Sashikan Tategu Kogei
Kumiko Coasters
The traditional Japanese craft of Kumiko or refined lattice-work is the technique used to create these coasters.
Kumiko involves the technique of taking one piece of wood and then cutting it into multiple detailed segments. Incisions are made in the individual segments and these are then interlocked to create intricate designs.
It is said that this technique originated in the Muromachi period and developed together with "Shoin-zukuri," a traditional style of Japanese residential architecture.
The Kumiko coasters, in which the wood appears to have been interwoven, utilizes the neji-gumi or twisted lap joint traditional method that is one of the Kumiko or lattice-work techniques.
These are mysterious-looking coasters in which the wooden segments look like they will fall out, despite being firmly locked in place. They are constructed completely by hand. The coasters have a natural sweet wooden aroma since they have not been coated.
