Japanology Plus

Plasterwork has been an indispensable feature of Japanese architecture for hundreds of years. You can see it on the walls of castles, storehouses, and everyday homes. Using a humble trowel, plasterers create lustrous surfaces and intricate reliefs. This time on Japanology Plus, our theme is plasterwork. Our guest is Takao Kobayashi, a 40-year veteran of the trade. He explains why he finds the work so captivating. And in Plus One, Matt Alt meets young trainees creating innovative twists on the plasterwork tradition.