Kenji Woodwork

The undisputed master of Auroville woodworking is Japanese Aurovilian Kenji Matsumoto. But it was by chance, he says, that woodworking became his profession. For his first love was the sea and his wooden yacht, and for many years he sailed around the world. Then a hurricane struck and wrecked his boat.

“I had no money to pay a professional shipbuilder, and so I was forced to do all repairs myself,” he says. It took him a year. But the job not only taught him the love of wood but also showed him his path: to become a professional woodworker.

Back in Japan Kenji took up a carpentry apprenticeship. Japan has a rich tradition of woodworking, stemming from a deep love of and respect for wood as a living organism. Several master craftsmen taught him how to choose and read the wood; how to measure, plan, sketch and execute designs; how to do precision work within an 1/1000th error margin; and, most importantly, how to reveal the hidden beauty of wood and enhance its unique individuality.

In 2001, Kenji moved to Auroville where he established his own workshop – ‘Kenji’s Woodwork’. “I was certainly not a master craftsman, but I decided to take a chance,” he recalls. He ordered several professional wood working machines from Japan and started.

“In the beginning I was doing all the work I could get: window frames and doors, but increasingly also furniture. Then I participated in an exhibition exhibiting the ikebana of my wife Valeria and the ceramics of Michèl, and that was a breakthrough. My work was appreciated, and an increasing number of people placed orders.”

Today, many of his clientele come from the big cities of India, mostly the upper middle class. For them, he creates his ‘Japanese style’ furniture, both traditional and contemporary. Some of the designs are linear and straight; others follow the form of the tree. “I try to manifest what is hidden in the wood. Unusual shapes are turned to the best possible use.” A strangely formed piece of jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) became a decorative table top; a piece of Noona maram (Morinda citrifolia), a wood normally used for bullock car yokes, was turned into a salon table.

“I love making furniture that has a warm and mysterious feel to it, furniture that has a ‘personality’ of its own,” he explains. “I sometimes accept assignments which I would rather not, such as making a straight square table. But I prefer my more creative and freestyle work.”

Cyclone Thane, he says, provided the possibility. “Many ‘Work’ trees were uprooted. Many of them had large trunks and interesting shapes. ‘Work’ tree wood is of an excellent quality and nice to work with. The grains often show beautiful patterns, and after polishing it has a velvety finish which you do not get with any of the other woods.”

He likes experimenting with inlays – polished stones or even gold foil. “In cases where the wood has knots or interesting gaps and openings in its body, I have incorporated granite or semi-precious stone (malachite, agate etc.) into these spaces. Where the wood has natural depressions or local concavities I sometimes use gold foil to highlight them,” he says.

Kenji’s Woodwork’ is a small unit. He works with one helper and one apprentice, mostly in complete silence as the work demands full concentration. “It’s very much a karma yoga,” he says. “When I am working I am fully concentrated on what’s manifesting under my hands. I often forget my environment and the time. I don’t want to use big words, but there is definitely a sense of doing this as an offering, a dedication.”

What would a Japanese master woodworker have to say about his work? He smiles. “He might find fault with some of my techniques; but I think not with the spirit the pieces express.” That spirit, he explains, is harmony and beauty. “Each piece must say something to those who use it – it must convey a sense of well-being, comfort, happiness and beauty. If I notice that my clients experience that spirit, I am deeply content.”