AK PRO - Japanese Saken Art

JAPANESE SAKAN ART
	SAKAN ARTIEST HADO HITOSHI
		SAKAN (Plaster Craftsman) Sakan is a profession known, in my home country of Japan, to be a traditional skill of plastering walls, floors and fences of buildings, using a trowel. From ancient times the walls of Japanese homes have been clay walls. They were constructed by coating a centered woven bamboo with mortar made form a mixture of slaked lime, fibers of hemp, and starch. The appeal of the sakan is the certain warmth felt by the manual work. Since a day’s weather or temperature, and even the physical and mental condition of the sakan can affect the completion of the wall, it is said that there are no two products alike. Thus making each and every wall a unique and artistic quality like no other. A sakan’s work would greatly contribute to the lifestyles of Californians and architect designers. Sadly, chemical treatments are often used in construction materials, and workers in many homes being built are overlooking the health of families living there and prioritizing low cost and convenience. However, I’d like to introduce you to these walls already established in Japan, where only natural materials are used in the making of the mortar, which create healthy walls with no harmful chemical substances.