News and updates from the Tenpyozan building project.

Because of the importance of the Tenpyozan project, people have come from all over the world to help.  A skilled carpenter, Satoshi Niwa , traveled from Japan with his wife to assist with the creation of the temple compound.  He had learned about the project in 2014 from a friend who was a pupil of Masamichi Higo, the head carpenter at Tenpyozan.  Since then, he has spent six months at Tenpyozan, from March 2015 through September 2015, and after arriving in September of this year, he will stay until March of 2017.

As a student of traditional Japanese architecture, Mr. Niwa has worked on temples before, but when not working with the Tenpyozan project he is primarily focused on building homes in the traditional style with wood joinery, wood nails, and mud walls. He was drawn to the challenge of working on Tenpyozan because he was interested in encountering a “different face of traditional Japanese architecture and culture” as well as helping to preserve “original Zen culture.”

Mr. Niwa said he is enjoying his work on the project, but its sacred nature is not so different for him from a “regular” building because he sees all of his work as profoundly sacred: “Always I work sincerely on building with tools, lumber and carpentry partners.“ Mr. Niwa’s sincerity illuminates the importance of good, quality work and typifies the dedication to detail inherent in Zen practice.  

Tenpyozan Carpenters Speaks at Local High School

By Chris Douthit, Tenpyozan Volunteer  

A cultural meeting of the minds, hands, and hearts happened on Monday, December 5 at Ukiah High School in Ukiah, CA when Masamichi Higo and Satoshi Niwa, the traditional Japanese carpenters helping to build Tenpyozan, shared their expertise with one of the school’s woodshop classes.   Twenty students and a handful of faculty members, including Principal Gordon Oslund, came to Nick Pearson’s fifth period woodshop class to learn about the Tenpyozan building project and the techniques these master carpenters were using in its creation.

After a short introduction by Mr. Pearson, Mr. Higo explained his history and his practice of traditional Japanese carpentry.  His speech was translated by Kei Matsuda, President of the Tenpyozan Board. One point that Mr. Higo highlighted was the difficulty and precision of the work, which has taken him decades to master.  Later, the students experienced this for themselves when they tried their hands at a variety of Japanese carpentry techniques, including working with sample wood joints and using chisels and planes. Following Mr. Higo presentation, Mr. Niwa explained the layout of the temple and showed the students a slideshow featuring pictures of its progress.  He also described the wood, primarily hinoki (Japanese cedar), and the tools that he and Mr. Higo use on a daily basis.  The students were quite interested in the various practice joints that Mr. Niwa had made to illustrate the types of “puzzle” joinery which hold buildings together without nails or screws that are common in Japanese traditional carpentry.

There is still time to dedicate a roof-tile for Tenpyozan, and working together we can shelter the whole community. Traditional  kawara-gaki  or 'roof tile writing' allows you to share in the merit of building the temple. Your name, or the name of friends and loved ones can be inscribed on the back of a tile before they are placed on the roof this spring. The deadline is  approaching, so dedicate your tile here today!