Fig. 1 is a tool used to pull out a Japanese nail and pull the nail vertically without leveraging the principle of leverage to pull out the nail. On the other hand, the pry bar in Fig. 2 uses the principle of leverage to pull out nails: this tool was used when pulling out western nails. Also, there were various sizes and shapes of this pry bar, and depending on the size, not only can it remove nails, but it can demolish floor materials and roofing materials. In addition, the ceiling board was pushed up and dismantled using the pry bar. Unlike today’s efficient tools, the tools used then were time-consuming and labor-intensive but do not damage timber. By using these tools, each nail and each floorboard were separated.During this time, homeowners spent money on ceiling boards, alcoves and beams (beams that run between columns in traditional Japanese architecture). They would use expensive woods for such parts, so workers became even more careful when dismantling these parts. For example, in high-value wood such as ebony, if one touches the surface with bare hands, the oil in their hands will be transferred to the wood, and that alone reduces the value. Therefore, after covering the wood’s surface with paper, workers would then put on new work gloves. The value of a ceiling board and such will be reduced even if one piece was chipped (if one piece of the ceiling between 8 tatami mats is missing, it can only be used as a ceiling between 6 tatami mats, so the value will be reduced by two tatami mats) so workers went to the attic and removed the nails one by one. Workers also paid the utmost attention to items such as “絞(Sibori)” logs (artificially shaped log) and wood films (Fig. 3) that would lose their value if they were damaged even slightly and demolished so as not to reduce their value.In this way, a razing/ demolition industry specializes in demolishing buildings and taking out old materials. These workers in this industry worked not only on buildings but also on bridges. They broke everything on the bridge by hand, but only when demolishing the stakes, they used a ship to pull out the stakes using the tide’s ebb and flow. Precious iron ships were used to extract the piles as the stakes on the bridge were so sturdy that the boat would dismantle if anyone tried to extract it with a wooden boat.Razing/ demolition industries sold the old materials from the day of the construction to a second-hand store on the same day. Therefore, when demolishing a building, workers always had the consideration to sell used building materials. Precisely, the woods were demolished by classifying according to size and material, dividing them by unit amount (e. g., 3.3m2 for floorboards, 11.8m for pillars), and then neatly organizing them. The workers were also conscientious when handling the wood while distinguishing: the board materials were wedged with a paper-wrapped crosspiece, and old materials were not tied directly together with the crosspiece with a rough rope.During the war (around 1945), the Japanese government proposed to “organize a union of the demolition industries and reorganize the city of Tokyo to prevent fires.” At that time, Hatsutaro Oguma and three to five other demolition 2.2 Razing/ Demolition Industry and Second-Hand StoresSince the razing/ demolition industry’s establishment, the relationship between the razing/ demolition industry and the second-hand stores grew very close. As old materials were traded at high prices, when demolishing a building, second-hand stores offered money to buy the building instead of getting a contract. Then, it was a form of making a profit by selling the timber and fittings from the demolished building. Therefore, in many cases, the second-hand stores first bought the building and had the demolition industry workers work as subcontractors. Some vendors (demolition industries) managed the entire process from ordering to selling.2.3 Demolition Industry from Taisho Era to Pre-War TimeIn the Taisho era, the Taisho Expo was held in 1914 in Ueno, Tokyo (near the present Ueno Park). The main venue was in Ueno Park, but records show that inter-connected events were held in other parts of the Tokyo metropolitan area. Even at such a large-scale event, it is said that all the timber of the dismantled building was resold as used timber. There are records stating that such demolition work was carried out stably until before World war II.2.4 Demolition Industry During Wartime─ 44 ─Fig. 2 Pry barFig. 3 Wood films
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