What Westerners don't understand about traditional Japanese craftsmanship

Meet Douglas, an American boatbuilder who has spent the last 30 years travelling back and forth from Japan in order to study traditional boatbuilding techniques under nine different master craftsmen. Douglas sits down to talk to us about his preservation and documentation work, his experience teaching his own students, as well as his work as a boatbuilder and consultant on FX's Shogun series. -- 0:00 Intro 0:53 Meet Douglas 2:02 Why come to Japan 5:44 Why have an interest in boatbuilding 7:17 Fear of previous generation’s knowledge ending with no apprentices 9:28 How to learn from a master without speaking Japanese 13:38 What is a tarai bune 17:00 Starting apprenticeship 20:10 How long to learn under a teacher 22:45 Stolen Secrets 25:54 Why is there a lack of interest among young Japanese boatbuilders 27:18 Steps after masters had passed out 29:13 What differentiates Japanese tugboats from Western boats 34:35 Most challenging boats to learn to build 38:42 Family boat builders 39:23 Unique Okinawa boats 44:11 Ceremony for finishing a boat 47:07 Naming boats 48:49 Consulting for Shogun TV show as a boatbuilding expert 57:32 Are traditional practices seen in modern shipbuilding? 1:01:02 How to tackle keeping traditions alive as the master 1:03:49 Boatbuilding classes and teaching apprentice learning 1:04:45 Building a boatbuilding school in Japan 1:11:45 Future boat project ambitions -- Liked this episode? Check out our interview with English Radio and TV host Peter Barakan, who talks all about broadcasting in Japan's radio and TV industries.    • How Peter Barakan became Japan's most reco...   -- Follow Douglas: https://www.douglasbrooksboatbuilding... https://www.douglasbrooksboatbuilding...   / douglasbrooksboatbuilding      / @douglasbrooks-wz3fi   http://blog.douglasbrooksboatbuilding... Follow us on our social media: https://open.spotify.com/show/2YrHVOA...    / @unpackingjapanshorts     / unpacking_japan     / unpackingjapan   https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan   / unpackingjapan   Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/