YAMAGUCHICypress Bark Roofing: A Thousand-Year Craft Behind Japan’s National Treasures
Splitting the Bark by Blade
Bundles of Bark
The Roofer at Work
Measured by Hand
A Finished Cypress Roof
The Five-Story Pagoda, Newly Roofed
The Abbot's Blessing
A Meal Made for the Season
The Scent of the Same Cypress
The only master craftsman of hiwada-buki left in Yamaguchi works from a workshop his family has run since the 1830s. You spend a day beside him and his apprentices, learning how cypress bark has been layered to roof Japan's most sacred buildings for over a thousand years, and shape a piece with your own hands. The master then walks you around the National Treasure Ruriko-ji Pagoda, whose roof was renewed for the first time in seventy years, and points out the work he and his team carried out. The head priest offers a special prayer for your visit. Few travelers meet the people behind a craft of such depth, or see a National Treasure this closely.
Experience Stories
Hiwada Thatching with the Masters at Hiwadaya
Hiwadaya has practiced hiwada-buki since the 1830s, and it is the only workshop of its kind in Yamaguchi. The master and his apprentices show you how the cypress bark is layered, then guide you as you try the work yourself, securing the bark with bamboo nails. You also craft a small interior panel from the same bark to take home, a rare keepsake from a craft recognized by UNESCO.
A Special Viewing of the Ruriko-ji Pagoda
The roof of the National Treasure Ruriko-ji Pagoda was renewed for the first time in seventy years. A master craftsman from Hiwadaya walks you around the pagoda and points out the hiwada-buki work up close, the same craft you have just practiced with your own hands. The head priest of the temple offers a special prayer for your visit. Few visitors see a National Treasure this closely, or understand the skill that built it.
A Private Tea Kaiseki in a Hiwada-Roofed House
Next to the Hiwadaya workshop stands a Japanese-style private house, its roof finished in the same hiwada-buki you have just practiced. A chef from Nawata, a kaiseki restaurant with 85 years of history, comes to the house to prepare a seasonal course in the spirit of the tea ceremony. There is no restaurant setting and no other guests. You eat in a quiet local home, in a setting closer to daily life in rural Japan than to anything made for visitors.
Take Home the Scent of the Pagoda: Ruri KOU
The same cypress used to roof the pagoda is distilled into an aroma oil called Ruri KOU. You can take it home along with other local goods as a keepsake from the day.
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