Master carpenter Tamotsu Edo of Awajishima, Japan, will work with School of Architecture students to construct and install a traditional Japanese teahouse waiting bench, or “koshikake machiai,” in the Elizabeth Danforth Butterfly Garden during the week of Oct. 6-11.
A public dedication ceremony and reception will be held from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 11.
The koshikake machiai project is just one of several events coinciding with Edo’s time at the University. An exhibition of traditional Japanese carpentry tools and pattern books — drawn from Edo’s personal collection — is on view in the Gallery of Art’s Teaching Gallery through Oct. 9.
In addition, Edo will lead a public demonstration of Japanese woodworking techniques from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 9 on the south terrace of Givens Hall. The demonstration will focus on the use of traditional tools in crafting the hundreds of elaborate joints that Japanese carpenters employ to fix, splice and connect wood without resorting to nails or glue. Examples of completed joints will be on hand.
All three events are free and open to the public.
Gallery of Art hours are 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays; and noon-4:30 p.m. weekends. The gallery is closed Mondays.
Edo’s visit is sponsored by the Visiting East Asian Professionals Program in Arts & Sciences and the School of Architecture.
For more information, call 935-8772 or go online to artsci.wustl.edu/~veap.
The Butterfly Garden was established in 1996 by The Woman’s Club of Washington University in honor of Elizabeth “Ibby” Danforth, wife of William H. Danforth, chancellor emeritus and vice chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The garden was planned and planted and is maintained by The Butterfly Garden Commit-tee with the help of the University’s Department of Facilities Planning and Management and the Missouri Botanical Garden. All plant materials introduced into the garden provide nectar or food for butterflies and their larvae.