Tanaka Hisao was sold as a young boy to a master dai maker. This was by no means uncommon in the last century and while I am aware that Tanaka san’s youth was filled with hardship and the struggle to master the craft assigned to him I never heard him complain about any discomfort or inequity of any sort. He did master dai making and before he was very old was considered by many plane iron blacksmiths as the greatest dai maker alive. Tanaka san was officially granted the title of “Living treasure” in his seventies, a very young age for such an honor. I met him, and my two other Japanese teachers, at a woodworking seminar in New Hampshire in the early 1980’s. Tanaka san, like Fujieada san and Miyano san, was a “Mejin no Mejin”, a Master’s Master. It was my great fortune to have known these great and celebrated craftsmen, all of whom were generous with their time and knowledge and had no reason to be so except out of choice.
These pictures were taken at Tanaka san’s shop in Miki City Japan in the late eighties.
Tanaka san at his bench. Traditional craftsmen tended to work sitting on the floor.
In the photographs below, Tanaka san is tuning a hand plane that he has made, making it ready for use.
These are photographs showing his work area, with and without his dai bench in place.
Last is Tanaka san's sharpening station.
Thank you for reading these posts. I hope I have been able to give you a glimpse of something you were not aware of and that you found some of it interesting. For my own part these men were enormously important to me as I came to understand how pathetically narrow my experience was and also that there were, and are, always many ways of efficiently and effectively solving problems and that many of the best are less than obvious. I owe much to these three Shokunin, who treated me most kindly.
MAY 18, 2012 03:31 PM
MAY 19, 2012 09:04 AM
You know what also helps? Sake, vegetable tempura, a few bits of good sushi, and more sake...apparently. A couple of friends kidnapped me for dinner last night. We had that delicious meal, they deposited me home, where I underwent a full night of glorious sake fueled sleep and am feeling almost human today. My study has shown sake to be the secret. 
MAY 19, 2012 01:32 PM
MAY 20, 2012 07:17 PM
Deal!
Thanks. Hope the same for you. 
MAY 21, 2012 07:35 AM
Hi, thanks for stopping by! I am well thank you Hope you are too!
MAY 21, 2012 05:32 PM
Well, I guess I should start studying for it to go perfectly but I'll do my best Thank you! I will blog about how I did when it's all over
MAY 23, 2012 05:03 PM
thanks so much.
MAY 24, 2012 01:06 PM
Aww thank you very much 
I hope I wont disappoint 
As for our show I am really really hoping to get someone to film it so I can post it on here afterwards
Hold thumbs.
xoxoxoxoxox
MAY 24, 2012 11:34 PM
Thanks mr.... here is waiting for that fairy 
your blogs are always soooo a look back in time, i love them but i have no many words to add to the unknown, thanks for culturizing us
MAY 26, 2012 10:17 AM
~ I also found the Japanese Craft Class very interesting...
~ I was going to ask you about the Windhoff, but I went to Leatherup.com and lo and behold, there it was, as were the answers to all my questions! I love the bike pics you have and I must say that, that Matchless in your profile pic has one of the sexiest motorcycle profiles ever! Needs disk brakes though...
~ And I have a request, if the spirit moves you. I do a cancer fundraiser bike ride each year Bicycles Battling Cancer, click on the link and you can read my story. If you wouldn't mind, make a separate blog post, a shout out to me and the ride, and direct your friends to my SG Blog page: Eyesplice
Thanks,
Ned 
MAY 26, 2012 11:53 AM
~ You have lot's of friends here and some of them will be responsive.
~ I just sent you a FB friend request. Here's me.
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