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Poiesis — Inami woodcarving: commissions, works and exhibitions

Poiesis ποίησις

From the Greek: the act of making, of bringing into being

Poiesis brings the work of master craftsmen into the homes, buildings and collections of our time, through commissions, exhibitions and film.

We begin in Inami, Japan, with its woodcarvers.

About Poiesis⁠

Toyama · Japan

Inami

井波
Yokamichi Dori in Inami, lined with woodcarving studios, with the mountains beyond
Inami, Toyama Prefecture, Yokamichi Dori. Woodcarving studios face each other, with the sound of the chisel echoing on the path to Zuisen-ji temple.

More than 250 years,
carved by hand.

One of Japan’s great craft traditions, Inami woodcarving was born in the small town of Inami, in Toyama Prefecture, and has passed from master to apprentice for more than two and a half centuries.

Home to roughly 100 craftsmen today, Inami contains one of the world’s few concentrated communities practicing a heritage craft dating from before the industrial revolution.

A Traditional Craft of Japan · Japan Heritage, 2018

Discover Inami woodcarving⁠
Carved figures and cloud forms, set within the timber architecture
Carved wooden doors with dragons and clouds, the characters 天 and 竜 in roundels
A carved peacock in relief, its eyes and feathers touched with colour
A carved ranma: a temple hall and pagoda among pines on the shore, stone lanterns and a deer, a boat on the water
A carved dragon coiled around a beam at the gate of Akiha Shrine
A long-tailed bird carved in flight among flowering branches, in dark wood
A carved figure in painted and gilded wood, among carved pine and clouds
Close-up of carved reeds rising from swirling water above the ranma frame
A carved relief of a laughing, round-bellied monk with his staff and sack, mountains carved behind him
The carved wisteria chandelier hanging from a recessed, softly lit ceiling in the entrance hall of Fujii-gumi’s headquarters, glass walls and snow beyond
The Bridge Between Japan and the United States in its pale wooden frame: Mount Fuji and a cherry tree, the Golden Gate Bridge, the White House and an eagle

The Master Carvers

“The history of our workshop is the history of human connections.”

Nambu Hakuun III

三代 南部白雲

Our partner craftsmen are the finest woodcarvers in Inami: masters whose skill stands among the highest in Japan, and in the world.

Nambu Hakuun III laughing, seated beside his bench of chisels

三代 南部白雲

Nambu Hakuun III

Third generation of his family’s workshop, which turned 130 in 2025.

View profile
Nobuo Taniguchi smiling in his workshop, in round glasses and a dark knitted cap

谷口信夫

Nobuo Taniguchi

Son of Sōun Taniguchi. Twice a Special Selection at Nitten, and a juror in 2026.

View profile
Ryosen Iwakura carving a residential ranma, his chisels laid out beside the timber

Ryosen Iwakura during the rough carving of a residential ranma.

A master strikes a chisel with a mallet into a long block

A master strikes a chisel with a mallet into a long block.

Mitsuo Nomura carving an openwork panel, trays of chisels in the foreground and carved panels behind him

Mitsuo Nomura (Seihō Nomura II) at work on an openwork panel in his workshop in Inami.

A master refines a carved relief of pine branches with a knife

A master refines a carved relief of pine branches with a knife.

A young carver bent over a small carving at his bench, seen through a workshop window

A young carver bent over a small carving at his bench, seen through a workshop window.

The Collection

Works from Inami

Opening soon

A collection of works by Inami’s master woodcarvers is being prepared: carved panels, sculpture and pieces for daily life, each presented with the story of the hands that made it.

Be the first to see it⁠
Lacquered waves touched with gold around a hanging bronze bell, its striker in front

Blue Dragon · Nobuhisa Tsuchida

A square frame with a round window of carved magnolia blossom and a small bird

Early Spring · Saburo Aoyama

A two-tier box carved with clouds, its lid lifted to show the red-lacquered inside

Words of Clouds · Nobuo Taniguchi

An oval tray carved with a mountain isle above waves, inside a freehand ornamental border, with green tassels

Mount Hōrai · Nambu Hakuun III

A cat playing under a pale blue cloth, carved in the round and lightly coloured

Playful Cat · Nambu Hakuun III

A black lacquered panel: a carved owl among green pine branches against a gold ground

Guardian of the Forest · Saburo Aoyama

A framed openwork panel of a bird among peonies, carved in pale wood

Flowers and Birds · Nobuhisa Tsuchida

A low zelkova box whose lid rises in two rounded hills, crowned by a small carved knob

Hometown · Nobuo Taniguchi

A tall panel: pale night-blooming flowers on a moon-like disc against a dark carved cosmos with a spiral galaxy

Space Flowers · Masakazu Kimura

A carved hawk moth, wings spread, mounted in a wooden frame

Hawk Moth · Mumon Sasakawa

A first look at the collection.

