The folk art lifestyle that was envisioned together has been revived after 40 years
Genichiro Inokuma, an artist and close friend of the founder of Gekkoso, was the one who persuaded him to return to Tokyo as soon as possible from his evacuation site in Unazuki, and also suggested that he open a store in Ginza after the war.
I worked with Inokuma on many Gekkoso products, including sketchbooks and postcards that have won the Good Design Award. One of these was a self-assembly dining table set made of solid wood. I still remember the many letters we exchanged to discuss the details of the design and the repeated prototypes.
This piece, which can truly be called a testament to the friendship between the two men, is being reproduced for the first time in 40 years in Kagawa Prefecture, where Inokuma was born. It was manufactured by Nakamuratani, a furniture specialty store with over 170 years of history in Kagawa Prefecture.
Inokuma says, "Furniture is alive. It lives each day seeking people's love." "Some are like our really good friends, like lovers." To Inokuma, chairs, tables, and all other things were living things with life, just like people.
The distinctive chair design is called a ladder back chair. Shoji Hamada, a ceramic artist who also contributed to the Mingei movement, encountered a ladder back chair made of raw wood by handcraft in a village in southern Spain, and was so impressed by the workmanship and beautiful shape that he imported it to Japan. The design that excited intellectuals of the time across the ocean is now marking a new era after about 60 years.
■Features Unusually for Inokuma Genichiro's furniture designs, this has a simple and indigenous appearance that draws on the flow of folk art. The table top and seat of the chair are set low, in keeping with the Japanese national character that prefers a low line of sight, close to the ground.
▶Usually the outside of the wood, with fewer knots, is used as the surface, but we deliberately turn the inside of the wood to show off the knots.
▶The seats of the chairs are made from wood cut randomly so that each chair has its own unique character, even though they have the same shape.
▶The right and left drawers of the table are cut from the same spot, allowing you to enjoy the beautiful flow of the wood grain.
■Table size: W1214mm×D988mm×H642mm (before assembly W1214mm×D988mm×H210mm)
Chair: W395mm x D405mm x H1085mm (SH372mm)
Material of table: Hinoki (Japanese cypress)
Chair: Chestnut
Price table (1 unit): 656,700 yen (tax included)
Chair (1 piece): 259,600 yen (tax included)
Set (1 table + 4 chairs): 1,695,100 yen (tax included)
*We also accept orders for tables and chairs individually.
