The kijiya woodworkers who make unvarnished wooden bases for bowls belong to an age-old trade in Japan dating back to a time before the early modern period. Rokuro wood lathes used as a tool also have a long history. It is said the kijiya woodworkers lived in mountain areas throughout Japan, moving from one place to another looking for wood, although not every aspect of their migratory lifestyle has been revealed. Shrines in a remote district of Eigenji Town (part of Higashi-omi City today) in Shiga Prefecture maintained nationwide control over the woodworkers since the early Edo period, handing out rolled paper licenses for pursuing the kijiya profession, collecting donations from them, and leading them to adopt the surname of Ogura. The shrines’ practices also added distinctive features to the kijiya history. 　This research aims to highlight the history of the art and migratory lifestyle of the kijiya and focuses on the rokuro wood lathes. Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa where we conducted research are situated far from Omi Province where the supervising shrines were located, so we expected our findings on the kijiya history to be less substantial in these regions. However, documents on four rokuro lathes and materials relating to the regions’ respective local histories revealed that each region had its own unique culture of making wooden bases in response to its geographical setting, contrasting the regions free from Omi control with other Omi-controlled areas. In other words, the research outcomes in the free regions reflect how the process of passing down the kijiya art changed in historical-geographical terms. 　In Shikoku, the kijiya worked from olden times at the foot of Mount Ishizuchi in Ehime Prefecture as well as at the base of Mount Tsurugi in Tokushima Prefecture, which are located at each end of the Shikoku mountain range. However, as the structures of the foot-operated lathes used in Ehime and Tokushima since early modern times are notably different, we concluded that the two areas were not closely related in kijiya genealogy. On the other hand, documents and tradition suggest the kijiya in Tokushima and Ehime were connected with the kijiya in Kuroe, Wakayama Prefecture, and Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, respectively. 　In Kyushu, Gogase Town in Miyazaki Prefecture was the only place where the rokuro lathe could be found, although we were able to confirm that the kijiya had taken two routes in moving from Yamaguchi and Ehime to Kyushu by referring to the records of forced registration as shrine parishioners and local history books. We also found traces of forced registration as far south as the southern part of Kumamoto Prefecture, but the practice did not cross the border with Kagoshima Prefecture. 　In Okinawa, we conducted research on the one foot-operated rokuro. Notable was how the kijiya art had been handed down. In Omi, the kijiya art was carried on in families for generations, while anyone choosing to learn wood turning skills could become a woodworker in Okinawa. In other words, in the areas not controlled by Omi, the kijiya art was no longer the property of individuals from privileged families, but was available to anyone without restriction.