Japan
Ubunji Kidokoro is a Japanese cabinetmaker, active from 1920-1930. He creates original works respecting Japanese tradition and using local resources.
Like Japanese artist and basket weaver Hosai Yokota (1899-1975), Ubunji Kidokoro is a talented bamboo craftsman. He is especially famous for his seats in bamboo designed on the same cantilever model, with slight variations. He delivers a perfect Japanese version of the iconic 1932 armchair by Alvar Aalto (1898-1976), which he inspired of.
These armchairs were wrongly attributed to Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999) during a long time. They are the original versions, the works from which she got inspiration for her own bamboo creations during her first trip to Japan in 1940. However, she helped Ubunji Kidokoro to improve his design and make full use of the material properties. She exhibited this famous Kidokoro’s chair at her major 1941 exhibition, “Tradition, Selection, Creation” at Takashimaya department stores. Ubunji Kidokoro was then in the spotlight.
Mostly designed for the Mitsukoshi department stores, Ubunji Kidokoro’s works reflect the excellence of Japanese craftsmanship, his love to local materials and are as inspired as they are inspiring.
