Workshop
Custom Shoji Screens, Made in New England
The light of a Japanese room — in the house you already have.
Shoji is the most requested piece of Japan we build: sliding paper screens that turn hard glass and harsh sun into soft, even light. Every screen is made in our workshop by Toshio Abiko, using the same shoji paper used in Japan — no substitutes, no kits.
No renovation required. Shoji fits into American homes as they are. We have fitted interior shoji into colonial windows in Cambridge, built multi-panel outdoor privacy screens for a garden, and designed a fully Japanese entryway inside a standard 2×6 American-framed house. You choose the grid pattern from designs Toshio draws for your space — there is always one where the client says, "that's it."
Shoji is practical here, too
A client in Harvard, past 495, had a sunroom that froze every winter — unusable. I suggested shoji over the glass. One layer of paper, and it works like double glazing. He couldn't believe it: 'Paper? That's all it took?' Paper and glass together — that's warmth.
A shoji layer over existing windows softens light, adds privacy without blocking sun, and takes the edge off New England winters — the same reason it has worked in Japanese homes for a thousand years.
Where clients use shoji
- Over existing windows (colonial, ranch, anything — no demolition)
- Sunrooms and three-season porches that get too cold or too bright
- Room dividers and closet doors
- Outdoor privacy screens for gardens, patios, and hot tubs
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