19 Jun 2024
Posted by Sam Frederick 
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Title: “Sumitsubo belonging to Kenichi Maeno.” Collection: Kenichi Maeno Collection. Repository: Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. Accession Number: 2014.4.4. Year: circa 1940s. Photo courtesy: Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre.
BURNABY — Can you recognize what this object would have been used for?
This item is from the Kenichi Maeno collection at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC). It is an ink line, or sumitsubo, used in carpentry to mark straight lines on wood to guide cutting.
Similar to a Western-style chalk line, the ink provides a more precise and narrow line than chalk, with less chance of the line being smudged or erased. Sumitsubo refers to the ink pot, which is filled with ink chips and covered in silk or cotton wadding that has been wetted.
A silk string with a pin, or karuko, at one end is tied around the wheel at the back of the object. The string is then drawn through the ink pot, becoming stained with ink. The pin is pushed into the far end of the wood to create tension, and in a quick movement, the string is pulled up and released to form an ink line on the wood.
This tool belonged to Kenichi Maeno, was born in Japan in 1904 and came to Canada in 1916 with his father at 12. Kenichi worked many different jobs until starting a farm in Strawberry Hill, B.C. (now a part of Surrey, B.C.). He worked on the farm until 1941 when he and his family were forcibly relocated to Alberta.
Kenichi learned the carpentry trade from a Mr. Yukawa, an accomplished carpenter trained in Japan. When Mr. Yukawa retired, he gave his tools to Kenichi, who carried on his trade after the war.
Several of these carpentry tools are now housed at the museum. To discover more about Japanese Canadian carpenters, explore our database at www.nikkeimuseum.org.
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