組子 Kumiko is a Japanese craftsmanship technique known from around the 7th century of the Asuka era, consisting in arranging geometric patterns from individual wooden slats without nails. When Buddhism reached Japan 1500 years ago, religious architecture was created mainly with the participation of craftsmen from China and Korea. The original form of the Kumiko technique already existed then, but in Japanese it has developed over the years into the form by which Kumiko is understood today. Traditionally, Kumiko has been used to create architectural elements such as balustrades or sliding doors. There are over 200 different different patterns used in it, each with a name related to nature as they are based on simplified motifs from nature’s elements.

It all started in the summer of 2017.

Chie, a Japanese woman who lives in Poland, got an order from one of the Japanese TV stations: “find a Polish religious sculptor who could fly to Japan in a week and stay there for a whole week.” Japanese TV station Asahi was looking for such a man for the program “Japan is admired by the whole world – ‘wow’ delegation” for the episode “World Heritage Kyoto “. In each episode, invited specialists from other countries watch Japanese craftsmanship techniques and their unusual examples. The result is usually a “wow!” sigh. Then the guests talk about their own work.

In the middle of the vacation, during a family trip, on the way in the car, Chie began to google slogans about religious carvers and call them because she didn’t know anyone. “Hello, can you go to Japan in a week? It’s all free.” No wonder people thought it was a joke.