42 Australian Wood Review
and surfaces that were smoother than
could be achieved with sandpaper.
In Japanese, this unique finishing
texture is called kanna-shiage.My personal style in Canada is similar
to my teacher’s. I am most passionate
about chairmaking. I share Master
Tokunaga’s perspectives that when it
comes to changing human minds about
the value of wood, the chair is the ‘how’,
but kanna-shiage is the ‘why’.4
5
Has this changed your life? You said
that before your apprenticeship in Japan
you had planned to be a doctor or work
in health care. Woodworking seems very
far removed from that, or do you see
parallels? How do you feel about being
back home in Newfoundland?I would say yes and no. ‘Yes’ because
when I first started woodworking, I
never envisioned myself becoming a
professional furniture maker. On the
other hand, I was very surprised to
find out just how many similarities
exist between a traditional Japanese
apprenticeship, and the residency
program we use to educate physicians.
Some of the friends I met in school
joke that I’ve simply traded out my
patient populations.Living in Newfoundland is a real
privilege. Both Japan and Canada
have beautiful and diverse forests.
They are great places to work with
wood. I look forward to sharing
what I have learned so far, and to
building lasting connections between
professionals in both countries.Being in Japan gave me perspective
on how lucky I am to be a Canadian,