Create with Inami

Poiesis brings private clients, architects, and designers into direct collaboration with Inami’s master woodcarvers to conceive and realize new work.

The finished panel: Mount Fuji and a cherry tree, the Golden Gate Bridge, the White House and an eagle, carved in openwork
Nambu Hakuun III’s full-size drawing for the panel, in charcoal on washi, signed and sealed
The drawing

Nambu Hakuun III, The Bridge Between Japan and the United States, 2025: his full-size drawing on washi, and the panel carved from it. Commissioned by Poiesis.

The story of this commission

The carving

Private commissions

A piece made for you, your home or an occasion.

Commission a work

Architecture & design

Carving conceived with the building, from the first drawings.

Discuss a project

From the Journal · 2026

The Donation of Seven Ranma to Morikami

Seven carved transoms made by Sōun Taniguchi in 1981 for a restaurant in Kanazawa, now being donated to Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida.

Landscape Including Neagari-no-Matsu by Sōun Taniguchi: a long carved transom with a great pine at its centre, garden buildings and a stream

Landscape Including Neagari-no-Matsu, front. Sōun Taniguchi, 1981.

Read the story⁠

Poiesis in the press⁠

Exhibitions & Events

Exhibitions, demonstrations, and public programs presenting Inami woodcarving internationally.

Nambu Hakuun III guides a visitor through a first cut during a live demonstration
Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art · Washington, D.C. · 2025 01 / 04

2025

U.S. Inami Woodcarving Roadshow

With master woodcarver Nambu Hakuun III

A multi-stop U.S. program presenting Inami woodcarving through exhibitions, demonstrations, talks, and institutional programs.

Poiesis ποίησις

From the Greek: the act of making, of bringing into being

Poiesis brings the work of master craftsmen into the homes, buildings and collections of our time, through commissions, exhibitions and film.

We begin in Inami, Japan, with its woodcarvers.

About Poiesis⁠

Toyama · Japan

Inami

井波
Yokamichi Dori in Inami, lined with woodcarving studios, with the mountains beyond
Inami, Toyama Prefecture, Yokamichi Dori. Woodcarving studios face each other, with the sound of the chisel echoing on the path to Zuisen-ji temple.

More than 250 years,
carved by hand.

One of Japan’s great craft traditions, Inami woodcarving was born in the small town of Inami, in Toyama Prefecture, and has passed from master to apprentice for more than two and a half centuries.

Home to roughly 100 craftsmen today, Inami contains one of the world’s few concentrated communities practicing a heritage craft dating from before the industrial revolution.

A Traditional Craft of Japan · Japan Heritage, 2018

Discover Inami woodcarving⁠
Carved figures and cloud forms, set within the timber architecture
Carved wooden doors with dragons and clouds, the characters 天 and 竜 in roundels
A carved peacock in relief, its eyes and feathers touched with colour
A carved ranma: a temple hall and pagoda among pines on the shore, stone lanterns and a deer, a boat on the water
A carved dragon coiled around a beam at the gate of Akiha Shrine
A long-tailed bird carved in flight among flowering branches, in dark wood
A carved figure in painted and gilded wood, among carved pine and clouds
Close-up of carved reeds rising from swirling water above the ranma frame
A carved relief of a laughing, round-bellied monk with his staff and sack, mountains carved behind him
The carved wisteria chandelier hanging from a recessed, softly lit ceiling in the entrance hall of Fujii-gumi’s headquarters, glass walls and snow beyond
The Bridge Between Japan and the United States in its pale wooden frame: Mount Fuji and a cherry tree, the Golden Gate Bridge, the White House and an eagle

The Master Carvers

“The history of our workshop is the history of human connections.”

Nambu Hakuun III

三代 南部白雲

Our partner craftsmen are the finest woodcarvers in Inami: masters whose skill stands among the highest in Japan, and in the world.

