As 2018 came to a close, it was enlightening to spend time in the Bay area exploring both the natural and man-made wonders in the vicinity. Sometimes a personal project is all that it takes to feel inspired.
I first met Yoshihiro Takishita in 2010 when I visited his mountain-top minka in Kamakura. I was impressed with the commanding view of Sagami Bay and was immediately moved by his work. I was deeply honored when he asked that I document his Shiguchi exhibit at the Gamble House. I suspect it is most every architectural photographer’s dream to photograph this archetypical example of the Arts and Crafts movement…it was certainly mine, and it was only through an invisible thread that brought me there and made it possible.
I cannot imagine a more perfect setting for Takishita-san’s Shiguchi to be displayed and viewed than the Gamble House as it provided a monumental setting for his joinery artistry. I was charged with documenting the entire process of the exhibit. I witnessed and was moved by the total commitment of the entire Gamble House staff to this effort. I was impressed by the painstaking process that took place so that each of the forty Shiguchi look their best to allow for their story to be visually told. I believe the success of the exhibit was inherent in the relationship of the Shiguchi pieces shining in their placement in the ever-inspiring Gamble House. To capture the respective beauty of both components was my aim, so that all those who attended, as well as those unable to attend, would know just what a stunning triumph had occurred at 4 Westmoreland Place. I wish to thank all involved for their support to make this collaboration possible. The above montage video is an overview of my five days photographing the exhibit.
Notes from The Gamble House:
Since in the 1970s, Yoshihiro Takishita has successfully rescued dozens of Japanese farm houses, or minka, from the increasing threat of development, particularly in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture. By carefully disassembling the houses, timber by timber, and reassembling them in new locations, many of these historic houses have been able to enjoy a second life. Not all of the constituent parts have been able to be re-purposed in the new locations, however. Not wanting to discard any remnant examples of Shiguchi, Mr. Takishita carefully stored the structural “orphans” of unused timber joints. He soon realized that these objects could stand on their own, literally and figuratively, as individual works of art. Over time, Takishita rescued enough structural fragments that a coherent collection of remarkable aesthetic value emerged. Both art and craft, these examples of traditional joinery are now exhibited for the first time in America at The Gamble House, itself a masterpiece of architectural wood craft. Shiguchi joinery, though centuries old, survives as a precise and elegant tribute to a Japanese traditional of building once common throughout the land.
“Shiguchi: The Hidden Art of Japanese Joinery” is an exhibit of 40 examples of timber-frame joinery that formerly fastened massive farm-house posts, beams, rafters and ridges to make up Japanese minka, or farm house, construction. While the original makers’ identities are lost to history, curator Yoshihiro Takishita offers a fresh perspective on their craft, naming the works, if not the workers. In doing so, Takishita has envisioned a new art form, revealed by hidden craft.
The Gamble House is a National Historic Landmark in Pasadena CA designed by architects Charles and Henry Greene in 1908. It is open for public touring Thursday through Sunday, noon to 3:00 pm. Additional exhibition details, tour information, lecture and event dates are available on our website
There is a bilingual website for Shiguchi here.
For an alternate version with the Bach Cello Suites by Alain Meunier, please view:
On assignment at the Gamble House in Pasadena, California. Documenting the Japanese joinery Shiguchi exhibit by noted Japanese architect, Yoshihiro Takishita.
