Wash, Tighten, Re-oil. The main challenge for the North American shou sugi ban market is that it hasn’t been around for very long. Not only have most people never seen charred wood…
japan
DIY: What’s the Best Way to Brush Your Own Shou Sugi Ban?
Setting the Stage Our two main mills in Hiroshima and Tokushima Japan are the largest yakisugi “shou sugi ban” millwork operation in the world, with a proprietary high-volume semi-automated millwork and heat…
Biophilic Design (and wood)
What is Biophilic Design? Biophilia is the human love of nature. Biophilic design is the practice of consciously incorporating materials or spaces that reinforce our relationship with the living world into the…
The Top 10 Myths About Shou Sugi Ban Charred Wood Siding
Over the years we’ve seen a lot of mixed information circling the web surrounding what shou sugi ban is, how it is used, and wood siding in general. As industry leader since…
The Japanese Concept of “Mottainai”
There are several ubiquitous words in Japanese that are great culture studies. One of the most important is the concept of “mottainai”. Mottainai represents the concepts of efficiency, modesty, and practicality, all…
An Outside-The-Box ADU Designed To Maximize Rental Income
We don’t get to meet many of our customers since we have an efficient distribution setup shipping directly throughout North America without a traveling sales team. Local projects are super fun since…
A Tour Of Japan’s Historic Yakisugi
We landed at Tokyo Narita earlier this summer on a cloudy Monday afternoon, legs sore from our ten-hour direct flight from Portland. It was my first experience in Japan, and I was…
Japanese Influence On Western Architecture Part 2: The Early Craftsmen Movement
During the transition out of the 19th century (esp 1890-1910) and into modernity, Western architects started implementing Japanese architectural details and thought in order to further their inspired vision. At the time,…
Japanese Influence On Western Architecture Part 1: The Early Period (Pre-Edo To Craftsmen Movement)
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting Japan, one of the first major differences that you might have noticed is the architecture. Cities such as Tokyo and Osaka that were levelled…
“Yakisugi” Or “Shou Sugi Ban”? Learn What You Should Call It, And Why
Learn more about the linguistic background and why there is so much confusion between “Yakisugi” and “Shou Sugi Ban” in North America and Europe. When we started researching the North American and…