Nambu Hakuun III laughing, seated beside his bench of chisels

三代 南部白雲

Nambu Hakuun III

Third generation of his family’s workshop, which turned 130 in 2025.

View profile
Nobuo Taniguchi smiling in his workshop, in round glasses and a dark knitted cap

谷口信夫

Nobuo Taniguchi

Son of Sōun Taniguchi. Twice a Special Selection at Nitten, and a juror in 2026.

View profile
Meet the Masters
Ryosen Iwakura carving a residential ranma, his chisels laid out beside the timber

Ryosen Iwakura during the rough carving of a residential ranma.

A master strikes a chisel with a mallet into a long block

A master strikes a chisel with a mallet into a long block.

Mitsuo Nomura carving an openwork panel, trays of chisels in the foreground and carved panels behind him

Mitsuo Nomura (Seihō Nomura II) at work on an openwork panel in his workshop in Inami.

A master refines a carved relief of pine branches with a knife

A master refines a carved relief of pine branches with a knife.

A young carver bent over a small carving at his bench, seen through a workshop window

A young carver bent over a small carving at his bench, seen through a workshop window.

The Collection

Works from Inami

Opening soon

Lacquered waves touched with gold around a hanging bronze bell, its striker in front

Blue Dragon · Nobuhisa Tsuchida

A square frame with a round window of carved magnolia blossom and a small bird

Early Spring · Saburo Aoyama

A two-tier box carved with clouds, its lid lifted to show the red-lacquered inside

Words of Clouds · Nobuo Taniguchi

An oval tray carved with a mountain isle above waves, inside a freehand ornamental border, with green tassels

Mount Hōrai · Nambu Hakuun III

A cat playing under a pale blue cloth, carved in the round and lightly coloured

Playful Cat · Nambu Hakuun III

A black lacquered panel: a carved owl among green pine branches against a gold ground

Guardian of the Forest · Saburo Aoyama

A framed openwork panel of a bird among peonies, carved in pale wood

Flowers and Birds · Nobuhisa Tsuchida

A low zelkova box whose lid rises in two rounded hills, crowned by a small carved knob

Hometown · Nobuo Taniguchi

A tall panel: pale night-blooming flowers on a moon-like disc against a dark carved cosmos with a spiral galaxy

Space Flowers · Masakazu Kimura

A carved hawk moth, wings spread, mounted in a wooden frame

Hawk Moth · Mumon Sasakawa

A first look at the collection.

A collection of works by Inami’s master woodcarvers is being prepared: carved panels, sculpture and pieces for daily life, each presented with the story of the hands that made it.

Be the first to see it⁠

Create with Inami

Poiesis brings private clients, architects, and designers into direct collaboration with Inami’s master woodcarvers to conceive and realize new work.

The finished panel: Mount Fuji and a cherry tree, the Golden Gate Bridge, the White House and an eagle, carved in openwork
Nambu Hakuun III’s full-size drawing for the panel, in charcoal on washi, signed and sealed
The drawingThe carving

Nambu Hakuun III, The Bridge Between Japan and the United States, 2025: his full-size drawing on washi, and the panel carved from it. Commissioned by Poiesis.

The story of this commission

Private commissions

A piece made for you, your home or an occasion.

Commission a work

Architecture & design

Carving conceived with the building, from the first drawings.

Discuss a project

From the Journal · 2026

The Donation of Seven Ranma to Morikami

Seven carved transoms made by Sōun Taniguchi in 1981 for a restaurant in Kanazawa, now being donated to Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida.

Landscape Including Neagari-no-Matsu by Sōun Taniguchi: a long carved transom with a great pine at its centre, garden buildings and a stream

Landscape Including Neagari-no-Matsu, front. Sōun Taniguchi, 1981.

Read the story⁠

Poiesis in the press⁠

Exhibitions
& Events

Exhibitions, demonstrations, and public programs presenting Inami woodcarving internationally.

Nambu Hakuun III guides a visitor through a first cut during a live demonstration
Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art · Washington, D.C. · 2025 01 / 04

2025

U.S. Inami Woodcarving Roadshow

With master woodcarver Nambu Hakuun III

A multi-stop U.S. program presenting Inami woodcarving through exhibitions, demonstrations, talks, and institutional programs.