Japanese Wooden Boatbuilding Hardcover – August 7, 2015

A Sherpa friend told me, “there are two countries an American should travel to: India and Japan.”Yes, an expensive book... but, exceptionally well constructed, beaurltiful photography, top quality paper and a rarely seen durable dust jacket.Like quality tools, worth the investment.Although I’ve built a few wooden boats, I don’t have a deep interest in Japanese boats, in particular.The apprenticeship element of the book was what drove me to press buy. I have facilitated adventures in a high school for 25+ years, as a side job.This year has been a challenging one, with students consistently refusing to gain deeper insight through their own studies. We cancelled a month long trip to Lake Powell because I would not be able to lecture them through a difficult situation.Douglas Brooks description of having apprenticed and mentored others, in a shrinking industry (wooden boatbuilding) has given me a fresh perspective of another way to pass on what we have learned, so the next generation can go farther than we could.This book is a striking success, from every perspective. Well written, illustrated and produced. The Japanese approach to boatbuilding and passing on knowledge has me looking at how I do things from new directions, which is what the goal of travel should be.

This is one of the best books written about traditional Japanese craft techniques. I would give it a quarter-star less for his prejudice against scholars (I mean the ones he does mention are clearly ivory tower types, but there are those who are not). Still, it is well written, nicely illustrated, easy for non-Japanese readers to follow, and even for non-carpenters (as a social portait of Japan, it is also a great work). This is one of the few $75 books I feel really is worth the money. It must have cost a lot to publish, not to mention the years of work Mr. Brooks put into it. Just a great achievement.

The best resource of Japanese wooden boat building in english, beautifully produced. Its many details will be lost without a boatbuilding background, but as a story of an almost lost world it excels. And it echos many of my experiences in interacting with the Japanese culture.

Fascinating book! Very informed and moving, with lots of surprises along the way.

Muy buen material.

Been waiting for a book like this for years!!!!! It has surpassed my expectations!!!! Highly recommended!!!

Very Very Good

In a way, your book and related ongoing research is a race against time. The generation of Japanese boatbuilders you document have been so protective of their trade secrets, tremendous amounts of intellectual property is on the verge of extinction.Japan is generally quite reverent of traditional crafts, having an award for “living national treasures” (人間国宝 Ningen Kokuhō), but boatbuilders seem to have been overlooked. Perhaps it is because Japanese boatbuilding saw boats built to very specific regional needs, and as a result, the boats take dramatically different form despite the universal function. They are artists working in extreme isolation.The author has done the nearly impossible by capturing the engineering, the personal stories of the builders, the craftsmanship and the folklore in one approachable source. I am still just digging in.

Excellent!I do not think you will find anything like this anywhere else, unless you can read Japanese!If you are into wooden boats or boat-building, you will find this fascinating.

A fascinating, well-researched, and well-written exploration of a disappearing art form. Especially of interest to wooden boat builders but also for those exploring the nature and evolution of craft in all disciplines.