No. 01
長野県 · Nagano
木曽 — Kiso
Sawyers, wood preservers, hinoki and sawara specialists. The studio's primary source of structural and joinery timber for residential commissions in the Kantō and Chūbu regions.
Eleven collaborating artisans.
Principle
A curated body, not a vendor database.
The 84 craftspeople who collaborate with Sōka Fusasara are not a roster of suppliers. They are a curated body of practitioners, many third or fourth generation, selected over fifteen years for the precision of their hand, the integrity of their materials, and a quiet willingness to be questioned by the studio on matters of proportion, joinery, and finish. They are the reason a Sōka Fusasara interior ages rather than merely wears.
The network spans twelve prefectures — from the cedar forests of Kiso in Nagano to the tanners of Himeji in Hyōgo, from the paper makers of Mino in Gifu to the metalsmiths of Takaoka in Toyama. This geography is not incidental. It is a deliberate commitment to source materials and labor within a two-hundred-kilometer radius of each project site, an ethic we have held since the studio's founding in 2009. We work close to the wood, the clay, the silk, and the hands that shape them.
Among them, nine are recognised as holders of Intangible Cultural Properties — the designation the Japanese government reserves for those whose craft is deemed essential to the living heritage of the nation. The studio has worked with each of them across multiple commissions, and several have produced limited pieces exclusively for our projects.
Twelve Prefectures, Eighty-Four Hands
A directory of places and the practices they keep.
Each prefecture is a chapter in the studio's working geography. Below, four are documented in detail; the remaining eight are listed with their principal crafts and are introduced in full at the studio's Aoyama and Gion ateliers during consultation.
- 岩手Iwate — Nambu ironwork, lacquerware
- 新潟Niigata — Echigo tsumugi, metalwork
- 石川Ishikawa — Kaga yuzen, Kutani ware
- 静岡Shizuoka — Suruga lacquer, tea ware
- 愛知Aichi — Arimatsu shibori, Seto ceramics
- 三重Mie — Ise katagami, Banko ware
- 滋賀Shiga — Shigaraki ware, textile finishing
- 兵庫Hyōgo — Himeji leather, Banshu soroban
人間国宝 — Nine Collaborators
Among the eighty-four, nine are recognised as holders of Intangible Cultural Properties.
No other interior design studio in Japan maintains working relationships of this depth with holders of the 人間国宝 designation. Below, four are introduced in detail; the remaining five are presented at consultation under discretion agreements with their studios. Their inclusion in any commission is arranged on a project-by-project basis.
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01
Lacquerware — 漆芸
Wajima, Ishikawa
Holder of the designation since 2008. The studio has commissioned bespoke urushi finishes for seventeen residences, including two dining halls for private clients in Tokyo.
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02
Textile Dyeing — 染色
Kyoto
Holder of the designation since 2012. Collaborates on sliding-panel textiles and upholstery for the studio's tea-room and residential commissions.
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03
Ceramics — 陶芸
Tokoname, Aichi
Holder of the designation since 2015. Produced limited-edition tea ware for the studio's 2019 Good Design Gold Award–recognised commission.
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04
Wood Joinery — 指物
Hida, Gifu
Holder of the designation since 2018. The studio's principal collaborator for sashimono construction in eleven residential commissions since 2019.
Five additional 人間国宝 collaborators work with the studio under terms of confidentiality. Their participation in any given commission is discussed in person at the studio's Aoyama or Gion atelier.
A Beginning
Begin a conversation about a commissioned project.
Each year, Sōka Fusasara accepts eighteen new residential commissions. The studio maintains a four-and-a-half-month waitlist, and average project lead time is eleven months. A consultation is the first step — a quiet, unhurried conversation about a site, a programme, and the craftspeople who might shape it. There is no charge, and no obligation.
- Ateliers
- Aoyama, Tokyo — Gion, Kyoto
- Telephone
- +81 3-6435-0217
- Correspondence
- [email protected]