Material culture in Japan is distinguished by its heavy reliance on wood in art-making. For over a millennium, the rich biomass heritage of the country has provided a foundation for the work of master carpenters and the emergence of a wide array of remarkable techniques for the wood-related arts. Yukio Lippit, PhD, History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University and Johnson-Kulukundis Family Director of the Arts, Radcliffe Institute will examine how wood selection and the materiality of wood conditioned the development of these arts in a Japanese context. His Monday, March 27 lecture, beginning at 7 pm in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, focuses on timber-frame architecture and how Japan’s culture of building provides a lens into the man-nature relationship; Japanese sculpture and the meanings inherent in the different types of woods employed for the creation of religious statues; and Japanese woodblock printing and the relationship of wood carving to the artistry of Japanese prints. Fee Free for Arboretum members and students, $5 nonmember. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.