Shoji screens bring a little of old Japan to your living room.
The Japanese have been making paper screens for centuries and have used them as doors and room dividers in homes and temples alike. These screens are traditionally made by hand from Japanese cedar by skilled artisans with special tools, but modern craftsmen often use other tools and wood. The best paper to use for shoji is still Japanese rice paper, or washi, although modern craftspeople sometimes resort to translucent plastic. Does this Spark an idea?
Shoji Materials
Choose an attractive wood for your shoji. Traditional craftsmen frequently use Japanese cedar, which is a decay-resistant softwood. Western red cedar, redwood or mahogany would also be attractive choices, though, especially if you plan to leave the wood unfinished, as is often done. The paper used for shoji is made from rice and is called washi. It is available at Japanese art supply stores, or you can buy it online. It is far more aesthetic and authentic than translucent plastic, which is an alternative. Washi is usually glued to the wood lattice with water soluble glue to facilitate removal when it gets torn or becomes faded. You will also need hinges, and while the best of these would again be purchased from a Japanese supplier, common cabinet hinges will work just as well.
Making the Shoji
You will have to make many precision cuts during the fabrication, and the best tool for these is a high-quality Japanese pull-saw. Other than this, your home power tools should be all you need. Rip the frame and lattice sticks on a table saw and use the pull-saw to notch the ends of the frame pieces so that you can join the frame together. This joining would traditionally be accomplished with dowels, but you can also use finish nails. If you do, use brass ones with a round head for more decoration.
Creating the lattice is a more demanding task that requires precision. Cut notches in the lattice sticks with a pull-saw, and make holes on the inside of the frame so the lattice will be held in place when the frame is joined together. These holes would be traditionally made with a small, very sharp chisel, but they can also be made with a drill. Accurate measurements and cuts are very important during this phase of the project.
Make two screens, but before you join them together with hinges, prepare and finish the wood. Traditional artisans will smooth the wood with a hand plane, but sanding will work if you take special care not to break the lattice sticks. You can then leave the shoji unfinished, or spray on some coats of black or clear lacquer. When the wood has been finished, hinge the screens together.
The final step is to glue on the washi. Do this by laying the screen on a flat surface and spreading mucilage on one side of all the lattice sticks and on the shoji frame itself. Unroll the paper, lay it on the glued wood and trim the edges with a utility knife. Let the glue dry for about 5 hours, then spray the paper with a fine mist of water, moistening the entire surface. When the water dries, the paper will shrink and create a tight covering.
Tags: lattice sticks, frame lattice, from Japanese, glued wood, Japanese cedar, made with