Miyadaiku (宮大工)
The term miyadaiku refers to a carpenter "daiku" involved in the construction and repair of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.
Summary
Also referred to as "wataridaiku," these craftsmen spend many years away from home living on the sites of temples or shrines where they develop their skills as they study materials and techniques. These skills and techniques are usually passed down orally from master to the student in the apprentice system. It is for this reason that there are estimated to be fewer than 100 such craftsmen remaining in Japan whereas it was said that there were once several hundred. Miyadaiku renowned for the repair of buildings designated as National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties include Tsunekazu NISHIOKA, Kahei SASAKI, Shoji MATSUURA (commonly referred to as the human National Treasure of carpentry and a cultural property preservation engineer).