A New Project Where Japanese Tea Culture Intersects with Craftsmanship: 'Wooden Bucket Craftsman Shuji Nakagawa × Antiques & Art Masa Exhibition' Held in Kyoto

Fukujuen Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture) will hold the exhibition 'Accumulating Time, Beautifully - A Bowl of Tea and Memories of Handiwork' by wooden bucket craftsman Shuji Nakagawa and Antiques & Art Masa at 'Art Space Fukujuen' on the 7th floor of the Fukujuen Kyoto Main Store.

Centered on the aesthetic sense nurtured by Japanese tea, this exhibition proposes a 'new beauty of living' where craft and art intersect. While savoring a bowl of tea, we will introduce the layers of time residing in handiwork and the form of beauty cultivated through continuous use, throughout the entire Fukujuen Kyoto Main Store. Being beautiful extends the lifespan of an object; beauty is the reason for continuing to use it for a long time. Both tea and crafts remain because they are beautiful. We invite you to experience with all your senses the passion of those who continue to put this into practice.

Highlights of the Exhibition

Wooden bucket craftsman Shuji Nakagawa, who turns 'Layers of Time' into artwork

Mr. Nakagawa sublimates the process of confronting wood as a material, moving his hands, and making judgments into an artwork as 'layers of time.'

His attitude of fully utilizing the individuality of the material, including large knots and scraps, without wasting anything, is a symbol of 'sustainable handiwork' that passes on the life entrusted by nature to the next generation. - Shuji Nakagawa

Biography Born in Kyoto in 1968, he is a woodcraft artist. After studying under his father, Kiyoshi, a Living National Treasure, he established the Nakagawa Woodcraft Hira Studio in 2003. Based on traditional wooden bucket techniques dating back to the Muromachi period, he expands the possibilities of woodcraft with modern designs, such as collaborations with a global champagne brand and the KI-OKE stool, and became a finalist in the 1st Loewe Craft Prize in 2017. Recently, he has exhibited at the 2025 Chanel exhibition 'la Galerie du 19M Tokyo' and the 'la Galerie du 19M Paris' exhibition in Paris, France, cementing his reputation as a globally recognized craftsman and artist.

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