Thursday, March 31, 2022
Toshiaki Fujii (71), a resident of Hokuryu Town, made a large wooden lantern himself and installed it in his garden in late March.
Toshiaki Fujii and the lantern
Large lantern
The lantern is a large wooden lantern about 1.8m tall.
Fujii-san loves trees and woodworking
Fujii loves trees and is always selecting garden trees. His well-maintained garden is filled with many beautiful trees and is decorated with wooden creations such as his own "drum bridge" and "waterwheel."
Lantern making
Be enchanted by the lanterns of the Matsumae clan residence
Furthermore, Fujii has loved crafts since he was a child and has long been interested in lanterns. While searching for various lanterns online, he came across a photo of the ideal lantern he had in mind. Upon further investigation, he discovered that the image was of a lantern from the Matsumae Domain residence. This sparked his creative desire.
So I told my family, "I definitely want to see the real thing!" and we went to the Matsumae Domain residence in Matsumae. We had a thorough look at the real thing.
Drawings and felled trees from the mountains are used
The lanterns were designed from scratch using photographs and measurements, and the wood used was purchased as well as wood that was cut down by the artist himself using a chainsaw from the mountains.
Although I cut it to the millimeter, the size did not fit as I expected, so I had to go through a lot of trial and error. I started making it at the end of November 2021 and completed it in about three months.
"I worked about six hours a day and spent a lot of time refinishing things.
The structure of the rain shelter has curved parts that are not straight, so we had to search for a 'reverse plane' to cut the curved surfaces of the wood and had it delivered from outside Hokkaido," said Fujii with a smile.
Crafting in the barn even during snowfall
Highly difficult craftsmanship
Another barn workshop
A rare photo of the Fujii family after they settled in Hokuryu Town
Mr. Fujii's ancestors were prominent farmers in Gifu Prefecture. They were allowed to use their names and signatures. He also has precious photographs of the time when he first settled in Hokuryu Town.
Funeral of the Fujii family in 1921 (Taisho 10)
The Fujii family funeral, held in 1921, was attended by all the head priests of Hokuryu Town, including the head priest of Numata Hokuryu. A round coffin was carried on a palanquin, and women wore white mourning attire.
The image below has been "color reproduced" from the black and white image of the time.
My own nameplate, Fujii family signature
We put our boundless love, gratitude, and prayers into Fujii Toshiaki's magnificent lanterns, which he handcrafts with care and love.
Other photos
"Lanterns" by Fujii Toshiaki. Handmade from scratch using the lanterns at the Matsumae Domain Residence (Matsumae Town) as a model. See photos (59 photos) here >> Photos (24 photos) of the ancient documents preserved by Toshiaki Fujii can be found here >>
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◇ Photography and editing: Noboru Terauchi Interview and text: Ikuko Terauchi
