Bringing to life the best work I can do [Renge-so Motomachi Workshop]

Manufacturing
Creating things
Craftsman's Landscape

This issue's location
[Job Title] Furniture Maker
[Artisan Name] Renge-so Motomachi Workshop, Katsuhito Uchida
[Location] Yokohama, Shin-Yamashita

Carefully, thoroughly, and with heartfelt intention.
This section introduces manufacturing sites that utilize handcrafted techniques.
This time, we'll be looking at something that can be used for three generations of a family.
Yokohama furniture. More than 150 years have passed since the opening of Yokohama Port.
Even today, we continue to pass on our techniques and culture, and we manufacture custom-made furniture.
I went to "Renge-so Motomachi Workshop," which repairs furniture.

The history of "Yokohama furniture" began with the repair of Western furniture brought across the sea to Yokohama Port. Japan's woodworking techniques, cultivated over centuries of wood culture, quickly gained a reputation, and soon Japanese craftsmen began producing authentic Western-style furniture. The only workshop that carries on this history of Yokohama furniture, "Renge-so Motomachi Workshop," is lined with high-quality solid wood. "It's not about quantity, but quality. By working with high-grade wood, we believe our craftsmanship improves even further, and we can provide furniture in the best possible condition," says Mr. Uchida. He also adds, "We craftsmen are not artists; our job is to provide the skills to bring our customers' visions to life." Today, in this very place, masterpieces that bring smiles to people's faces are being created through the finest work.

Located in the warehouse district of Shin-Yamashita, just a short distance from Yokohama Port and with the Metropolitan Expressway Kariba Line running overhead, is "Renge-so Motomachi Workshop." Founded in 2001, we visited furniture maker Katsuhito Uchida, who has an unusual background, having originally been a fashion designer.

The spacious workshop, with its high ceilings, is filled with natural, solid wood. As you step inside, you are greeted by cool air and the overwhelming scent of wood.

It was 10:00 a.m., and at the Renge-so Motomachi Workshop, craftsmen were already working with wood, getting to work.

First, let's ask Ms. Uchida about "Yokohama furniture."

Going back in time to the opening of Yokohama Port over 150 years ago, "Western furniture" arrived in Yokohama, carried across the sea by many Westerners. It is said that "Yokohama furniture" began with the repair of the "Western furniture" that these Westerners had brought for their own use. The Westerners were surprised at how well Japanese craftsmen repaired the furniture. It was far superior to what they had in their home countries in terms of precision, speed, and cost. Gradually, the skills of Japanese craftsmen became well-known, and they began not only repairing furniture but also making it themselves.

So, what exactly is "Yokohama furniture"? ... "To be honest, there isn't much difference between Yokohama furniture and other Western-style furniture. Later, furniture making adapted to Japanese specifications began to take place in various parts of Japan, but here in Yokohama, there was no need to change the way it was made. The environment was such that it didn't need to evolve to Japanese specifications. That's because many foreigners lived in the Yamate district, and the furniture was also used by them."

"It might sound bad to say that we haven't evolved, but what I mean is that we had firmly established the best style for making furniture. If I had to answer the question, 'What is Yokohama furniture?', that's what it is. Of course, while we're passing on the techniques, at the Renge-so Motomachi workshop, we're evolving to make furniture that suits the lifestyle of modern people (laughs)."

As Uchida explains, her unusual career story is fascinating. From a young age, she was interested in design, architecture, and interiors, and loved making things. She also loved clothes, and dreamed of presenting her work at Paris Fashion Week, so she became a fashion designer for a major apparel manufacturer. However, after a few years, she began to question the division of labor system unique to large corporations and resigned. While on leave, she was idly watching TV at home when she saw a furniture maker silently planing wood under a bare light bulb, and thought, "That's it!" She decided to "change materials from fabric to wood and express myself." She immediately enrolled in a vocational training school to learn about furniture making and got a job at a furniture store in Motomachi, Yokohama. Surprisingly, the person working in the workshop of that furniture store was the very craftsman she had seen on TV working under the bare light bulb, the one who inspired her to become a furniture maker. "Wow! I was so excited to see that craftsman I'd seen on TV right in front of me. He was like the ace, the cleanup hitter, among all the craftsmen. Naturally, he got good materials and good work. I was so envious of that, and I remember thinking to myself, while silently cutting the wood (saw lumber of the required dimensions and quality from logs or large pieces of timber), that I wanted to become someone like him someday. Back then, there was no one to teach furniture making, so everything was learned by secretly watching and observing how the seniors made things."

"My mentor's place was the warehouse. There were lots of finished products stored there. I even used a crowbar to break down completed furniture to check how it was made (laughs)."

After gaining more than a decade of experience, he established "Renge-so Motomachi Workshop." "I decided to create this workshop with the desire to keep the flame of Yokohama furniture alive and to nurture young talent. I wanted to inherit, revive, and prosper the techniques of Yokohama furniture, which have continued for over 150 years...and also to be a source of nourishment for young craftsmen...with these thoughts in mind, I named the workshop after the lotus flower, which is used to fertilize fields."

When asked what he prioritizes when making or repairing furniture, Mr. Uchida immediately replied: "The customer comes first. I always strive to express my own style within the framework set by the customer. Craftsmen are not artists. It's about accurately understanding the customer's needs and responding to them with all our might. We believe we exist to provide the skills to bring those needs to life. It all boils down to simply creating the best work I can do!"

This is a TV stand eagerly awaiting the day it will be delivered to its customer. It is a work by Mr. Uchida. He focused on a simple design that expresses the gentle wood grain, clean lines, and beauty of solid wood, while adding playful touches such as marquetry and glasswork.

This stool, still under construction, is named "Posture." It's a rocking chair designed for long hours of desk work. The chair was created in response to complaints from staff members who worked at the workshop's desks about shoulder and back pain.

This is a cushioned chair with elegant lines, one of the characteristics of Yokohama furniture. When you cautiously lean back against the ultra-thin backrest, you'll find that it flexes comfortably, meticulously designed to reduce strain on your lower back.

Finally, we asked Mr. Uchida about his future dreams. "...I want to create furniture that transcends borders. Free-spirited furniture that isn't bound by categories like Western or Japanese furniture, and is made with only the customer's happiness in mind. From the port of Yokohama to overseas. Yokohama furniture, which has its roots in furniture that crossed the sea and arrived over 150 years ago, will now cross the sea and become furniture that gently blends into the lives of people in foreign lands... It would be wonderful if it could become something like that."