For lovers of traditional Japanese architecture, a visit to Akihisa Kitamori's laboratory at the Kyoto University Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH) would likely evoke similar emotions to those felt by an animal-rights activist in a cosmetics test lab full of tormented rabbits.
In one corner of the large cluttered room, a reproduction of a ceiling-support structure from the main hall of Nara's Yakushi Temple is clamped to a test rig. As Kitamori turns a knob, more than two tons of pressure bears down on the replica, representing the force that could result from a major earthquake. Gradually, the seven silky-smooth pieces of interlocking wood slip a few centimeters out of place.
In another corner, a grinning lab assistant uses a similar metal rig to apply pressure to a long rectangular post constructed from two pieces of wood that use a traditional tsugite end-joint to increase the length of the timber. Suddenly, after about 10 minutes, the post lets out a series of loud pops as a long black fissure races down its right side.