Kyo-Tsuchikabe

Hiroyuki Sato was born in 1951 in Kyoto. After graduating high school, Sato began working as a contractor at his family-run construction company, the Sato Plastering and Engineering Firm. Concurrently, Sato enrolled into the College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Japan as a part time undergraduate student.
After graduation, he joined Saikyo Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in Tokyo as an intern where he attained the necessary skills to build clay walls (Tsuchi-kabe), which was commonly found in most Japanese homes. After gaining enough experience, Sato returned to Kyoto where he became a Sukiya style plasterer to construct tea houses by using free architectural design based on decorative alcove.
His has also contributed towards the design and construction of the Kyoto State Guest House, which is a venue for welcoming foreign guests to Japan. In 2008, he obtained his doctorate from the Future Applied Conventional Technology Center at Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan and later was appointed as an adjunct professor at the same institution. His current researches include materials design and engineering for wall applications.

Prof. Hiroyuki Sato

Future-Applied Conventional Center
Kyoto Institute of Technology