Daisugi: Japan’s Ingenious Forestry Technique

Japan’s traditional architecture, admired worldwide for its elegance, once faced a challenge: by the 15th century, a shortage of wood threatened construction. This led to the creation of daisugi (“platform cedar”), a technique resembling giant bonsai, where trees grow additional straight trunks from an existing tree.

This method, developed in Kyoto, produces dense, straight, and flexible timber called taruki, ideal for constructing roofs and teahouses. Kyoto’s tea master Sen-no-rikyu popularized daisugi in the 16th century, meeting the demand for stylized sukiya-zukuri architecture despite limited resources.

The timber, 140% more flexible and 200% stronger than standard cedar, is typhoon-resistant and globally admired even 600 years later—a testament to its enduring ingenuity.