Schedule of Events:

Tatemae / Raising Day

The first day of the 2025 Maine Japanese Woodworking Festival is also the final day of our Summer Japanese Timber Frame Workshop: Blacksmith Shop Build. We want to share the struggle and the joy of raising a large timber frame as a team and encourage you to participate as much as you would like.

Summer Japanese Timber Frame Workshop 2025: The Blacksmith Shop

To make a fire, hot enough to forge steel, one only needs three elements: charcoal, air, and of course heat. Similarly, to build a dream, one also needs three elements: inspiration, passion, and teamwork. What began as a chance encounter with a weathered building in Ise, Japan, smoldered until conversations with Festival goers and fellow woodworkers stoked the idea into a fire. To bring into existence a traditional Japanese Blacksmith shop, as a place of learning, experimentation, and to pay homage to the generations of tool makers that tirelessly support our craft.

7:30 AM: Check-in Opens
Timber Frame Raising
Tool Tuneup
Timber Frame Student Presentation and Celebration
11:00 PM: Quiet

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