tv show

[Dennis]

Someone is coming out from Tokyo to visit my shop to do a national program on Japanese woodworking tools and the thinking behind the use of them. I have to tell them something!

It isn't aimed at woodworkers as the viewers, so any ideas why you guys think that the subject is worth illustrating to the general public would be much appreciated. What is the contribution and importance that the tools and philosophy behind them make to woodworking or craftsmanship in general? Importance for the age? If they are doing a show, I hope to try and make it meaningful. Perhaps your thoughts as applies to your own work....

Possibly the photo of the interviewer might inspire to come up with ideas. Quite an interesting story behind the woman, by the way, originally from Iran and when when five years old, her house was destroyed and ten member family were all killed during the Iran Iraq war when a bomb came in. She was found alive in the rubble three days later, and after a few years in an orphanage, unwanted by anyone for adoption, came to Japan to live. She now works in the entertainment industry. A rather perceptive young woman in a lot of regards, and a strong advocate for protecting children living in institutions, for which she devotes a lot of her time.

Thanks for the help!

[Brian]

What drove you to become a woodworker? Why do you use mostly hand tools?

[Chris Hall]

Interesting!

Do you know if the focus of the program is on you alone, or on gaijin doing Japanese crafts in Japan, or on woodworking tools and their users, or??? Are you hoping this will promote your work in some way?

I always thought that your comment from a past article about how your Japanese tools were received by English workers when you spent time in that country was interesting. I suspect that many Japanese wouldn't know there were significant differences between their woodworking tools and those from other countries. Perhaps you could highlight some of those differences as I know you use some western tools as well.

I imagine many Japanese would be curious to know why a foreigner would choose to come to Japan and take up woodworking as a profession. It's not a usual occupation for white foreigners. Perhaps it would be of interest to talk about what sort of projects you have had and how your interactions with Japanese clientele have possibly varied from when you were on the west coast of the US.

[Matt J]

I think one thing that comes as a surprise to non-woodworkers, and even to woodworkers who are only familiar with power tools, is how using traditional hand tools is still the best (or only?) way to make certain things out of wood.

At least, it came as a surprise to me.

[Dennis]

Thanks for the suggestions, more for me to think about and assimilate. There seems to be a current trend about, wanting to get the opinions of foreigners living in Japan. I'm not clear on how much the general public is interested in it, but apparently, a few programs seem to be including such subject matter. I haven't heard of programs that want to take a look at the work that someone may be doing, other shows are more variety oriented of probably less detailed entertainment. That might have been the intention with my participation as well, but after some lengthy discussions, they seem more wanting to focus in on the occupation, history with it and current, a more serious description. I told them that any program would have to take a respectful look at woodworking, and not some type of show to satisfy people's curiosity if a foreigner is willing to eat fermented soy beans or not. Foreigners can still be considered a separate entity, and dumb questions can be the norm, and bubble headed interviewers. The young woman coming out framed it differently, fortunately.

They also want to show the area in which I work, Nagano Ken, are asking me to take the lady into the woods to show tree species that I can use in work. Something about going to lunch together as well, filming those activities. The series is going to different prefectures per show, with the foreigner slant as part of them apparently, so it isn't surprising that they want to go around a bit to take in some scenery. Probably a fifty minute program, and I'm as yet unclear if my participation will comprise the whole thing, or a part of it. The fact that they are wanting to come out in a couple of days from Tokyo to discuss it, is a good sign. Most programs of this nature, they just arrange to show up the actual day of shooting, then they are gone with you wondering what they are going to be showing when the show gets put out. You might manage to sit the whole family down to revel in your chance at stardom, and it's over in two minutes. The first show in the series is in a few days, so it will give an idea of their approach.

My hope is that woodworking gets a decent description in terms of where it is coming from historically and within the present purposes for people like myself, and the tools as enjoyable and purposeful instruments very beneficial to learn to use well. The depth of the woodworking trade is hardly understood by the general public, craftsmen are more a section of society that relatively few people not in the trades can very well relate to from a knowledgable base. If they give me the chance, done in such a way to make the subject appealing to viewers is my goal. Picking up customers isn't a priority, but that would be cool, they want to show some finished pieces. I doubt that they would give my contact out during the program, that would seem clumsy. I suppose someone could find me if they wanted to pursue it. I could also quite conceivably get a whole slew of middle age to older guys wanting advice on whether it's a good idea on ditching their careers as salarymen, loading up their dependents and possessions into the car and moving out to the countryside to become woodworkers that can earn a living, it wouldn't be the first time. It's tough to give the kind of advice that they usually want to hear. I usually tell them that after careful deliberation still tells them to do it, getting into one of the few schools around is their best bet for a start, if their wives truly love them.