The nokogiri has ancient origins. Primitive types are believed to have been used as early as in the Paleolithic era. The use of this tool for wood carpentry however probably began after the appearance of the first metal saws. There is evidence of bronze saws being used in ante-Christum Egypt, and in China under the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Egypt experienced a particularly fast development in saw construction, and saws that present little difference to the ones currently used were already seen as early as in 14th century B.C. Iron saws began to be used during the Roman era in Europe, and in the Qin and Han era China, and they present features that were not seen with bronze saws, such as inclination of the blade and use of asari, which significantly improved productivity. In pre-historic Japan the stone axe was the main tool for processing materials. The introduction of iron technology in the Yayoi era gave birth to the first iron axes, but the first appearance of iron saws came much later in the early Kofun period, though in the form of a simplistic strip of iron sheet with elementary cutting teeth (leaving doubts as to their usability for architectural production purposes). Archaeological evidence from the late Kofun era presents significant improvements with the majority of saw blades having a core (nakago) for being fixed to a wooden handle, and with the use of cutting teeth with asari, nageshi and gagarime features.

A Kofun era nokogiri (5th century, replica, excavated from the Kanagurayama Kofun in Okayama)

During the Kofun era the nokogiri was widely used for the construction of tumuli (kofun), as suggested by the abundant excavated evidence of nokogiri buried in tumuli as funereal accessories.The decline in tumuli construction however, caused the number of excavated nokogiri to sharply drop with very few examples remaining from the later Asuka, Nara and Kamakura eras.Of those that have been excavated, most present peculiar forms, and remain unclear as to their particular usage. However, it is widely agreed that nokogiri of those later eras were larger than of those of previous eras, and close to being perfected as carpentry tools.The most famous example is the nokogiri retained by the Horyuji temple, the oldest example of a nokogiri that has been passed on (as opposed to excavated), which presents only minor damages on the blade and a perfectly preserved wooden handle. In addition, the oldest evidence of a saw being used in a wooden architectural construction is also from the Horyuji temple: a reparation team reported a crosscut saw trace on the main pillar.

An excavated 8th century nokogiri (survey drawing, Amabiki-mukaihara remains, Gumma)

Evidence from emaki (picture scrolls) from the middle ages suggests the usage of a konoha (leaf)-type nokogiri with a curved and pointed blade.It is believed that this type of nokogiri was used until the mid-Edo era but there is only small excavated evidence.Lumbering technology dramatically improved after the introduction from the continent of a large-scale ripsaw operated by two people called oga, significantly advancing architectural production in comparison to up until the mid-Muromachi era when no saws were used and the main lumbering tool was the chisel.The oga was quickly replaced by the one-man operated maebiki-oga (with a unique wide blade only seen in Japan) and the gagari for smaller scale operations, and continued to be the main lumbering tools until the introduction of heavy machinery in mid-Meiji era.

Two-men operated large scale lumbering ripsaw oga (replica)

One-man operated large scale lumbering ripsaw maebiki-oga (from around the Meiji era, produced in Omi-Koka)

The improvement in tool production capability, and the specialisation of occupations during the Edo era led to the emergence of different types of nokogiri suited for particular purposes, which account for most of the nokogiri types used today. This period also saw the emergence of places specialised in nokogiri production, such as Miki and Aizu.During the Meiji era the double-edged saw was invented and was quickly widely adopted.Meanwhile, the Meiji period also experienced the beginning of the gradual mechanization of the lumbering industry which rapidly advanced, especially during the post Second World War years, and which seems to have halted the development of the nokogiri as a hand tool. It should be noted, however, that not an insignificant number of carpenters still seek the precision and touch of a high quality nokogiri.

(Commentary for the catalogue of the 1996 Exhibition "The Microcosmos of Nokogiri" with added material)

Sumitsubo	Sashigane	Kebiki	Nokogiri	Nomi
Kanna	Kiri	Tsuchi	Ono and Masakari

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