Back a few months ago, I was reading the latest C.M.B. manga, and in it was a reference to Hida Kumiko.
Kumiko is the Japanese woodworking craft of precision cutting so that nails and glue aren't needed. Hida is a city in Gifu Prefecture, where the craftsmen perfected Kumiko.
I located the Hida Kumiko website, and decided recently to buy one of the smaller items they have there - a snowflake-style coaster for 1,050 yen (plus 200 yen for the money transfer fee). About $10 USD.
There are 4 designs, as shown on the box, and they're all the same price. The instructions are pictorial only, so you don't need to read Japanese to put this together.
Took me about 10 minutes because I wasn't sure what I was doing. Now, I can probably finish this in under 3 minutes. But, taking it apart and putting it together too much will loosen the pieces so they won't fit as tightly anymore.
The pieces are lightweight unfinished cedar. Smells great and was fun to assemble.
(The more elaborate tables and lamp frames are between $300 and $500, and are custom orders.) Pretty cool.
Makes a great coaster, or hotplate holder. Now, I really want the interlaced weaving one, but I have no place to keep it... ;-(
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