The Kiso Experience

I’ve always had a fascination for Japanese style woodworking. When the opportunity arose to participate in a week long course in Kiso, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, I pounced like a ninja. The course, organised by Australian based Japanese craftsman, Shinobu Kobayashi*, focused on setting up three Japanese hand planes (kanna) – a main kanna, a scraper kanna and and compass kanna. These were then used to shape the handle of our Japanese hammer (genno) handle.

Eight international students (Australians, Swedish, German, Danish, American, Polish and one Singaporean) travelled to Kiso with one purpose in mind – to learn how to properly set up a Japanese kanna. We ended up with more than that, sharing stories and experiences from our own cultures.

Getting to Japan was fairly easy for most of us, but getting to