This carpenter's saw, one of a set of five, is called a ryōba nokogiri in Japanese. Some of the saws in the set were used as back-up tools in the construction of The Japanese House in 1979. The saw has a flat, rectangular blade with small teeth on both sides and a wooden handle wrapped in bamboo. For these types of saws, the longer the saw, the larger the teeth were.
The saws were made shortly before use, but in a very traditional form. They are likely from the well-known tool production town of Miki or from another similar production center. These types of saws are only meant for cutting soft woods (those normally used in construction of Japanese homes). Each carpenter would have seven or eight saws that match a particular task. The size of saw used depended on the thickness of the wood. The side of the saw with the teeth closest together is the one used for the cross-cut; the other side is used for ripping along the grain. These saws differ from American saws in that they are used to cut on the drawing stroke (pulling the saw rather than pushing). A saw file, or yasuri, was used to sharpen the saw.
