Photo/Illutration Masato Yamazaki shapes sheet metal with a hammer at his workplace in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. He is one of the few technical experts allowed to call themselves “takumi” (master) at Suzuki Motor Corp. (Photo by Yuuri Tanimoto)

HAMAMATSU, Shizuoka Prefecture--Seen from a distance, Masato Yamazaki looks like a rock ’n’ roll drummer keeping the beat of a fast-paced song. But a closer look reveals that he is banging sheet metal with a well-used hammer.

His speed and accuracy would impress any percussionist.

Yamazaki, a 56-year-old auto parts maker at leading minicar maker Suzuki Motor Co., strikes the metal three times per second and 10,000 times a day, according to public relations official.

His finely honed skills have earned him the title of “takumi” (master), an honor bestowed on only a few technical experts at the automaker.

In November, he was selected as “gendai no meiko” (contemporary master craftsman) by the government.

His job is to make prototype auto parts by repeatedly hammering sheet metal over an iron tool called “ategane” (dolly), forming a desired shape through the ategane’s curved surface.

If his strike is just 1 millimeter off the targeted point, the sheet metal ends up in a different shape than desired.

“It took me 20 years to be able to hit the right spot with precision,” Yamazaki said.

He uses 20 hammers made of resin, iron and other materials, weighing between 270 and 590 grams. He also hits the material at different strengths.

Yamazaki spends four hours polishing the hammer used in the leveling process because scuffs on his equipment will leave scratches on the product.

“(Hammers) are to me what knives are to a chef,” Yamazaki said.

With more than 30 years of experience as a sheet metal worker, he can detect a 0.01-mm distortion just by touching the outer panel of an auto body. And he can fix dents with ease.

He has been working exclusively for a team responsible for making 3-D re-creations of drawings created by automaker’s design department.

When he was working on a prototype for a minivan, he was struck by how a senior colleague hammered sheet metal to make it look voluminous. Using only hammers, the colleague made the roof 10 centimeters taller than the conventional model.

“It was amazing,” Yamazaki said. “I found it so cool and I wanted to be just like that.”

With the division of labor thoroughly established in the auto industry, it has become standard practice to procure necessary parts in large quantities from pure-play companies.

“Because the speed of development has increased during recent years, it is necessary to have skills to create parts quickly with our own hands,” Yamazaki said.

Prototype cars consistently develop various problems during the assembly and test run stages. If the automaker must place an order for replacement parts with another company to fix the problem, it would take two weeks each time, according to Yamazaki.

Carmakers must produce their own parts to meet tight development schedules.

Yamazaki says his strength lies in in finishing a job in half a day after the design department’s request.

He said he doesn’t have the time to draw up a detailed design, so he visualizes how to process the sheet metal.

After going through many improvements, the prototype will serve as a pre-production car on which a mass-produced model will be based.

“Our client is the design department. It is our job to provide what the client wants as soon as possible,” Yamazaki said.

Yamazaki is currently devoted to passing his skills to younger members of the company. It is not easy to verbally teach them how to fine-control the hammer and perfect other techniques, but he finds it rewarding.

“We humans make things because that’s our instinct,” the master craftsman said. “I want to give them the joy of being able to get things done in the way they want them done in the future, even if they can’t do so right now.”

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