I'm fascinated by art and lifestyle in Japan. I bought this one in the hope of getting good information about "how to"s in joining wood in a woodword project without using any metal parts (nails etc). For starters, all drawings are black and white so this may dissapoint some of you. But are very well done and the book has a very interesting introductory section about japanese woodworking tools that provide a lot of information and some less expected aspects of japanese woodworking like, for example, tradition (I expected that) and an entire philosophical system (I didn't expected that). Very interesting, a lot. However, it is quite complicated to follow drawings and I sometimes felt that a better 3D rendering of the cuts should be done in order to better understand japanese joinery techniques (which ARE very complicated). I would recommend the book in the first place as a very instructive reading (which it is) and less for actually doing something being guided by its instructional content. Anyway I'm glad I bought it because it gave me more insight into japanese traditional woodworking.

This book is really neat--definitely worth $16. There are dozens and dozens of joints detailed but almost all of them are for framing buildings. Even so, these multitude of ideas presented can really start the creative process for furniture makers, like myself. In fact, this book provided a joint that solved a problem that I had dwelled on for months. Without this book, I never would have thought of this joint.

Most of the joints described are described well. But you will need to read the material carefully because some of the joints are quite complex. A lot of the joints are described with "drafting style" drawings--a front view, side view and top view. The book could benefit from more drawings that are in perspective.

The description of the use of Japanese tools is brief. In fact, if I were the publisher I'd delete "Japanese Tool Use" from the title because this book really doesn't focus much on tool use. Yeah, it's covered but there are other, more detailed texts n the topic.

At times, the text is awkward. If I recall correctly, this book was translated from Japanese, which likely accounts for the awkward phrases.

When i bought it, i was looking for a manual to learn some basic about making japanese joinery in small amatorial woodworking projects. I'm not a carpenter, i'm just an hobbist.

Every page of this book is a precious pearl of a deep knowledge, surrounded by Japanese philosophy as well.

If you are patient to read very carefully and then practise, you'll find a pleasant surprise: a good job made with less tiredness and an happy mind.