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Hand
The Japanese word te (can be read as shu or zu when combined with other characters) denotes a part of the body of the human being or a quadrupedal animal&sbquo and can mean either the entire upper limb or only the region from the wrist to fingertips. The system of nerves in the human hand is markedly superior in functionality and performance to that of anthropoid apes and other higher primates. Therefore&sbquo as such expressions as tewaza or shugi (both meaning "skill with the hands")&sbquo shugei(handicraft)&sbquojouzu (be good at) and udega ii(be skilled in) suggest&sbquo the word not only denotes a part of the body but also has become a cultural term. It is now even used to express methods&sbquo techniques and strategies&sbquo as in shuho(technical method)&sbquoshudan(means)&sbquotema(labor)&sbquotekazu(trouble) and teren-tekuda(highly skillful). In design&sbquo the significance of te should be considered naturally through its relationship with its cultural meaning&sbquo such as shuho and shugi&sbquo and even more so with its comprehensive meaning. For specific design techniques in particular&sbquo their relationship with the hand as a locomotory organ cannot be ignored. For design&sbquo the hand first provides cognitive perception of forms through hand drawn sketches and tactile sensation&sbquo and then it is used to see how far that perception can be reproduced through imagination and recomposed tactually in our senses. In today's environment of design work&sbquo the techniques and means of using the hand are disappearing due to the adoption of the computer. This is a grave issue&sbquo and cases in which this has affected the design results negatively are not few. Also among the objects of design themselves there are drastically fewer items that require the use of the hands. For the human being&sbquo the meaning of te has gone beyond a mere organic function and has led to something that creates culture. What realize that creation are the means and techniques of design.