Japanese Boatbuilding
Dublin Core
Title
Japanese Boatbuilding
Description
The craft of boatbuilding in Japan is in crisis. Nurtured by an ancient apprentice system, Japan’s rapid growth
in the post-War years disrupted this tradition. The last century was a pivotal time for this craft: the devastation
of World War II forced one more generation to assume the work of their fathers, but the rapid recovery and
ascendance of the Japanese economy starting in the 1960’s pulled the children of these men into the corporate
jobs of a new Japan. In a single generation the apprentices the craft depended on disappeared. Without a new
generation of apprentices, craftspeople were unable to pass on their knowledge. Because this was largely an
oral tradition, and infused with secrecy, it presents particular challenges for documentarians. It is critical now
to document the work of Japan’s last generation of boatbuilders. Over the course of twenty-five visits to Japan
spanning twenty-nine years I have apprenticed with seven boatbuilders from throughout Japan. In addition, I
have traveled to all of Japan’s forty-seven prefectures, meeting and interviewing over fifty boatbuilders. My
teachers were in their seventies or eighties at the time I studied with them, and I am the sole apprentice for six
of my teachers. Most of my teachers used no drawings whatsoever, and worked entirely from memory.
Drawings, where they did exist, were left intentionally incomplete. The goal of my work has been to document
as much as I can - essentially writing the secrets down - in an effort to preserve the designs and techniques of
boatbuilding. In this talk I will review the challenges, processes, and insights I have gleaned from this work.
in the post-War years disrupted this tradition. The last century was a pivotal time for this craft: the devastation
of World War II forced one more generation to assume the work of their fathers, but the rapid recovery and
ascendance of the Japanese economy starting in the 1960’s pulled the children of these men into the corporate
jobs of a new Japan. In a single generation the apprentices the craft depended on disappeared. Without a new
generation of apprentices, craftspeople were unable to pass on their knowledge. Because this was largely an
oral tradition, and infused with secrecy, it presents particular challenges for documentarians. It is critical now
to document the work of Japan’s last generation of boatbuilders. Over the course of twenty-five visits to Japan
spanning twenty-nine years I have apprenticed with seven boatbuilders from throughout Japan. In addition, I
have traveled to all of Japan’s forty-seven prefectures, meeting and interviewing over fifty boatbuilders. My
teachers were in their seventies or eighties at the time I studied with them, and I am the sole apprentice for six
of my teachers. Most of my teachers used no drawings whatsoever, and worked entirely from memory.
Drawings, where they did exist, were left intentionally incomplete. The goal of my work has been to document
as much as I can - essentially writing the secrets down - in an effort to preserve the designs and techniques of
boatbuilding. In this talk I will review the challenges, processes, and insights I have gleaned from this work.
Creator
Douglas Brooks
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
November 2021
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Brooks, Douglas. 2021. “Japanese Boatbuilding.” Edited by Brian Fahy, Hans Van Tilburg, Bill Jeffery, T. Kurt Knoerl,
and Riley Smith. In Proceedings of Fourth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage:
Keelung,Taiwan, and Virtual, November 1-5, 2021. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology URL:
https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/exhibits/show/apconf-muchproceedings/item/666
and Riley Smith. In Proceedings of Fourth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage:
Keelung,Taiwan, and Virtual, November 1-5, 2021. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology URL:
https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/exhibits/show/apconf-muchproceedings/item/666
Rights Holder
Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage
Files
Citation
Douglas Brooks, “Japanese Boatbuilding,” APCONF-MUCH Proceedings Recently Added Items, accessed October 24, 2026, https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/items/show/666.