Defying Convention: A New Horizon for Wooden Buckets

You're active not only in traditional crafts but in many other fields. Could you tell us what sparked this and how it came about?

I established my own studio at the foot of the Hira Mountains in Shiga Prefecture in 2003. After going independent, I was quietly carrying on the cooperage trade, but a major turning point was just around the corner. In 2008, the head of Link up, Inc.—a company that develops products by merging Kyoto's traditional industries with international brands—happened to own one of my buckets. This led to a proposal to create an unprecedented type of wooden bucket.

In my quest for a sharp silhouette that would shatter the conventional image of a wooden bucket, I started by making one with a steep curve. When I pushed the curve to its sharpest angle, I almost gave up, convinced it would be impossible to fit the hoops. But then, inspiration struck: a design with a gentle curve up to where the hoops would sit, with only the upper section near the rim tapering to a sharp point. For two years, I redrafted the blueprints and wielded my chisels and planes (Kanna), creating prototype after prototype. Finally, after a long process of trial and error, the "Konoha" wooden bucket—with its rim pointed like a rugby ball—was born. And in 2010, it was adopted as the official cooler for a luxury French champagne brand.

We use Bishu cypress over 200 years old for Konoha. The perfectly straight grain, known as Masame, can only be sourced from the heartwood of ancient trees. The wood's straw-like fibers swell with water, creating a natural watertight seal. Furthermore, by using the principle of leverage, even the upper, hoop-less section tightens securely.

As Konoha began appearing in sophisticated bars and hotel lounges, it started to capture the attention of a demographic that had never given wooden buckets a second thought. By breaking free from the preconceived notion of a simple cylinder with a round bottom and infusing traditional techniques with modern design, we opened up a whole new market. It was a moment that revealed the vast new possibilities for wooden buckets.