Still in January (summer) mode here, so for the next few weeks I am just going to be lazy and post photographs I took in Japan, until the weather cools down or inspiration strikes again.

This one is of a simple but clever timber locking mechanism to a sliding door in a minka dwelling. It is shown here in a ‘half-cocked’ state. To lock the door, you push upwards from below on the vertical ‘bolt’, the upper end of which (out of shot) then goes into a mortise or ‘bolt-hole’ cut into the head of the door opening. The short horizontal member or ‘key’ is then slid across to the right to lock the vertical member in place. To unlock, you simply slide the key back to the left, and the bolt drops back down onto the stile.