Stop just watching Japanese woodworking. Start doing it yourself.
Learn to tune, sharpen and use Japanese hand tools, then build traditional joints and projects on your own.
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Meet Your Instructor
Hisao Zen is a Japanese woodworker and educator based in Australia, specialising in traditional Japanese joinery and manual tool work. He trained under a master craftsman in temple and shrine architecture, where precision, structure, and hand skills were essential.
Through years of hands-on experience with chisels, kanna, and layout tools, he learned not only how to cut joints, but how to understand the structure behind them. His teaching focuses on clarity, fundamentals, and step-by-step progression.
DIY Japanese Joinery was created to share traditional techniques in a way that is accessible to serious beginners and makers around the world.
Hisao Zen
Founder of DIY Japanese Joinery
Precision Starts with a Single Line.
Download the Structural Diagram of the Traditional Kehiki.
Master the foundation of Japanese joinery with a detailed structural diagram of the traditional marking gauge (Kehiki). Clear measurements. Clear proportions. No guesswork.
Before you build, understand the structure.
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© 2026 DIY Japanese Joinery. 24 Einstein Avenue Mulgrave VIC 3170, Australia
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All pricing is in U.S. dollars.
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