Tsunekazu Nishioka

Tsunekazu Nishioka was a highly respected miyadaiku (宮大工), a temple and shrine carpenter, and the Tōryō of Japanese Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine buildings. He was a stern teacher, and was given the nickname of oni, for the strictness of his words of guidance to colleagues and apprentices. Nishioka continued the ancient practices of construction and restoration used for historical temple buildings, and contributed to preserving the oldest existing wooden structures in the world. He devoted his life to the repair and restoration of the Buddhist temple buildings at Hōryū-ji, and the restoration of Yakushi-ji, and numerous other temples and pagodas in the region of modern-day Nara Prefecture.