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How a Vergennes Boatbuilder Is Saving an Endangered Tradition -- and Got a Credit in the New 'Shōgun'
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/arts-culture/how-a-vergennes-boatbuilder-is-saving-an-endangered-tradition-and-got-a-credit-in-the-new-shogun-40677620How a Vergennes Boatbuilder Is Saving an Endangered Tradition — and Got a Credit in the New 'Shōgun'
By KEN PICARD
Published April 17, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. | Updated April 18, 2024 at 10:03 a.m.
COURTESY OF DOUGLAS BROOKS
Douglas Brooks apprenticing with a Japanese master boatbuilder
In February, millions of TV viewers tuned in to Hulu and FX to watch the world premiere of "Shōgun," a 10-part miniseries based on the 1975 best-selling novel by James Clavell. Because the story is set in 17th-century feudal Japan, Disney/FX, which produced the series, needed a consultant for building the dozens of traditional Japanese canalboats, fishing vessels and samurai warships that figure prominently in the show.
Rather than scouring Japan's maritime museums or shipyards for such an expert, the studio instead turned to Douglas Brooks, an American boatbuilder from Vergennes. The decision to hire Brooks wasn't meant as a snub to Japan's own craftspeople. Arguably, no one was more qualified to provide the technical know-how, historically accurate designs and authentic rowing techniques featured in the show.
A scholar, writer and teacher of traditional Japanese boatbuilding, Brooks, 63, apprenticed under nine Japanese master boatbuilders between 1996 and 2019 and wrote six books on his experiences. His 2015 book, Japanese Wooden Boatbuilding, is the only comprehensive guide to the subject published in any language. Brooks has taught courses on traditional Japanese boatbuilding at schools around the country, including Middlebury College, Harvard University, the University of Illinois and Deep Springs College in California. In fact, when Disney/FX needed additional watercraft for its 2021 shoot in Port Moody, B.C., they bought two flat-bottomed fishing boats that Brooks had built with his students at Bates College in Maine.
"Just don't call me a master," Brooks said emphatically. He cringes whenever journalists use that word to describe him. "I have such enormous respect for the seriousness of the Japanese craft and its practitioners. In Japan, often you don't call yourself a master until your own master has passed away."
[...]
By KEN PICARD
Published April 17, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. | Updated April 18, 2024 at 10:03 a.m.
COURTESY OF DOUGLAS BROOKS
Douglas Brooks apprenticing with a Japanese master boatbuilder
In February, millions of TV viewers tuned in to Hulu and FX to watch the world premiere of "Shōgun," a 10-part miniseries based on the 1975 best-selling novel by James Clavell. Because the story is set in 17th-century feudal Japan, Disney/FX, which produced the series, needed a consultant for building the dozens of traditional Japanese canalboats, fishing vessels and samurai warships that figure prominently in the show.
Rather than scouring Japan's maritime museums or shipyards for such an expert, the studio instead turned to Douglas Brooks, an American boatbuilder from Vergennes. The decision to hire Brooks wasn't meant as a snub to Japan's own craftspeople. Arguably, no one was more qualified to provide the technical know-how, historically accurate designs and authentic rowing techniques featured in the show.
A scholar, writer and teacher of traditional Japanese boatbuilding, Brooks, 63, apprenticed under nine Japanese master boatbuilders between 1996 and 2019 and wrote six books on his experiences. His 2015 book, Japanese Wooden Boatbuilding, is the only comprehensive guide to the subject published in any language. Brooks has taught courses on traditional Japanese boatbuilding at schools around the country, including Middlebury College, Harvard University, the University of Illinois and Deep Springs College in California. In fact, when Disney/FX needed additional watercraft for its 2021 shoot in Port Moody, B.C., they bought two flat-bottomed fishing boats that Brooks had built with his students at Bates College in Maine.
"Just don't call me a master," Brooks said emphatically. He cringes whenever journalists use that word to describe him. "I have such enormous respect for the seriousness of the Japanese craft and its practitioners. In Japan, often you don't call yourself a master until your own master has passed away."
[...]
