
- the specialist craft of temple carpenters (miyadaiku)
- piece-by-piece repair and dismantling of historic buildings