Tsunekazu Nishioka

Biography

Influence of his Grandfather

• Ever since he was an apprentice, Tsunekazu was trained rigorously by his grandfather. First, he learned how to sharpen his tools, which is the first thing that a carpenter must know. However, Tsunekichi didn’t teach him at all, and Tsunekazu kept sharpening the tools every night until he learned how to do it. In his later years, Tsunekazu said ‘Things that you remember with your head you tend to forget quickly. Better to learn physically, with feeling.’ ‘It is important to learn by hand. If you don’t teach the child, the child will work hard to learn by itself to seek the correct answers. By teaching them from the beginning, they will lack in their ability to think and try ones' best. Isn’t this what schools today are forgetting?’ He mentioned. ‘My grandfather taught and trained me with everything he knows, but anyway, he was tough and very strict. I was told to never whistle and to tightly tie the belt of my workman’s short coat. Being sloppy was absolutely forbidden. Tsunekazu was taught how to behave in a respectable way with etiquette and manners, because members of the Japanese Imperial Family, and other honourable guests often visited Hōryū-ji. Nonetheless, it appeared to the onlooker that his grandfather became mild and gentle with old age. The apprentices of his grandfather said, ‘When it comes to his grandson, even the frightening master transformed into a Buddha.’.
• He reluctantly enrolled to an agricultural school because of his grandfather’s command. Tsunekazu lacked the enthusiasm to learn, and ate fruits from the farm during class. However, as he learned further, he started to show interest and his grades improved. ‘You learn the right amount, the perfect timing, and where to plant fertilizer through experience and by thinking on your own. Sow seeds, sprouts come out, leaves grow, and harvest… This became more and more interesting to me. …To learn more about ’The life of the soil’. My grandfather insisted for me to enroll here because he wanted me to understand this. However, I realized his plot so much after…’ he mentioned. His grandfather wanted him to learn the transformation of life through learning the preciousness of life and the nature of the soil. His years in the agricultural school raised his quality to becoming the master carpenter. After many years, he appreciated his grandfather and the teachers for his amazing three years in school because what he learned in school became very useful when working as a carpenter.
• After graduating the agricultural school, his grandfather made him grow rice for a year. Tsunekazu did exactly what he learned in school. However, instead of praising him, his grandfather pointed out that crop was lower than the other farmers. He persuaded him and said, ‘You don’t get advice from books, you must have a dialogue with the rice, and otherwise, the rice will never grow. Becoming a carpenter is the same. If you don’t have a dialogue with the wood, you will never become a true carpenter.’
• His grandfather showed him an example and taught him nothing at all after showing the example. He taught him by making him trial and error many times and thinking on his own. He scolded him very strictly at times, but evaluated him well. Tsunekazu mentioned, He never complimented me directly. He always told my mother ‘Tsunekazu is a great boy. He can do things before I teach him’ My mother was always delighted to hear so and told me what he had told her. Grandfather always knew that she would, so he always complimented me indirectly'. At night, his grandfather often asked Tsunekazu to give him a massage, and during those times taught him what there was to know about carpentry.
• What Tsunekazu learned in the agricultural school became very useful in his career and later life. For example, the way to identify wood like Hinoki, Japanese Cypress trees. In his declining years, he mentioned ‘This is all because of my three years in the Ikoma Agricultural School. I finally understand grandfather’s true intention.’
• His grandfather often took young Tsunekazu to visit the temples of Nara to learn the basics of Japanese wooden architecture and carpentry. The East Pagoda in Yakushi-ji was reflected in a puddle near to the site of the West Pagoda which had long since been destroyed by fire. He explained, ‘This is called a "reflection pagoda'.

  Oral Teachings (''Kuden'')

• A person who doesn’t appreciate Shinto and Buddhist thought should remain quiet about the design of religious compounds.

• When designing a temple complex, find a site that suits the requirements of the Shijin.

• When selecting building materials for temples, purchase the whole mountain, rather than individual trees.

• Use trees according to the orientation that they grew on the mountain.

