IZUMO KOGEI｜WOODWORK

Brand

Giving character to simple materials

IZUMO KOGEI

• 1971
• Woodwork
• Akihiko Fujiwara

History

A craft that began with the Unshu abacus

Yokota, Okuizumo, where Izumo Kogei is located, has long been the site of a thriving iron manufacturing industry using traditional foot bellows.

Here, the Izumo “soroban” (abacus), which later became a traditional craft, was born out of necessity for bookkeeping.

However, the popularity of Izumo abacuses declined as calculating technology progressed.

The founder of Izumo Kogei, who was a craftsman of Izumo abacuses, started to produce crafts utilizing the same techniques and established Izumo Kogei Ltd. in 1971.

The company uses the same timber used for the soroban, and all their work is done by hand by skilled craftsmen.

Characteristic

High-quality materials and sophisticated techniques

Izumo Kogei is committed to using only quality lumber and time-tested crafting techniques.

They offer products made from a wide variety of Japanese wood, including old pine, black persimmon, “keyaki” (zelkova), “yakusugi” (cedar), chestnut, oak, and “tochi” (horse chestnut), among others.

Solid wood is susceptible to distortion, warping, and other effects of humidity and temperature, so great effort is taken to deliver beautiful, long-lasting products to their customers.

Izumo Kogei, with the cooperation of the prefectural industrial testing center, has succeeded in virtually eliminating warping through experimentation.

Their skilled craftsmen then use polished techniques to finish these woods into the final product.

Izumo Kogei has just three craftsmen in total.

Although their number is limited, all are incredibly skilled craftsmen who have inherited the skills necessary to produce exemplary products.

Each craftsman gives individuality to the material, each piece possessing a different look and feel, to create a unique piece of functional art.

For Customers

Placing authentic woodcrafts into your hands

Izumo Kogei believes that every step of the manufacturing process is important, from material selection, to design, to finishing.

For this reason, Izumo Kogei will not adopt any system of mass production, preferring instead for a single craftsman to perform each step of the crafting process in a consistent manner.

This method demands a high level of experience and skill from the craftsman but allows Izumo Kogei to create items that can be confidently delivered to their customers.

Please take a look at the quality woodworking products, which are made following a long tradition of refinement.

Producer

Bringing the value of "Japan's hidden talent" to more people

■J Flavor

Bringing smiles to the local community, to the world, and to society.

We, J Flavor, are a craft production group that creates new value by combining the various talents that Japan possesses in terms of tradition, technology, and sensitivity.

We want people all over the world to know the talent that Japan.

Through the value of Japanese products, we aim to create a society where everyone has a smile.