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Dale Brotherton spent three years learning how to sharpen.

Sharpening tools in the Japanese tradition isn’t complicated 鈥� it’s merely dragging the blade of an implement over a stone, over and over. But it was three years before Brotherton could get something sharp.

鈥淚t’s a very Japanese thing to delve into details,鈥� he said last week at an elevated workspace at the Portland Japanese Garden, where for nearly a decade he’s fixed and restored the wooden aspects. He’s set to turn over two new installations next month as part of the garden’s 鈥溾�� expansion project 鈥� the .

Straight up

There are two reasons why sharpening is considered the foundation of Japanese carpentry. For one, you can’t work if your arm can’t follow a straight line. This is especially true in Japan, where much is still done by hand.

鈥淭raining our bodies to move in a straight line, to see in a straight line, is fundamental,鈥� Brotherton said. 鈥淭he ability to do this is nurtured by the sharpening, and it carries over to all parts of our work.鈥�

The other reason is more obvious 鈥� you can’t work without sharp tools. The holy trinity of Japanese hand tools is the plane, the chisel and the saw.

A Western hand plane is a large metal object with levers and knobs. A Japanese hand plane, in contrast, is just a block of wood with a blade wedged inside. But this simple device is surprisingly sophisticated. When Brotherton teaches classes near his home in Seattle, or his shop in Port Townsend, Washington, he and students spend two full days making a hand plane and setting it up to work properly. Planing is another fundamental aspect of Japanese carpentry, as it helps the carpenter show off a wood’s natural beauty, and allows it to age gracefully.

Western hand saws are also quite different from Japanese ones. The Japanese hand saw cuts on the pull-stroke 鈥� as opposed to the push 鈥� which allows for a thinner blade, and thus greater control. This means finer cuts and a smoother surface. It’s easier to follow a straight line if the cut isn’t rough.

Brotherton and a small crew recently added ceiling panels of Port Orford cedar to the garden’s new Tea Cafe, as work on 鈥淐ultural Crossing鈥� winds down. Now 57 years old, the garden is gaining several new buildings and gardens, a cascading water feature and another major craftsman-built feature 鈥� an 18.5-foot-tall, 185-foot-long stone castle wall. The finished sides of the dovetail-braced panels were wrapped in paper for protection.

After the panels are hand-planed, the wood will glow and have a different look than any other method of finishing, Brotherton said.

鈥淪anding wouldn’t even come close,鈥� he said.

Port Orford cedar is a light-colored, fragrant wood nearly identical to hinoki, the premier building wood of Japan. Both are lightweight, rot-resistant and stable. There’s just one problem with Port Orford cedar 鈥� there isn’t much of it.

鈥淚t’s beautiful when it’s finished,鈥� Brotherton said. 鈥淚t’s just about everything that you’d want in a wood.鈥�

Details, details, details

Teahouses are the highest form of defined construction in Japan, and everything about them is designed around the tea ceremony. Every element has specific dimensions that can be traced back thousands of years. The tatami mats, for instance, are always a certain size, because it takes a certain number of steps to walk into the tea room.

鈥淭here’s no end to how refined you can get with it,鈥� Brotherton said.

The teahouse ceiling is a kind of hybrid project, with both modern and traditional elements. True teahouse construction features only intricate wood joinery 鈥� no nuts and bolts. But Brotherton and his three workers were suspending their ceiling panels from a steel building frame.

Brotherton spent the first five years of his apprenticeship near his hometown of San Francisco working under Imai Makoto, a teahouse carpenter from Kyoto. He finished his apprenticeship with four years in Japan, working under a residential builder, Karaki Akita. It was useful being experienced, because Japanese jobsites are less forgiving. Despite the patience required, the pace moves fast, and apprentices must quickly learn to read their boss 鈥� his mood, facial expression, posture, etc.

All told, Brotherton needed nine years to become proficient in the Japanese style of carpentry. But, as with all creative pursuits, you never really finish learning as a carpenter, Brotherton said. And you never really get to retire.

鈥淵ou’re only limited by your own ability, so it’s never-ending growth,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ighty-year-old men have told me that they’re still learning. They feel like they’re just getting started.鈥�

Cultural clashing

Needless to say, traditional methods are an odd fit at a modern commercial jobsite.

鈥淚t’s a very good example of trying to fit a square peg into a round (hole), so to speak,鈥� Brotherton said.

There’s a debate in construction regarding how best to address the industry’s skilled labor shortage. Some observers believe technology could be the key to enticing the young and tech-minded. For this project, Brotherton actually had to work up a computer model of the teahouse ceiling, a modern skill he doesn’t employ often.

But Brotherton thinks construction’s craft foundation could be what lights fires in young people. He often demonstrates techniques at Japanese cultural festivals.

鈥淭he kids are just magnets 鈥� they’re glued to the front of my bench,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd it’s because, physically, there’s something happening.鈥�

But maybe once a young person becomes accustomed to being precise, going back to plywood and nails is a letdown. Kalispell, Montana-custom builder Scott Thomas was another working on Brotherton’s crew last week. He took a course from the master five years ago.

鈥淚t can be jarring to go back to lumber from the hardware store,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o be really frank, it’s kind of like going insane.”

The four carpenters at work in the teahouse house this month were all Americans. One of them, David Laws, is certified to perform the chada, or tea ceremony.

Laws operates in the Mississippi Arts District two Airbnb units he constructed with Japanese and old world carpentry. People from around the world, but especially the Japanese, are fascinated to see traditional work practiced in America, by an American, he said.

鈥淚 think it kind of draws them back to their culture a little bit when they see foreigners interested in it, and they take a second look at it,鈥� he said.

The Portland Japanese Garden represents that to a lot of Japanese people who’ve never lived in Japan 鈥� a connection to their culture.

鈥淚 mean, it’s their Japan,鈥� Laws said.

Portland Japanese Garden 鈥淐ultural Crossing鈥�

Cost: $33.5 million

Architect: Kengo Kuma / Hacker

Contractor: Hoffman Construction

Scheduled completion: March 2017