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Kobayashi Katsuhisa: A Japanese Woodworker’s Homage to Shaker Design

By:
Ai Kanazawa
August 28, 2012Wood Kobayashi Katsuhisa

Woodwork by Kobayashi Katsuhisa in our shop ->

These beautiful Shaker-style tea boxes are made by Kobayashi Katsuhisa, a woodware and furniture maker from Okayama, Japan.

Shaker-style Tea Boxes in Oak, Red Cherry, and Walnut by Kobayashi Katsuhisa

I met Kobayashi-san at a craft show in Himeji in May. He has been making Shaker-style oval boxes for several years now, and feels that the Shaker design philosophy has truly helped to instill in him the importance of restraint in his creative process.

Kobayashi Katsuhisa
Photo Courtesy of Kobayashi Katsuhisa

The Shakers were the pioneering masters of simple and utilitarian design, which is the heart of mingei as mentioned in our previous blog post. The Shaker creations, including the oval boxes that were first made over 200 years ago, are the very embodiment of their famous tenet that “beauty rests on utility”.

Shaker-style Japanese Tea Set by Kobayashi Katsuhisa
Photo Courtesy of Kobayashi Katsuhisa
Shaker-style Tea Box with Inner Tight Fitting Lid Holding Nutmeg Seeds

Putting “beauty rests on utility” into practice is not easy. Kobayashi-san believes that perhaps the most important aspect that a woodworker needs is the ability to resist the temptation to be individualistic, which too often results in unnecessary form that serves no purpose. These simple yet comfortable chairs that he makes are models of utilitarian beauty.

Beautiful Chairs with Clean Utilitarian Design by Kobayashi Katsuhisa, Taken at Himeji Craft Show in May 2012

Making oval boxes requires much skill and patience. Kobayashi-san faithfully follows the Shaker design from the swallowtail fingers to the copper tacks securing the wood. To him, the Shaker oval box design is a perfect form that should not be altered.

Swallowtail Fingers
Photo Courtesy of Kobayashi Katsuhisa
Bending the Wood by Hand Around the Elliptical Form
Photo Courtesy of Kobayashi Katsuhisa
Securing the Bent Wood with Copper Tacks
Photo Courtesy of Kobayashi Katsuhisa

Meeting Kobayashi-san made me realize that a good design has no boundaries. It speaks a universal language that is understood throughout different generations and cultures on opposite sides of the world. In this sense, the Shaker design is a unique and extremely valuable American cultural treasure and heritage, whose spirit can even be found in the heart and workshop of a quiet and talented Japanese woodworker.

Kobayashi-san’s Shaker-style tea boxes are available at our shop.

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Kobayashi Katsuhisa oak Shaker-style box swallowtail utilitarian walnut 小林克久 cherry Shaker copper tack Gakubutiya

One response on “Kobayashi Katsuhisa: A Japanese Woodworker’s Homage to Shaker Design”

  1. Pingback: Studio KotoKoto | Celebration of Handmade: Visiting the 2013 Matsumoto Craft Fair

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