Shimizu Mokuzai of Kiso manufactures and sells sushi-okes (wooden containers for sushi), ohitsus(wooden containers for rice) and Hinoki baths.

志水木材産業株式会社 志水木材 SHIMIZU MOKUZAI志水木材産業株式会社 志水木材 SHIMIZU MOKUZAI

Weekdays 8:00am – 5:30pm

The Production of Wooden Baths

From Raw Wood to Finished Wooden Baths

We will introduce the production method of wooden bathtubs and open-air baths in the following section.
uces A skilled artisan prodthem one by one with all his heart.

Raw Wood

  • Raw Wood
    1

    Factory Timber Storage

    Logs of Kiso Hinoki, Sawara, Kouyamaki, among other, which are grown in the Kiso Valley.

  • Raw Wood
    2

    A precious natural tree that is anywhere from 150 to 300 years old.

  • Raw Wood
    3

    Lumber used carefully, each log handled with care to ensure that there is no waste.

  • Raw Wood
    4

    Lumber wood plates piled with little pockets of space between them so that wind passes through, drying them naturally.

  • Raw Wood
    5

    Cut down to the required dimensions and remove defects.

  • Raw Wood
    6

    Cut carefully a little larger than the required size by the machine to ensure that there is no waste.

  • Raw Wood
    7

    We finish off the necessary parts while paying attention to the frontside and backside of the wood, so as to ensure that we sharpen with the grain.

  • Raw Wood
    8

    Complete planks of wood which have been carefully be cut a little larger than required.

  • Raw Wood
    9

    In order to make the moisture level of the wood level, we dry them off. This is necessary to prevent any errors or deviations.

Box bath

  • Box bath
    1

    Grafting dried material onto a plank.
    This is a special grafting method called ‘finger joint’.

  • Box bath
    2

    A strong grafting method using water-resistant adhesives.

  • Box bath
    3

    After finishing off the surface, we will process the parts.

  • Box bath
    4

    Mortise and tenon joint

    To ensure that the finished product is water proof, not even a 1mm error can be tolerated.

  • Box bath
    5

    Careful assembly while checking the firmness of the mortise and tenon joint.

  • Box bath
    6

    Assembly

    Careful assembly while checking the firmness of the mortise and tenon joint.

  • Box bath
    7

    Fastened firmly with stainless steel nail hardware.

  • Box bath
    8

    We hide the nail head with a copper nail cover.

  • Box bath
    9

    Then, we attach the bottom plate with an adhesive, packaging, nails and screws.

  • Box bath
    10

    We then chamfer and affix the various sides to end with a finished product.

  • Box bath
    11

    This is a complete box bath.

  • Box bath
    12

    A variety of wooden baths can be produced.

Barrel Bath

  • Barrel Bath
    1

    We adjust the angle while shaving planks one by one. This is the most difficult process as is relies on the artisan's intuition.

  • Barrel Bath
    2

    We round out the inside and the outside of the board with a plane

  • Barrel Bath
    3

    We then assemble parts using dowel and water-resistant adhesives.

  • Barrel Bath
    4

    Using the slant of the tub, we crimp the parts.

  • Barrel Bath
    5

    Using a hand plane, we cut roughly, and then finish the cutting process by smoothing the surface.

  • Barrel Bath
    6

    We use a plane on the inside and outside surfaces until it's perfectly smooth.

  • Barrel Bath
    7

    We then make a hoop that fits the dimensions of the tub and tighten the hoop firmly.

  • Barrel Bath
    8

    Then, we make a groove to fit the bottom plate.

  • Barrel Bath
    9

    We adjust it many times until it becomes the perfect size and embed the bottom plate.

  • Barrel Bath
    10

    Cut the base of the bottom of the bathtub and trim the shape. This makes a stylish Hinoki Bath.

  • Barrel Bath
    11

    We then chamfer and complete the final polishing.

  • Barrel Bath
    12

    This completes the barrel bath.