HIDA DESIGN FURNITURE FROM JAPAN

	MATERIAL: As main material for making furniture,lumber from such trees as beech,Japanese oak,and birch is chosen for beautiful grain and surface finish,and ease of bending.The lunber must have good wuality in terms of grain and the wualities that are differet from lumber of lumber are discerned.
	DRYING: When lumber is cut as furniture material, it must be dried. In Hida, there is a saying that "one sun (about 3 cm) of wood takes a year to dry." This means that it takes a long time for the lumber to dry as it is dried under natural condition. Then, the lumber is further artificially dried before it is ready as furniture material. When the lumber is prepared in this manner as furniture material, it is given a new life and does not warp when used in modern residence with air-conditioning.
	BENDING: One of the strong characteristics of Hida furniture is bending. Of the lumbers used for furniture making, only the best portion with flexibility is used for bending. First, lumps and scars are completely removed from a piece of lumber. Then, the lumber is steamed and placed in bending machine. The processing is conducted over a period of time. Light and refined curves and wonderful strength can only be obtained by using materials with fine grains all the way through.
	PLANING: Wheeling and planing are important skills which characterize furniture of Takayama of Hida. Curves and engravings created by machine processing with precision bring out soft expressions and grinding bring out the beauty of wood grains.
	ASSEMBLY: Assembling materials into furniture is all manual work. A traditional skills of "chigiri" or breaking is used here. A complex curve can be assembled without gaps and without using a single nail.
	COATING: The final process before completion will be coating,after the furniture is assembled. Coating requires careful work in order to tap into the beauty of grains,which is a special quality of wood,as well as to protect the material.

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