Talks · Demonstrations · Hands-on carving

Exhibitions & Events

Exhibitions, demonstrations, talks, and institutional programs presenting Inami woodcarving in Japan and internationally.

A long drawing unrolled for an audience, the same drawing projected on the screen behind — The drawingsPrinceton, November 2025

A visitor raises the mallet beside Nambu Hakuun III, a carved block between them — Hands-on carvingWashington, D.C., December 2025

Nambu Hakuun III and Karim Thalji give the talk in a gallery, a carved panel behind them — The talkHonolulu, December 2025

Past Exhibitions & Events

2025

Past program

The U.S. Inami Woodcarving Roadshow

With master woodcarver Nambu Hakuun III

In November and December 2025, Poiesis brought Inami woodcarving across the United States. Over thirty-one days, we travelled to ten venues in seven cities, from Princeton and New York to Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, San Francisco and Honolulu. The touring team was three: master woodcarver Nambu Hakuun III; Katsuhiko Nakajima, Poiesis’s senior advisor in Japan; and Poiesis’s founder, Karim Thalji. The aim was to let American audiences meet the craft as it is practised, not only as finished objects, and to learn whether a tradition sustained for generations by Japanese temples and homes could find new patrons abroad.

Days: 31
Venues: 10
Cities: 7
Visitors: 700+

Katsuhiko Nakajima, Nambu Hakuun III and Karim Thalji smiling together, the Golden Gate Bridge behind them — From left, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Nambu Hakuun III and Karim Thalji at the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, December 2025.

How Each Program Ran

Hakuun told the story of Inami and of three generations of his workshop in Japanese, and Karim interpreted in English.

During the live demonstration, Hakuun showed how a woodcarving is made, from the drawing to the carving. He drew the design at full size on washi with charcoal fixed to a long bamboo stick, and lifted corrections with a duck’s feather. Beside it he set out drawings by his grandfather, his father and himself. Then he rough-carved a block of camphor, passed the chips around the audience, and invited visitors to try the chisel.

Hakuun brought new work for the tour, including The Bridge Between Japan and the United States, which Poiesis commissioned for the occasion.

What We Found

For most visitors, this was their first encounter with Inami woodcarving. Seventy to eighty of them, from schoolchildren to grandparents, carved beside Hakuun. At every venue the program ran past its scheduled time. People asked about the apprenticeship, the years of training, and the town where more than a hundred carvers still work.

Presented by Poiesis with Kiasobi Workshop, Inami, and the support of the Tokyo Club.