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Agricultural utensils and folk crafts are
made during the agricultural off-season.
The “Dezukuri” farmers have to procure straws from other regions,
as they do not cultivate rice deep in the mountain. Instead,
trees are available in diverse types in different places for
different purposes. The wooden snow shovel and the handle
of hoe for field work are made partially for sale. These wood
products are made in large quantity. In its peak season in
the mid Meji period (1868 _ 1911), more than 30,000 snow shovels
and 3,000 hoe handles were made in the home village of Shiramine
alone, and delivered over the entire Ishikawa and Fukui prefectures.
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| The winter utensils made
of wood include snow shovels for removing snow, sticks
for walking on deep snow, long snow shovels for removing
snow from the thatched roof and the edge of the eaves,
and compact snow shovels for children. The material used
for these utensils is beech that features stickiness and
strength. |
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Wooden crafts made by “Dezukuri” workers utilize
characteristics of each tree such as tensile strength, ease of processing,
corrosion resistance, etc. In addition, barks are taken without cutting
the tree, and crotches, bends and warts are all resourcefully used. |
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Soup bowls are typical products made of tree
warts. Because of the curly grain of wood along the shape of
the bowl, such handicrafts rarely crack. Japanese horse chestnut,
beech, zelkova and cypress trees are hollowed out to make a
variety of containers of different sizes.
＞＞How
to use tree warts |
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Crotches and bends of the tree are used for tools, coat hangers,
etc. These are often used around the open hearth, entrance
and kitchen.
＞＞How
to use tree crotches
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In the Hakusan-roku region where bamboo hardly grows because
of heavy snow, barks of various kinds of maple trees are used
in substitution for bamboo. This is called “Hejina” work. It
is not as tough as bamboo, but lighter, so that it is carried
at the waist for field and mountain work.
＞＞“Hejina” basket |
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