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Designer: Naoto Fukasawa
Photography: Yoneo Kawabe
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"What you get is something akin to the firmness, the relative resilience, of Sanuki udon”.
It was these words uttered by Naoto Fukasawa in conversation that inspired me. He explained in very
easy terms that it wasn’t 100% adherence to the desires of the designer that made for truly good products,
but the incorporation of knowledge and ideas based on the experiences of technical experts. With Naoto
Fukasawa, we enter into the challenge of creating a “decorative product standard”, a “chair that
transcends the Y chair”.
Takeshi Yamanaka
President
Maruni Wood Industry Inc.
I had always wanted to design a good wooden chair. I believed what would be good was one whose
essence seeped into our daily lives as it was used over time. With Northern European plain wood, which
until now has been the world standard for wooden chairs, for example, what is present is the warmth that
one gets from handcrafted objects, rather than “design”. There is a similar kind of artistic crafted element
to Japanese wooden products; with uncoated objects made of Japanese cypress in particular, there is a
subtle, exalted feeling of freshness, one that disallows any kind of impurity. What was aimed at with this
chair and table was an image that was clean and subtle, while still having a human warmth to it.
Designing a wooden chair is not easy. I believe that it is not just about the shape of the chair; it’s
something that is realized with a high degree of craftsmanship and a great deal of experience with respect
to structural ingenuity, where the quality of the wood is assessed and the robustness of the structure is
balanced with lightness in terms of its weight, while further ensuring that it is comfortable to sit on.
My encounter with Maruni translated this belief into reality. Since its beginning in 1928 in Hiroshima,
Maruni, with its slogan of “industrializing craftwork”, has succeeded in its endeavors to utilize the kind
of complicated techniques that had only been possible with handcrafted products with industrial products,
turning out a great deal of high quality wooden furniture.
For its 2008 collection, Maruni is announcing the HIROSHIMA series of dining chairs and tables, which
employs unpainted beech and oak with natural wooden finishes, and the Traditional series, which refines
the Mediterranean series and the Versailles series that became European home furnishing best sellers in
the 1980s.
Naoto Fukasawa
HIROSHIMA
Chairs and tables with simple, subtle structures that highlight the natural wood used, and which have no
restrictions placed on them regarding places in which they are used – it is envisaged that they be used
everywhere. One may choose either beech or oak. The gentle curve from the back along the arm is very
appealing. The roomy seat can be used not only as a dining chair, but as a lounge chair too. The tapering
of the sides of the arms, the seat of the chair and the table accentuate the beauty of the light shining on
their surfaces.
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Maruni
Pioneering the industrial application of craft skills following establishment of the company in
1928。Achieving a status as Japan’s leading brand in the field of classic furniture。The
“nextmaruni” project as a manifestation of the company’s aspiration to return to its original point
of departure
Maruni Collection: Setting New Standards for the Global Market
The “Hiroshima” series was released in 2008 with the aims of looking into what exactly Maruni
Wood Industry should be creating and of trying to throw light on the starting point for the
company’s activities. This new venture was entered into in partnership with the internationally
renowned Japanese product designer Naoto Fukasawa. Our aim was to create furniture that
combines robustness with designs that will remain fresh and vital in a hundred years’ time.
The items released every year on the international market by Maruni Wood Industry are known
as the “Maruni Collection”. Naoto Fukasawa has been playing the key role in creating these
designs, and it was his efforts that have resulted in the birth of the “Hiroshima” series. Fukasawa
has made the following comment about this: “Chairs that have hitherto come to be regarded as
standard internationally have been imbued with that distinctive sense of warmth of the hand-
made that characterizes crafts products rather than emphasizing design qualities. What this
collection is aiming at is the realization of a highly detailed and clean image, while at the same
retaining this sense of human warmth.”
In order to create new standards of the highest quality, there is a need for technology rooted in a
thorough knowledge of wood and furniture production in connection with form, seating comfort,
the combination of robust structure and lightness for ease of handling, and delicate finishing that
makes the most of the superior qualities of wood.
