Shoji are the sliding screens that partition and define the Japanese home.  They may be used to cover windows, be made into lamp shades, valences, form hinged free-standing folding screens or any number of projects where soft lighting or privacy are desired.  Kumiko are the little sticks that form the grids that slip into the rails and sandwich the rice paper.

Precise half lap joints are glued and clamped tight and flush with tiny c-clamps and soft maple pads protected and hinged with clear tape.  While there are a number of ways to achieve this result, we prefer our custom jig using Formica-sided guides and a router set to the exact depth to remove half the thickness of the kumiko.  The possible patterns of woven grids are limited only by the imagination of the shoji-maker.

These kumiko grids are feather-weight and remarkably strong.  The entire concept of shoji-making is based around the principle of maximizing strength to weight ratios.