Kamakura Making Blog | Episode 2

“The Frame Appears — A Kamakura Has Bones Before Snow”

After Episode 1, “The Ice-Breaking Struggle,”the ground in front of the main store is finally flat again.

In Episode 2, it’s finally time —the kamakura frame makes its appearance.

Making a kamakura isn’t as simple as piling up snow.

For people to sit inside safely, it must be:✔ Stable and strong✔ Not too large✔ Yet comfortable to sit in

Achieving this delicate balance depends entirely on the frame.

■ Heavy. Very heavy.

Today’s task was bringing in the frame.It was much heavier than it looked, and several people worked together,lifting it with a lot of “heave-ho.”

“Will this really be covered with snow?”“Wait… will we even get enough snow?”

Amid mixed feelings of doubt and excitement,the site slowly began to look like a kamakura.

かまくら骨組み搬入

■ No snow yet, but the future is visible

At this stage, it still looks like just a wooden frame —a slightly mysterious structure.

But without this frame, the next steps wouldn’t be possible:piling snow → packing it down → carving.

Even for those of us who know how it will turn out,this stage is exciting every year.

In Episode 3, it’s time for assembling the frame.

From here on, it will rapidly start to feel like a real kamakura.

Completion is planned for mid-January.This year again, we’re planning to offerKamakura Genghis Khan (grilled lamb) dining inside the kamakura.

Stay tuned.