Japan Heritage story
Inami: a town-sized museum of woodcarving
宮大工の鑿一丁から生まれた木彫刻美術館・井波
In Inami, in Toyama, the sound of mallets and the smell of fresh wood fill a stone-paved street of carvers' workshops. The craft was born when local temple carpenters rebuilt the great temple of Zuisenji in the 1760s.
Key facts
- Theme
- Forests and timber, Festivals and rituals, Food and sake
- Era
- Edo, Meiji
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 宮大工の鑿一丁から生まれた木彫刻美術館・井波
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 富山県（南砺市）
The story
Zuisenji is the largest surviving wooden building in Hokuriku, but strong local winds, called Inami-kaze, spread fire through the temple and town again and again. When it was rebuilt after the fire of 1762, a high stone wall was added in front, and the gate was set slightly off the line of the street to break the wind.
To carve the new temple's decorations, Higashi Honganji sent the master carver Maekawa Sanshiro from Kyoto, and four Inami temple carpenters became his apprentices. They absorbed Kyoto's refined skills and built the bold, ornate style of Inami carving. Legend says Maekawa's dragon on the temple gate came alive in the fire of 1879, drew water from a well and saved the gates.
What to see
- Zuisenji: the great temple, its fire wall and Maekawa's dragon on the gate.Google Maps 井波別院瑞泉寺 (opens in a new tab)
- Yokamachi-dori: the stone-paved approach lined with workshops, where you can watch carvers through the windows.Google Maps 八日町通り 井波 (opens in a new tab)
- Carved signs: phoenixes, dragons and the Seven Lucky Gods on shop signs and nameplates all along the street.
Plan your trip with the Toyama prefecture guide, and see more shrines and temples.
Good to know
- Visit in spring, when floats, festival stalls and lion dancers decorated with Inami carving parade through town.
- Carvers may use 200 to 300 different chisels; look at the tools in the workshop windows.
- Continue over the hills to the Gokayama villages, where homes and shrines also hold Inami carvings.
Questions travellers ask
How did Inami carving begin?
When Zuisenji was rebuilt after a fire in 1762, four local temple carpenters trained under a master carver sent from Kyoto.
What do Inami carvers make today?
Temple carvings, transoms, lion dance heads and ornaments, and more recently interior pieces and everyday items.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.