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Subject:Re: Did the Japanese ever use Huanghuali? Look at this...
Posted By: Kirk Thu, May 07, 2020
Not traditionally, but the Japanese do have tropical hardwoods (among the generic common name Rosewood) of their own; most notably Persimmon wood. Strictly speaking Persimmon / spp: Dyospyros kaki, is not a Rosewood, it's a type of Ebony. Interestingly the scientific generic name for Ebony is derived from a Greek word that literally translates "Hard to find", but that is beside the point. Persimmon, known as Kaki (柿) in Japan, but also grown in Korea and on the Eastern seaboard of mainland China where it is known as Shizi (柿子), and highly valued both countries for it's remarkable grain while being easily worked. (ie: does not have a blunting effect on tools).
It can look similar to rosewood, although even more striking.
All that said I have drifted off the point entirely. Your butsudan is certainly an unusual one; better quality than the overwhelming majority I have seen, but isn't huanghuali as far as I can tell. It is made of an exotic, but it's plinth & is giving it away. Solid wood mouldings are rarely if ever, cut against the grain. Those large mouldings have a softwood core with radial cut veneers vaccum glued to them. There is no other way to get a big moulding like that with a grain like that on it.
We can assume, given it's vintage (mid / late last century) that it's radial cut Rosewood; specifically Brazilian rosewood, spp: Dalbergia nigra.
Japan was imported a lot of Brazilian rosewood during their economic boom in the late '70's & '80's for the guitar manufacturing industry, which is huge in Japan. D. nigra was the first Dalbergia genera timber CITES banned the export of, and it is these days, arguably as rare as it's Asian counterpart Dalbergia odorifera / Huanghuali)
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- TimG - Apr 13, 2020 (09:59 PM) 