Trees that have been buried under ash and earth for over 1,000 years are called kamiyogi. It means the tree of the age of the gods. The color changes depending on the composition of the place where it is buried, and Kurokamiyo, which is greenish-black, is extremely rare. This Kurokamidai Zelkova was mined in Akita Prefecture and was apparently buried upright by ash that erupted from Mount Chokai. I fell in love with it at first sight at the Tokyo Central Lumber Market in October 2020, and bought it at an auction. "This is the finest quality wood you will never see again," the market owner said, giving it his stamp of approval. In April 2021, I heard there was a skilled sawmill in Ibaraki, so I brought in some Jindai Zelkova logs. As the saw blade of the large sawmill entered the log, a sweet and spicy scent like men's perfume filled the air, something I had never experienced while sawing before. Sawing logs into lumber is like gambling, as no matter how expensive they are, you won't know until you actually cut them down, and sometimes you end up losing a lot of money when you cut them down and find that they're no good at all. So when I take the first cut, I feel nervous and like I'm praying. Then, when the saw was run from one end of the log to the other, revealing the inside, the cut surface had a mottled pattern of yellow and pale green. I was expecting it to be black, so I was disappointed and thought, "I guess I'm wrong..." "Watch it, it's going to get darker and darker green from now on," said the man at the sawmill. Just as he said, the yellow part turned green as time passed, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. As the planks cut from the logs were piled up one after another, the cool air and deep fragrance enveloped me, giving me the illusion of standing alone in the depths of an uncharted forest. I felt somehow comfortable and had my eyes closed, but a loud voice brought me back to my senses. "Big hit! This is definitely a top-quality product!" the sawmill owner said with a laugh. After about two years of natural drying in a warehouse, the long-awaited production began. Everything was going smoothly until it took on the shape of a chair, but when it came to finishing the blade, something felt different. There seems to be some hesitation and the work isn't progressing as planned. The reason was clear: he was nervous. This is the first time I've ever been so overwhelmed by a material. This is not good. This is because the absolute requirement for good manufacturing is to proceed with the work without hesitation and in line with the image. I thought about stopping and taking a breather, but I felt that if I stopped now there would be no going back, so I continued working. First, lightly use a sword or plane to memorize the grain of the wood. It's really difficult. At first glance it looks simple, but the wood grain is intricate, making it difficult to insert a blade, and there's an indescribable weight that clings to the blade. The shadows vary depending on the direction of the light, making it difficult to know where to carve. However, I am gradually becoming more excited because I know that wood with these troublesome characteristics can be finished in an exceptionally beautiful way. Run the blade over the entire surface again and smooth it out with sandpaper. Run the blade over the entire surface again. Before I knew it, I was so engrossed in the music that I could no longer hear the sound coming from my earphones. Yes, if you get this feeling then you'll be fine. The wood surface that is finished in this way is moist and smooth, and the glossy black and deep green underneath change color depending on the angle, like a crystal created over the incredible time of a thousand years. When I saw that, I suddenly said to myself, "Wow, that's amazing..." We have been working with Kurokamidai Keyaki for two and a half years since we first met, and each time we have had the opportunity to experience something new. Now, what should I make next? I'm sure it will teach me something new.
