Japan House LA: Hida Woodworking

Designed by Ibuki Kaiyama kinoe Japanese Cedar Japanese Cypress

Designed and made by Ibuki Kaiyama Branch Spoons Various local Japanese woods

The top rail of this chair is made from a tree branch, revealing the wood’s natural shapes and textures. This furniture design highlights the possibilities of using Japanese Cedar and Japanese Cypress in their entirety, without waste, including branches.

Designed by Hisae Igarashi AWASE Beech This Beech wood furniture series, based on a traditional Windsor chair design, aims to create a simple, cheerful impression. The seat plate can be easily removed to change the fabric covering. JAPAN HOU SE LOS ANGELES 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA (800) 516-0565 Japan House continues HIDA: A Woodwork Tradition in the Making, thru Apr. 12. This exhibit explores the woodworking heritage of the Japanese town of Hida in Gifu Prefecture and the work of century-old furniture manufacturer Hida Sangyo Co., Ltd. Among the works on display are a chair designed by the late Sori Yanagi utilizing wood-bending techniques, branch spoons created by Ibuki Kaiyama utilizing a traditional chiseling technique, and examples of the Hida Sangyo’s revolutionary wood compression techniques that have transformed Japan’s softwood Cedar trees into a more durable material for use in furnituremaking (see below). Designed by Sori Yanagi Yanagi Arm Chair Compressed Japanese cedar In the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

All three chairs are manufactured by Hida Sangyo Co., Ltd.

Hida Sangyo and the late Sori Yanagi collaborated on the realization of original furniture designs that previous manufacturers were unable to fabricate efficiently. This lead to the development of new designs using an innovative bending and compression technology.