red craft collection reworks japanese traditional techniques into sculptural domestic objects

Kenta Yoshizawa turns Japanese crafts into contemporary design

Kyoto-based designer Kenta Yoshizawa presents Red Craft (Akai Kogei), a collection that translates traditional Japanese craft techniques and materials into objects for contemporary everyday use. Centered on a vibrant red color palette, the project explores four craft traditions: bamboo fencing, kumihimo braided cord, washi paper, and urushi lacquer, through furniture, lighting, and storage objects.

The collection considers how traditional materials and production methods can be integrated into familiar domestic settings while retaining their craft characteristics. Each piece combines functional use with visible references to its material and manufacturing process, creating a connection between traditional Japanese techniques and contemporary object design.

n shelf | all images by WACOH unless stated otherwise

n shelf, kumino, stickstick, and usahako make up Red Craft series

‘n shelf’ is a leaning shelf based on traditional Japanese bamboo fencing techniques. Through its form, the designer references the n-shaped silhouette of Sodegaki, a traditional type of bamboo screen, adapting the characteristic profile into a freestanding furniture piece. The bamboo is shaped by hand using a gas burner to heat the material before bending it. This process creates the curved sections at the upper and lower ends of the shelf while retaining the flexibility and natural properties of the bamboo. ‘kumino’ is a stool and side table developed around the production process of kumihimo, the traditional Japanese technique of braiding cords. The cords pass through the upper and lower sections of the frame and are weighted at their ends with natural lava stones. The stones reference the tama, or weights, traditionally used in kumihimo production to maintain tension during braiding. The construction makes the braided cords and their tension part of the object’s visible structure.

‘stickstick’ is a lighting object composed of slender metal rods and handmade washi paper. When air movement causes the rods to sway, light from below illuminates the paper elements attached to their ends. The rods are designed to move without maintaining a fixed position, introducing an element of changing movement to the object. The combination of metal structure, handmade paper, and light creates an interaction between material, movement, and illumination. ‘usahako’ is a rabbit-shaped container constructed from washi paper and finished with traditional urushi lacquer. The lacquer coating reinforces the paper structure while producing a smooth, lustrous surface. The object functions as a container for small everyday items and can also be displayed independently on an entryway console, shelf, or other domestic surface.

‘n shelf’ adapts the silhouette of the traditional Sodegaki bamboo screen | n shelf

a vibrant red palette connects the four pieces across the collection | kumino
‘kumino’ combines a stool and side table in a structure inspired by kumihimo | kumino

‘usahako’ takes the form of a rabbit-shaped washi container |usahako

‘stickstick’ combines slender metal rods with handmade washi paper | stickstick

light from below illuminates the washi elements at the ends of the rods | stickstick

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a scene showing the manufacturing of kumihimo

a scene of applying lacquer

the process of heating bamboo over a fire and bending it | image by Kenta Yoshizawa

Kozo used for Inshu Washi | image by Kenta Yoshizawa

project info:

name: Red Craft — JAPAN CRAFT PEACE
designer: Kenta Yoshizawa Studio | @design_k.y
n shelf craftsman/manufacturer: Nagaoka Meichiku

kumino craftsman/manufacturer: Shoen Kumihimo

stickstick paper material: Inshu Washi

usahako lacquer coating: COCOO

photographer: WACOH | @wacoh_, Kenta Yoshizawa