American out to save boat-building art

Douglas Brooks works with Ryujin Shimojo to build a sabani in December 2009 as the American boat builder chronicles the craft of building a traditional, wooden Okinawa fishing boat. Below: Brooks sits in front of Shimojo's workshop on Iejima Island, Okinawa Prefecture. | PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOUGLAS BROOKS, MICK CORLISS

By Mick Corliss
Special To The Japan Times

Sep 17, 2011

Douglas Brooks is a man on a mission. A boat builder and craftsman originally from Connecticut, Brooks is committed to helping keep afloat the dying craft of traditional boat building in Japan.

Hailing from the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, maritime connections have gradually taken over his life.

Brooks began researching traditional Japanese boat building in 1990 and has since been to Japan more than a dozen times, visiting fishing villages throughout the nation in his quest for boat-building traditions in danger of being lost.

Traditional craftsmen throughout Japan give researcher invaluable hands-on experiences

American out to save boat-building art

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