“It isn’t a question of ensuring that every whim of the designer is able to achieve realization. A
perfectly finished product comes into being only when it incorporates knowledge and ideas rooted
in the experience of engineers.”
This is the approach that we all share and which we apply to the joint creation of our products.
The “Hiroshima” series in particular reflects the Japanese aesthetic as applied to wood and the
skills that make it possible for this aesthetic to be brought to life in everyday contexts. Products in
this series therefore have a natural wood finish with almost no paint or varnish.
The “Hiroshima” series presented at the Milan Salone in 2009 attracted a great deal of attention
and is now supplied to 20 countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, Germany,
France, Canada, the United States, and so on. These are products that fuse an international
design sense with Japan’s unique aesthetic as applied to wood and intricate manufacturing skills.
They may thus be thought of as items of furniture projected by Japan into the world and created
in the manner unique to Maruni Wood Industry and, as such, they represent a crystallization of
beauty born out of craft skills.
Since 2010, Maruni Wood Industry has worked with Naoto Fukasawa as art director to take our
first steps toward establishing the Maruni Collection throughout the world as a brand of
distinctively Japanese furniture. Beginning in 2011, we are joined by designer Jasper Morrison as
we strive to elevate the Maruni Collection to even higher recognition.
Maruni Wood Industry will continue to create beautiful Japanese furniture that strikes a chord
amongst people all over the world.
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“您得到是一个硬度和韧度类似于赞岐乌冬面的东西”
在谈话中,深泽直人的这句话启发了我,他解释这些真正的好作品时非常轻松,但知识和思想的积累却是真正的行家。我们制定了“产品标准”,“超越Y椅子的椅子。”
武山总裁
Maruni木业有限公司
我想设计一把好的椅子,能随着时间的推移渗透进我们的生活。北欧的木材成为世界木椅的标准,比如,手工制作的具温暖感的对象是好过“设计”的。日本的木材柏木具有同样的品质,同时这种木材还非常高贵,清新,不带杂质。期望桌椅干净,微妙,具备人性的温暖。设计木椅相当不容易,不止是形状,还有结构,材质,均衡,重量等因素,最后还要坐起来舒适。我与Maruni的相遇促成了这一理念的实现。始于1928年的Maruni凭借其“工业化工艺“的口号,成功实现工业化做出的手工般高贵品质的木质家具。从2008年开始的广岛系列,从餐椅和桌子用的是山毛榉和橡木。其传统系列中的地中海系列和凡尔赛系列是欧洲上世纪80年代最畅销的家居。
深泽直人
广岛系列
简单的座椅具备妙不可言的构架,彰显天然木材的魅力,可以随处使用,能够无处不在。可选山毛榉木或者是橡木。壁背柔和的曲线非常迷人。宽敞的作为不仅仅可以用来当餐椅,还能用来当躺椅。在逐渐变细的扶手处,被光线照耀的表面美不胜收。
Maruni于1928年成立,是日本古典家具品牌中的翘楚。
Maruni辑设定了全球市场的新标准。
广岛系列家具始于2008年,由日本的国际知名设计师深泽直人设计。期望这个家具系列恒久弥新,经典永恒。每年发行的Maruni家具都被成为Maruni辑。深泽直人对其推进起到了不可磨灭的作用。深泽直人说道:“椅子,一直以充满温暖感的独特手工制作为特点,而不是强调设计的工艺产品,这个系列注重于细腻与清晰的形象,同时保留住人类的温暖感。”
广岛系列的家具反映了日本独有的美学,并将其带入日常。产品使用天然木材,不上油漆或者清漆。
广岛系列家具在2009年于米兰展览时,获得了巨大的关注,销往世界上20多个国家。2010年,Naoto Fukasawa担任艺术总监,与深泽直人携手合作打造Maruni辑的鲜明日系家具,2011年,Jasper Morrison加入,以期让其取得更长足的发展。
Maruni辑追求打造引起世界共鸣的美丽日本家具。
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