A question deeper than expected
Scientific research often begins with a question you think you understand, until you discover how deep it truly goes. That was the case with our recent study on wood identification applied to traditional Japanese chord instruments.
As wood anatomists, we are constantly decoding the structural language of wood: distinguishing species, understanding growth histories, and reading traces of environmental or human influence under the microscope. Yet even for experienced specialists, identifying wood in real objects using anatomical features remains a challenging task, especially when those objects carry cultural significance, intricate craftsmanship, and centuries of use.
From expert intuition to structured workflows
The idea for this paper grew from conversations with colleagues about WoodScope [1], a structured, multi-scale workflow designed to make anatomical wood identification more systematic and minimally invasive.
Traditionally, wood identification relies either on expert intuition developed over years of practice or on invasive sampling for microscopic analysis. But what happens when we formalise that intuition into a reproducible method, one that others can follow with clarity and confidence?
Where science meets cultural heritage
The opportunity to test this approach came from an unexpected intersection of science and culture: traditional Japanese chord instruments.
These instruments, with their beautifully shaped bodies and carefully selected woods, offered the perfect challenge. They are treasured for their sound and heritage, yet their material history is rarely documented with botanical precision. Could a formalised anatomical workflow reveal not only which species were used, but also how wood structure and craftsmanship interact?
What the multi-scale approach revealed
Applying WoodScope to these instruments was both exciting and humbling. We found that a truly multi-scale approach, combining observations from broad anatomical patterns down to fine-scale cellular features, made species identification more reliable [2].
At the same time, the process highlighted how much hidden information is encoded in these objects: subtle signs of wood selection reflecting ecological origins, acoustic considerations, and cultural preferences.
One key takeaway was that wood identification is not a single act of pattern matching, but a sequence of decisions in which context matters as much as structure. A workflow like WoodScope helps organise those decisions logically, making the process more transparent and less dependent on individual memory or habit.
Why this work matters to me
Behind the scenes, this project reminded me why I became a wood anatomist in the first place. We do not study wood simply to categorise it; we study it to understand histories: ecological, material, and human.
A violin, a koto, a shamisen: each carries a timber story, waiting for the right methods and curiosity to be read.
In the end, this study was as much about building a clear process as it was about testing it. These instruments gave us not only data, but perspective, showing how the languages of science and culture can meet in the grain of a tree, and how structured approaches can help us listen better.
References
[1] Crivellaro, A., Ruffinatto, F., Zöller-Engelhardt, M., Piermattei, A., & Beck, T. (2025). Wood under the lens: Unveiling ancient Egyptian heritage. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 74, 138–147.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2025.06.002
[2] Crivellaro, A., Ruffinatto, F., Piermattei, A., et al. (2026). A multi-scale anatomical wood identification approach applied to traditional Japanese chord instruments. Forests, 17(1), 122.
https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010122