Artisan
Furniture artisan
Michihiro Koga
1972 | Establishes Koten Mokko with his father. In addition to the family business of fittings making, he also begins the production of furniture using Yakushima cedar. |
1986 | Exhibited works at the exhibition in San Francisco in collaboration with five manufacturers from Okawa. The piece introduced was Japanese furniture adopting Okawa kumiko lattice, Arita ware, and Hakata fabric into the furniture made with Yakushima cedar and bamboo. |
2012 | Recognized as Fukuoka’s “Contemporary Master Craftsman” |
2017 | Acknowledged as a “Master in Okawa” |
2018 | Exhibited at Japan Traditional Kogei (Art Crafts) Exhibition in Okayama for 35 consecutive years |
2020 | Continues with company management and creative activities to the present |
- What kind of products are you making?
- We produce made-to-order and ready-made household goods and furniture made from Yakushima cedar. Recently, we create many made-to-order interior items, butsudan (Buddhist altar for home), kamidana (Sninto shrine for home), dining tables sets, etc. meeting customer preferences.
- How did you come to this occupation?
- After graduating from high school, I naturally went into this field to help with the family business.
- What are you particular about in your work?
- To add Japanese style and tradition to products that we create. I keep in mind fulfilling customer desires (functionality, design, etc.) as much as possible in our work.
- What is the good thing about your job?
- We are pleased to have happy customers receiving made-to-order products or purchasing our products.
- What is your dream?
- There has been an increase in imported furniture, and furniture production areas in Japan are decreasing. My greatest joy would be to maintain production areas in Japan and Japan’s traditional crafts, and to hand them down to future generations. I hope to see Okawa revive as a production area.
Name of company | Koten Mokko |
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Location | 73-1 Enokizu, Okawa-shi, Fukuoka 831-0004 |
TEL | +81-944-87-1189 |
HP | https://yakusugi-koten.com/ |