Fundamental Tree Knowledge

　As a construction material, the variety in quality and consistency of wood is unparalled. Even among trees of the same species, there are differences in the environment、differences in straight and curved grains、cut surfaces、differences in the growth rings according to the seasons、differences between parts which receive much sunlight (the south side) and little sunlight (the north side)、differences betwen heartwood and sapwood. Even within the same log, the differences ae endless. Therefore, building with wood is both very difficult and very interesting.

　When trees are felled, they are cut so that they can be used as effectively as possible. According to the planned use of the wood, professionals use their intuition and long years of experience to prepare the material without needless waste--when least expected, cracks and rotting may appear and warping and splittling can occur in the drying stage.The techniques of profesionals minimize these losses, and their experience and attention to detail produce the highest quality materials.

　In this day and age, the number of professionals who have accumulated many years worth of experience in each of these fields has decreased drastically--almost no one remains who can fell a tree, prepare it as a material and produce a completed work. This corner has been constructed to spread fundamental knowledge of trees and to describe the different varieties of trees (with respect to sculpture) in as much detail as possible.

Miscellaneous Tree Knowledge

　○Planting Trees in Your Lawn or Garden

　Plant deciduous trees on the east or south sides of your house so that they receive adequate sunlight in winter after they have shed their leaves. Evergreens should be planted to the north or west of your house so they do not cast shadows in winter and so they block the western sun in the summer. Weak-scented flowers should be planted where they can be easily seen. Fragrant flowers should be planted on the side of your house that is leeward when they bloom--no matter how plesant their scent, you will get tired of it if it is always sweeping through the house. Planting them so the scent faintly drifts into the house is best.

　Trees that will grow taller than your roof should be planted as fas from your house as possible--they will be crammed into the eaves or damage the walls of your house. When you have no choice but to plant them there, they should be uprooted or transplanted before they grow taller than your roof.

　○Evergreen Trees and Deciduous Trees

　The leaves of deciduous trees wither and fall all at once in the fall, snd sprout again in the spring. The leaves of evergreens stay on the tree for one or two years and are only shed after new leaves bud to take their place. Needle-leafed trees have either thin, pointed leaves or leaves resembling the scales of fish. Broad-leafed trees have wide, flat leaves shaped like the palm of a hand.

　Excluding a very small number of species, needle-shaped trees are evergreens. On the other hand, certain varieties of both deciduous (sakura, keyaki, etc.)and evergreen trees (kusu, tsubaki, etc.) are broad-leafed. Also, the growth rings of needle-leafed trees are more distinct.

Carving Wood

Because wood is composed of fiber-like cells which are lined up vertically,it can be carved both "with the grain" and "against the grain." Carving "with the grain" means pressing against these fibers obliquely or at an angle when carving. As long as there is no need to do otherwise, wood should be carved "with the grain." "against the grain" is the exact opposite--it means carving by pushing directly against the ends of these fibers. Doing so splits and cracks the wood, and produces a rough surface. In addition resistance increases and it becomes difficult to control the movement of the knife. Particularly when carving conifers (trees with needle-shaped leaves), if the carving knife is not well-sharpened the wood cannot be carved. Carving hinoki, etc. is an especially difficult task.

　The surest way to determine the direction of the grain is to try carving it. if the blade gets stuck,the wood splits or the blade`s movement isn`t smooth, it means you are carving against the grain. Another method is to look at the direction of the tiny pores on the surface of wood from very porous trees（wood from kusu, etc. has many tiny holes on its surface）. The direction of these holes is the same as the direction that the grain of the tree.When carving from boards, or blocks with flat surfaces, you should carve from "high" to "low." When looking at the surface of a board you will see many contour lines much like those you would see on a map or weather forecast. If you think of these lines in this way, the meaning of carving from high to low will become much more clear. it can`t be emphasized enough that you need to pay as much attention to the direction of the grain as possible. Also, it goes without saying that if you find yourself carving against the wood, stop immediately and carve from the opposite direction.It is difficult at first, but you will get used to it the more you carve. if you use sandpaper or a sanding block to finish your piece, it doesn`t matter whether you`ve been carving aginst the wood or not, but you will never learn how to skillfully use your carving tools. Therefore I recommend using only knives to finish your work.