Kumiko Lamp: How to Build a Japanese Andon with a Lattice

Let's build an andon, a traditional Japanese lantern, with hand tools alone, and learn the latticework behind kumiko woodworking as you go. Once you have the basics down, you can take them into kumiko's signature patterns.

What Is an Andon? A Traditional Japanese Lantern

An andon is a traditional Japanese light: a frame of wood or bamboo, covered with paper, with a light set inside. Its signature is the soft glow — light spreads through the washi paper and comes out warm and even.

In this project, you'll make a small andon while you learn the basics of building a lattice.

What Is Kumiko? Thin Strips of Wood, Built into Beautiful Patterns

Kumiko is a traditional Japanese woodworking technique: thin strips of wood, cut and fitted together into geometric patterns. It has long been used in shoji screens, transoms, and other fittings and decorative panels. Add more pieces to the basic lattice and new patterns appear, from asanoha (hemp leaf) to shippo (seven treasures) and many more.

Materials and Tools You'll Need

Materials

• 8 mm square stock
• 15 mm square stock
• Thin wood strips, 8 mm wide × 2 mm thick
• Wood board, about 30 mm wide × 5 mm thick
• Washi paper (large enough to cut four sheets of about 90 × 90 mm)
• Shoji paste (the starch paste used to mount washi paper)

Tools

• Marking out: pencil, try square
• Cutting and shaping: Dozuki Saw, Oire Nomi Chisel, Carving Knife, utility knife
• Assembly and clamping: clamps, masking tape, Wooden Mallet

Nice to have:

• Marking Gauge (kebiki): handy for scribing the same width over and over.
• Flush Cut Saw: trims off pieces that stick out and is less likely to scratch the surface.
• Kiridashi Knife: good for cutting washi paper and scribing your marking lines.
• Hand Plane: useful for fine adjustments if the panels are tight.

Tools for Building a Japanese Andon

Cut List

Step-by-Step: How to Make a Small Andon Lantern

Step 1: Cut the Parts to Length

Cut all your stock to the sizes and quantities in the cut list. Mark your lines first, then saw.

Step 2: Shape the Top and Bottom Rails

Now shape the 8 mm square stock for the top and bottom rails. Clamp all eight pieces together — four top rails and four bottom rails — and you can work through them in one pass. Mark a line 25 mm in from the end. That gives you a finished inner dimension of 70 mm.

To end up with a finished inner dimension of 70 mm, mark a line 25 mm in from the end, then mark a second line 70 mm from that first one.

The notch is 8 mm wide, matching the stock, and 4 mm deep, half its thickness. Lay that 8 mm width out on the outside of the 70 mm inner dimension.

Note: The photo shows a 2-Blade Marking Gauge in use.

2-Blade Marking Gauge

Take the clamps off and mark the 4 mm depth on the two pieces whose sides will be visible.

Clamp the eight pieces together again, saw down to your lines, then pare out the waste with a chisel to finish.

Step 3: Shape the Base

Shape the base board along with two of the bottom rails. Shape them so that once everything is assembled, the base sits flush with the top of the bottom rails. Mark your lines and saw the notches.

Finish by paring the waste out with a chisel or a carving knife.

Step 4: Shape the Posts

Next comes the 15 mm square stock for the posts. To give the lantern longer legs, work from a point 30 mm up from the bottom. As with the rails, lay out for a finished inner dimension of 70 mm. Reading from the bottom, that's 30, 8, 70, 8, and 10 mm.

Cut away enough for the crossing 8 mm rails to seat in the post, leaving a 7 × 7 mm corner standing. Mark the 8 mm width on the outside of the 70 mm inner dimension.

Clamp all four posts together and saw down to your lines.

Take the clamps off, turn the posts, clamp them again, and saw the other face the same way.

Pare the waste away with a chisel until you're left with a 7 × 7 mm corner.

Step 5: Design and Cut the Washi Panels

Now build four washi panels from the 8 × 2 mm strips. Each panel takes 10 strips, and shifting where the notches fall gives you a different design every time. Lay the strips out before you cut anything and see how the whole panel balances.

Cutting the notches in the same spots gives you a regular, repeating design. Tape together the strips that share a notch position and you can cut them all at once.

Once you've settled on the layout, mark your lines inside the 70 mm inner dimension. Each notch is 2 mm wide, the thickness of a strip, and 4 mm deep, half its width. Then saw along your lines.

Peel the masking tape off and clear each notch with a carving knife, working one strip at a time.

With every piece shaped, you're ready to assemble.

Step 6: Assemble the Top Frame

Assemble the pieces in an interlocking grid pattern.

Tap the joints with a wooden mallet until they seat fully.

Step 7: Assemble the Bottom Frame

Assemble it the same way as the top frame, then fit the base board in.

Step 8: Assemble the Body

Fit the posts into the top and bottom frames to build up the body. Tap as you go with the mallet, adjusting the fit until everything sits tight.

That's the lantern body done.

Step 9: Build the Washi Panels

Fit the strips together alternately, then tap them home with the mallet.

Trim the overhanging ends flush so the panel comes out 70 mm across.

Brush paste onto the face that will end up at the back, then lay the washi paper over it. Trim the excess washi with a kiridashi knife or a utility knife.

Step 10: Fit the Washi Panels

Slide each washi panel into the body. If one is tight, take a light shaving off the edge with a hand plane until it slips in.

Step 11: Finished

Set an LED light or a mini lantern inside and enjoy the glow.

From Basic Lattice to Kumiko

Building this small andon has walked you through the basics of cutting and fitting a lattice. With those down, you can start playing with how the pieces come together and work up to the more intricate patterns of kumiko. Begin with a simple lattice, and let the pleasure of joining wood grow from there.