Kinosaki and Kawagoe: a haiku in wood 10 highlights Carved, chiseled, sanded, roughened, polished, bent, charred and even venerated, wood is a prized material in Japan, lending its refinement and strength to ordinary artefacts and sacred rituals alike. In Kawagoe, near Tokyo, and Kinosaki, a few hours from Osaka, everybody has their own dialogue with wood, writing new chapters in its story.