What’s that sound in the background?

That’s the sound of a piece of wood being chiseled.

At this workshop, you can try woodworking and lacquer painting.

Master craftsmen who constructed Sunpu Castle and Shizuoka Sengen Shrine laid down their roots in this area and eventually developed the craft of “Suruga Sashimono,” which is still prevalent in modern Shizuoka furniture.

Those same craftsmen also developed “Suruga lacquerware” and “Suruga maki-e,” crafts that keep in mind the trends of the times.

Here you can learn how to hold woodworking tools such as planes and chisels, and make utensils such as wooden chopsticks or spoons. If you choose the lacquering workshop, you can polish through the many layers of a pair of chopsticks to reveal sparkling seashells inside. This experience gives you a chance to see how the acts of sharpening and polishing are a part of creating everyday items.

Wooden objects last for a long time but their appearance changes gradually. This is one of the appeals of using wood and the reason wooden items are cherished.