• When assembling the wooden structure of temple buildings, focus on each trees' characteristics, not merely on the measurements.

• The characteristics of trees and the intentions of the miyadaiku should co-exist, in harmony.

• The Tōryō should fully understand the thoughts of the other miyadaiku.

• If there are 100 miyadaiku, there are 100 ideas. The Tōryō's responsibility is to organise them to work together, moving in the same direction.

• If he does not possess the ability to unify 100 opinions into one, the Tōryō should respectfully resign their position.

• The traditions and techniques of our craft were not made in one day. They are gifts of divine virtue from our ancestral gods. We must never forget the gods.

• The Tōryō of Hōryū-ji have been passing on these principles for generations. They previously communicated such important knowledge only by word-of-mouth, not as text. They wouldn’t allow them to be written down. Previous generations of master carpenters passed them on to one apprentice carpenter out of a hundred, and they would select which miyadaiku they regard can truly become the Tōryō. Only someone with the finest carpentry techniques, personality, and the necessary qualifications can become the Tōryō. If one can remember the words by heart, it means that they do not truly understand. That is not a good thing. So, the Tōryō selects the person that they think is suitable to inherit the position, and proceeds to give them the oral instructions. I thought, ‘How can people do such difficult things’, but it is actually the simplest thing.

  Confrontations with academics

Relationship with Abbot Kōin Takada

Reviving the use of traditional carpentry tools

Challenges to his restoration work

Incidents in his life

Quotes

Nishioka’s architectural & building work

• Repairs and reconstruction of the temple compound of Hōryū-ji, including the Sangyōin and Nishi Muro Halls, Tōinraido Hall, Daikodō Hall, Tōin Shariden and Eden Halls, Tōin Denpodo Hall, Kondō Hall, five-storey, Goju-no-tō pagoda, and the Higashi Muro Hall.
• Repairs and reconstruction of the Koudō Hall at Tōshōdai-ji.
• Reconstruction of the three-storey pagoda, at Hōrin-ji.
• Reconstruction of the Kondō, Saitō and restoration of the garan of Yakushi-ji.
• Repair and restoration of the Doumyou-ji Tenmangu Shrine in Fujidera, Osaka Prefecture.
• In January, 1977, Nishioka received the Jiji Culture Medal. In July, 1977, he received the award of Important Intangible Cultural Asset.
• In 1981 -
• * May 25 - He was awarded the honour of the Order of the Sacred Treasure.
• * May 29 - Received an award from the Architectural Institute of Japan .　
• * May 30 - Received the Sankei Children’s Book Award for the co-authored book titled ‘Horyu-ji’.

  Publications

• Ki ni Manabe: Hōryū-ji, Yakushi-ji no Bi, Tsunekazu Nishioka 1991,, Tokyo: Shogakkan.
• Ki no Inochi, Ki no Kokoro, Tsunekazu Nishioka 1993, Tokyo: Shinchosha.
• Ikaruga no Takumi: Miyadaiku Sandai, Tsunekazu Nishioka・ Shigeru Aoyama 1977, Tokyo: Tokumashoten.
• Ki no Kokoro, Hotoke no Kokoro, Tsunekazu Nishioka・Matsuhisa Hourin・ Shigeru Aoyama 1986, Tokyo: Shunjusha.
• Miyadaiku Tōryō, Nishioka Tsunekazu, "Kuden" no Omomi, Tsunekazu Nishioka 2005, Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha
• Hōryū-ji Sasaeta ki, Tsunekazu Nishioka・Jiro Kohara 1978, Tokyo: NHK Books
• Hōryū-ji: Sekai Saiko no Mokuzō Kenchiku, Tsunekazu Nishioka・Shigetaka Miyakami ・Kazuo Hozumi 1980, Tokyo: Sōshisha
• Yomigaeru Yakushi-ji Saitō, Tsunekazu Nishioka 1981, Tokyo: Sōshisha.

  Television programs

• 『Project X』

Documentary Film

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• http://www.oninikike.com/