Kiyosi Seike, Professor of Architecture at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, is also an active architect both in Japan and abroad. He has published numerous books and articles on architecture in both Japanese and English.
“When making joints, if a carpenter kiln-dries the lumber and brings the moisture content down to less than ten percent before he cuts his joints and fits them together, when the finished joints are exposed to the air they absorb moisture, bringing the moisture content up to the level of that of the air-dry lumber, which is around eighteen percent in Japan. With the increased moisture content the joint members swell and, in a well-made joint, fit together so tightly that they almost become one body.”
