Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(46) A Plasterer and his mate. The drawing is taken from a collection of two views of Fuji
by Hokusai. The scaffolding is clearly depicted.
Many of the other craftsmen were occupied with the building of houses, and of these
the carpenters stood out, being responsible for the erecting of buildings, seeing to the tim-
ber framework for the walls and roof, and controlling the work of the other tradesmen. As
for the walls, these were made by the plasterers of mud-mortar with a mixture of straw.
Papererswereemployedforcoveringthelightlatticeworkoftheslidingscreens,whichhad
to be translucent while preventing draughts and prying glances. Mat-makers produced the
thick straw mats, covered with a special grass, that were laid over the plank floors in the
houses of the well to do.
The Japanese, who love to classify, divide the craftsmen into those to whom the cus-
tomer comes (that is, those who have a workshop in which to ply their trade), and those,
like carpenters, who have to go to the place where the work is to be done. There was a
third category, the wandering or itinerant craftsmen—and these can again be subdivided
into those whose trade made them wanderers, and those who pursued a calling that could
be done from a temporary base. Among the former were certain woodworkers, who, like
woodturners in the beech woods of England, would travel with their portable lathes mak-
ing household utensils. These people led a completely nomadic existence, and managed to
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