Tsunekazu Nishioka (西岡常一 Nishioka Tsunekazu, 4 September 1908 – 11 April 1995) was a highly respected miyadaiku (宮大工), a temple and shrine carpenter, and the Tōryō (棟梁, master carpenter) of Japanese Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine buildings. He was a stern teacher, and was given the nickname of oni (meaning 'devil'), for the strictness of his words of guidance to colleagues and apprentices. Nishioka continued the ancient practices of construction and restoration used for historical temple buildings, and contributed to preserving the oldest existing wooden structures in the world. He devoted his life to the repair and restoration of the Buddhist temple buildings at Hōryū-ji, and the restoration of Yakushi-ji (both designated UNESCO World Heritage sites), and numerous other temples and pagodas in the region of modern-day Nara Prefecture.
Biography
Tsunekazu Nishioka was born on 4 September 1908, in the vicinity of Nishisato village, adjacent to the Buddhist temple compound of Hōryū-ji, Nara Prefecture. Both his grandfather, Tsunekichi Nishioka and father, Naramitsu Nishioka, were master carpenters (Tōryō, 棟梁) of Hōryū-ji.
In early childhood, he was taken to Hōryū-ji by his grandfather and was cherished by the chief priest, Saeki Jyoin. He fondly recounted that ‘I vividly remember having Castella cake and eating oranges given to me by Jyoin-san’. From an early age, he received excellent guidance in becoming a master carpenter.
He worked at the temple during summer holidays from the 3rd grade of elementary school. ‘...At that time, the precincts of the temple was the perfect place for the children of Nishisato village to play. They often played baseball on the weekends. However, whenever I saw them playing from where I was working, I thought, ‘Why am I the only one to have to work as a carpenter’ and felt resentment’ he says.
He was enrolled at Ikoma Agricultural School in 1921. His father planned for him to go to engineering school, but on the command of his grandfather, he went to agricultural school instead. When he had started school, his grandfather began to teach him the use of carpentry tools and woodwork techniques.
After graduating in 1924, he became an apprentice carpenter. Following his years of training, he started his career as an independent carpenter from 1928, and participated in the repair and reconstruction of the temple buildings and compound (garan) at Hōryū-ji. From January 1929 to July 1930, he was enlisted in the heavy artillery regiment of the Japanese Imperial Army, and worked as a combat medic. After being discharged in 1932, he further studied architectural techniques in the repair work on the five-story pagoda at Hōryū-ji. He became the master carpenter (Tōryō 棟梁) of Hōryū-ji in 1934.
As the flames of war expanded, Nishioka himself was caught in the war. In August 1937, he was drafted again as a combat medic.
The reconstruction of the Main Hall (Kondō) of Yakushi-ji was introduced in a television program titled 'Project X’ on NHK. The carpenters practiced the revival of traditional tools who use had been increasingly abandoned, including the spear-headed plane (yariganna). Nishioka was given the name of ‘The Last Temple Carpenter’ for his dedication to pass the temple construction techniques that had been inherited from the Asuka era on to future generations of temple and shrine carpenters. He was honoured as a national cultural treasure, a person of cultural merit, an honorary townsperson of Ikaruga. His brother, Narajirou Nishioka, also supported his father and brother as a miyadaiku. His main apprentice was Mitsuo Ogawa. Nishioka died of cancer at the age of 86 on April 11, 1995.
Influence of his Grandfather
His grandfather, Tsunekichi Nishioka, had been preparing for his successor as the Chief Carpenter of Hōryū-ji. His entire family was delighted when he was blessed with his first born grandson. He included the character「常」(Tsune) from his own name, and named his grandson Tsunekazu「常一」. Tsunekichi often bought his grandson candy, did not scold him too harshly about his mischief, and was caring with him, as any grandfather would be. He took Tsunekazu to the construction sights of Hōryū-ji from four years old, to get him to get used to the temple surroundings and atmosphere. He made him do chores as soon as he entered elementary school. It seemed as if he was a completely different person at those times because of his strictness. His grandfather intended to groom both his son-in-law and Tsunekazu to be the future Chief Carpenter. He especially made effort to provide a thorough education for Tsunekazu which became very valuable experience.