MoonRounds Takashi Watanabecoming soon
Takashi Watanabe
1978 Born in Osaka
2001 Studied in England
After returning to Japan, studied woodworking in Osaka and Gifu
2017 Moved to Kawakami village, Nara prefecture
2018 Established MoonRounds, a woodworking furniture workshop
We set up our workshop in Kawakami village, which is convenient for transportation from the city center.
"We live in the mountains and use local materials to make our products.
We live in the mountains and use local materials.
In the midst of taking on new challenges in the face of the local community
The vessels made from precious hardwoods, which are not generally available in the market
As each piece is unique, the process of carving involves encounters and discoveries with the material.
In the process of carving, he encounters and discovers the material and forms it into an attractive shape.
Watanabe's dialogue with the wood transforms the piece into something fascinating.
Even if the shape is the same, it is unique due to the nature of the wood.
Please be aware of this before making your selection.
The Yoshino Hinoki is a relatively stable piece.
＜Nara Yoshino District, Kawakami Village
In the Muromachi period (1333-1573), the increasing demand for timber led the forefathers of Kawakami village to plant trees in the mountains and fields, and they started forestry alongside farming. There is academic evidence that Germany is the oldest man-made forestry in the world, but in Japan, around 1500, this is the origin of the "oldest forested area in Japan, Kawakami village, Yoshino forestry", which is recorded in books. There are many theories as to the origin of the seedlings: some say they are seedlings from natural forests, some say they are cedar seedlings from the Koya cedar brought by Koya Sei, and some say they are Kasuga cedars from Kasuga Taisha.
However, it is clear that Yoshino forestry started in Kawakami village and has a proven history of 500 years.
In the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867), as the culture of the townspeople matured, the production of tarumaru spread in earnest in the Kawakami and Yoshino areas. Tarumaru was used to make soy sauce barrels, miso barrels and other types of barrels, and demand for this product grew rapidly. In particular, because water leaks from barrels with knots, the region has developed its own methods of reforestation to produce "knotless" wood with few knots, and dense wood with an almost constant annual ring width. "This method is similar to raising children or grandchildren, and in Kawakami Village, it is called "Natsuiku", meaning "caressing".
The attractive features of Yoshino lumber (Yoshino cedar and Yoshino cypress) grown in Kawakami are that it is straight, perfect, has very few knots, and has excellent grain and colour. These characteristics are due to the unique Yoshino practice of "dense planting, heavy thinning and long harvesting periods", which was established due to the demand for barrels from the sake brewing industry and the unique forestry system known as the Yamamori system. In the Yamamori system, the villagers are entrusted by the owner of the mountain with all the work of caring for the trees, felling and removing them. It is this system, together with the skills developed in Kawakami Village and the abundance of nature, that has nurtured the quality of Yoshino timber, which is renowned for its excellence. (From the Yoshino Kawakami Company)
1978 Born in Osaka
2001 Studied in England
After returning to Japan, studied woodworking in Osaka and Gifu
2017 Moved to Kawakami village, Nara prefecture
2018 Established MoonRounds, a woodworking furniture workshop
We set up our workshop in Kawakami village, which is convenient for transportation from the city center.
"We live in the mountains and use local materials to make our products.
We live in the mountains and use local materials.
In the midst of taking on new challenges in the face of the local community
The vessels made from precious hardwoods, which are not generally available in the market
As each piece is unique, the process of carving involves encounters and discoveries with the material.
In the process of carving, he encounters and discovers the material and forms it into an attractive shape.
Watanabe's dialogue with the wood transforms the piece into something fascinating.
Even if the shape is the same, it is unique due to the nature of the wood.
Please be aware of this before making your selection.
The Yoshino Hinoki is a relatively stable piece.
＜Nara Yoshino District, Kawakami Village
In the Muromachi period (1333-1573), the increasing demand for timber led the forefathers of Kawakami village to plant trees in the mountains and fields, and they started forestry alongside farming. There is academic evidence that Germany is the oldest man-made forestry in the world, but in Japan, around 1500, this is the origin of the "oldest forested area in Japan, Kawakami village, Yoshino forestry", which is recorded in books. There are many theories as to the origin of the seedlings: some say they are seedlings from natural forests, some say they are cedar seedlings from the Koya cedar brought by Koya Sei, and some say they are Kasuga cedars from Kasuga Taisha.
However, it is clear that Yoshino forestry started in Kawakami village and has a proven history of 500 years.
In the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867), as the culture of the townspeople matured, the production of tarumaru spread in earnest in the Kawakami and Yoshino areas. Tarumaru was used to make soy sauce barrels, miso barrels and other types of barrels, and demand for this product grew rapidly. In particular, because water leaks from barrels with knots, the region has developed its own methods of reforestation to produce "knotless" wood with few knots, and dense wood with an almost constant annual ring width. "This method is similar to raising children or grandchildren, and in Kawakami Village, it is called "Natsuiku", meaning "caressing".
The attractive features of Yoshino lumber (Yoshino cedar and Yoshino cypress) grown in Kawakami are that it is straight, perfect, has very few knots, and has excellent grain and colour. These characteristics are due to the unique Yoshino practice of "dense planting, heavy thinning and long harvesting periods", which was established due to the demand for barrels from the sake brewing industry and the unique forestry system known as the Yamamori system. In the Yamamori system, the villagers are entrusted by the owner of the mountain with all the work of caring for the trees, felling and removing them. It is this system, together with the skills developed in Kawakami Village and the abundance of nature, that has nurtured the quality of Yoshino timber, which is renowned for its excellence. (From the Yoshino Kawakami Company)
