Zen Wood - Woodwork

Woodwork

Doors closed

Doors open

The Kamidana is a small house-like shrine, traditionally found in homes, Temples, and Martial Arts dojos. In Japanese, Kami means spirit. A Kamidana is a shrine to honour the living spirits in everything. In the rocks, the trees, water, you and me, helping us remember that this spirit is universal, and we are expressions of it.

This Kamidana was a custom order for a Martial Arts dojo. It has a place of honour in the dojo. In the Japanese Martial Arts, a shrine is placed at the head of the dojo to honour the spirit of Budo - the training of ones mind and body.

This small Kamidana was a favorite of O'Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba, the creator of Aikido. He said, " Do not think that the Divine exists above us in Heaven. The Divine is right here, within and around us."

This Garden Shrine is sturdy and simple. A perfect home for the stone statue of Jizo.

These are Aikido Dan Certificate Frames. They have a nice Japanese feel, and go well with the calligraphy of the Certificates.

This custom order was designed so that the owner could sit on her Zafu in meditation, and have her Buddha Statue at a comfortable eye level. She also wanted a place underneath for keeping books, and a space with sliding doors for storage.

This Butsudan is to keep your Buddha Statue in. It has a drawer at the bottom for storing incense and candles. The doors are frame and panel construction and are hung with the finest brass knife hinges.

This shrine was a custom order for the Mt. Baldy Zen Center. It is the focal point in the Zendo, housing the statue of buddha. The base is a cabinet, with sliding doors at the back, for storage.

This stool is designed for anyone who kneels a lot, like meditators, calligraphers, musicians and craftspeople.

In Japan, the Noh drama musicians and chorus members, kneel on hard wooden floors for hours on end. They manage this by placing a stool like this between their legs, at the base of their spine.

In this custom order the owner already had the bell and wanted a stand for it. Everyday as part of his practice, he rings this bell. This large garden stand is built with traditional Japanese joinery. Mortise and tennon joints held together with pegs and wedges.

This Altar is designed for use in the home. It has two levels, plenty of room for statues, incense and candles. There is a drawer at the bottom for storage. Each Altar is handmade from the finest wood, in the traditional manner.

Daikoku is the God of plenty, and the bag over his shoulder is full of good things. He is standing on bales of rice. He brings good fortune to your home. Each individually hand carved statue comes with it's own handmade shrine.