Try reading Toshio Odate's "Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use." (Taunton Press, ISBN 0-918804-19-1). Since Toshio's book was published in 1984, he has become the poster child for Japanese woodworking tools and methods. His book is an excellent education in the way the Japanese work, including his own hard-won experiences in the trades.
I own a handful of Japanese tools: saw, chisels, marking instruments and measuring stuff. All these things are easily adapted to Western ways of working. I haven't used any Japanese planes (they cut as you pull them toward you!) or their ink system of marking wood.
If there's an American Woodworker show near you, you can usually find Toshio there demonstrating traditional methods (i.e. sitting on the floor).


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