KEYAKI（JAPANESE ZELKOVA）

Binomial name

Zelkova Serrata

Familia

Ulmaceae

Range

Japan

Wood

Heartwood: Yellowish brown to Reddish brown. Grain is clear, beautiful and shiny.

Specific Gravity

0.47～0.84

Uses

Furniture, Building material, and interior and so on.

Appearance of KEYAKI

Since Keyaki has a beautiful grain and strength, it is said that keyaki is the best Japanese hardwood used for commercial lumber.

Compared to before, the amount of trees with a big diameter is decreasing, so the price is rising. However, Keyaki is relatively easy to obtain.

Keyaki was used for its strength in the past, but now people mainly use Keyaki for its elegant and beautiful appearance.
Keyaki is considered a premium wood just like Hinoki.

1. Appearance of beauty

Keyaki has a dynamical beautiful wavy grain and bright but calm color.
When you polish Keyaki lumber, its appearance becomes shiner and the nice, fine grain stands out.

Now, Keyaki is getting popular to use as a table top or counter.
When you use Keyaki as a table top piece in a room, it becomes the main focus and the centerpiece.
Keyaki is also used as an interior decoration, sculpture or traditional craft.

2. Strength and Durability

Since ancient times, Keyaki was well known as a strong and durable wood so it has been used as a building material.
Even now, Keyaki can be used for any part of a wooden building, and it is an especially good material for making exclusive pillars.
Since Keyaki is expensive, there are less homes made with Keyaki as the main material, but there are a lot of temples made from Keyaki.

3. Workability

Although it is a heavy and hard wood, it is easy to work with since it is elastic and resistant to breaking, making it ideal for bending.
It takes time to dry out but the lumber will be stable after it dries.