Shinko Clock Shop/Window on the Workbench

Yoshiharu Tsukamoto Laboratory (Tokyo Institute of Technology)

08 Jan 2021

Clock store on the island of Osaki Shimojima in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, operating since the Meiji period. The main building on the first floor functions as both a store and a workshop, featuring a clock showcase on the corridor side and, beside it, a workbench where clocks are repaired under natural sunlight that enters the room from the south. The parts under repair are placed inside glass chambers and petri dishes to stop dust or dirt from depositing on their surfaces, and are then repaired using loupes and chisels. There is a recessed space beneath the workbench to accommodate the feet, with cushions placed on the tatami flooring and a charcoal brazier at the side. Clocks that have already been repaired are hung on the wall for a while to check whether they are working correctly.

Shinko Clock Shop
(Clocks / Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture)

This article is an excerpt from “Window Workology,” a joint research project concerning windows and the behaviors around them done in collaboration with Tokyo Institute of Technology’s Yoshiharu Tsukamoto Laboratory.