Located on the first floor of Kyoto's Royal Park Hotel, Kochosai Kosuge, a long-established bamboo craft manufacturer founded in 1898, has a storefront so modern it's hard to imagine it dealing in traditional crafts. "The store is designed so that the interior cannot be seen from the outside," says Managing Director Tatsuyuki Kosuge. Near the entrance, everyday items such as chopsticks, lunch boxes, and tea whisks—items that are treasured for everyday use—are lined. Toward the back of the store, you'll find flower baskets, kudzu baskets, and bamboo basket bags, all meticulously crafted by skilled artisans. Each wall is adorned with wall decorations showcasing techniques used in the basket bottoms. Looking around the store, you'll see a truly diverse range of items made from bamboo. In addition to pure bamboo, the colors range from vermilion to black. Kosuge took over the family business 10 years ago. At the time, the company was struggling, and Kosuge decided to take over out of a sense of mission and responsibility that the family business, which had been passed down for over 100 years, should not come to an end. However, he also believed that he could take an approach that was more in line with the times while making the most of the appeal of bamboo.

About five years ago, he collaborated with furniture designer Makoto Koizumi to develop the minotake series. Since then, he has reflected on the teachings passed down by his predecessors and worked to create a brand concept that would inspire a shared passion among the artisans. He created a matrix to determine the customer sensibilities he wanted to attract to his brand, and then developed product plans that fit that image.

In addition, wallets and phone cases that combine the handiwork of Italian leather artisans with bamboo weaving are also items that represent the brand. When Kosuge visited an Italian artisan, the artisan saw the bamboo weaving he had brought with him from Japan and said, "I really want to use this bamboo material." Like leather, bamboo is a material that changes over time. The result is a masterpiece that allows viewers to enjoy the nuances of each material.

At a Taiwanese select shop where Kosuge recently began doing business, Kosuge's bamboo baskets are displayed next to Scandinavian furniture designed by Hans J. Wegner, and the baskets are filled with colorful flowers. It's a modern interpretation that transcends the realm of Japanese aesthetics. People who share this sensibility likely represent the brand's customer base, both in Japan and overseas.

"What we continue to do is pursue the potential of bamboo and enhance its value," Kosuge asserts. Bamboo, believed to have been used since the Jomon period, is a material deeply familiar to the Japanese people. Their mission is to enhance its value.

Kosuge was deeply impressed by the words of Rei Kawakubo, head of COMME des GARÇONS, who said, "To be international, we must be national." Going forward, he will continue to showcase bamboo crafts, created with artisanal skills that fully understand the appeal of bamboo, on the global stage.

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