Objects Made to Last

Hanada: Was your decision to pursue your current work influenced by your father, who is a woodworker?

Takaaki Inui: Since I was born into an environment where a scroll saw was always close at hand, I do think there was some influence. But rather than simply wanting to work with wood, I had a stronger desire to create things that could be used for a long time.

Originally, though, I was interested in design and advertising, so I enrolled in the design department of an art university. However, after entering university, I began to see the abundance of design in the city as something “disposable.” For example, people replace their smartphones one after another.
Feeling uncomfortable about advertising such products led me toward creating “things that can be used for a long time.”

In Germany

Hanada: You also studied abroad in Germany during university. Were you studying design there?

Takaaki Inui: At the time, I was very interested in photography, so I studied photography.

Hanada: You were honest about pursuing what you wanted to do (laughs).

Takaaki Inui: Still, without knowing German, it was difficult to understand the classes.

Hanada: So you went without speaking German? That was brave.

Takaaki Inui: Well, with photography, you can take the pictures yourself, develop them yourself, and create your own photo book.

Naomi Inui: At first, he didn’t even have a place to live. He went to study abroad but had nowhere to stay (laughs).

Hanada: You didn’t secure housing before you left?

Takaaki Inui: If I could have, I would have (laughs). But there were truly no vacancies in Munich, so I stayed in a youth hostel for about three months.
After that, I finally found a place and went to view it. It was like an attic room, but the old handrail on the staircase was wonderful. That gentle feeling unique to wood that has been used for a long time…

Hanada: You couldn’t find a place to live, yet you were delighted by the handrail (laughs). In any case, you were clearly inspired wherever you went.

Takaaki Inui: Even the wooden church doors had iron fastenings that had rusted beautifully. Such things blended naturally into the scenery.
I often went to flea markets, where even old hangers were for sale. They had developed a rich sheen.

Hanada: And that’s why you make hangers. Most people don’t make them.

Naomi Inui: There isn’t much demand (laughs).

Takaaki Inui: The first thing I made after becoming independent was a hanger. Hangers in various shapes… They didn’t sell at all (laughs).

Hanada: (laughs) I’m sorry for laughing. But they’re selling now, aren’t they?

Takaaki Inui: Yes, surprisingly, they are selling now.

Naomi Inui: Perhaps it’s good that we simply do what we want to do, regardless of whether it sells or not.

Takaaki Inui: Even when we held exhibitions, it wasn’t as if many customers would come. That situation continued for a long time.
Even so, we were allowed to keep making what we truly wanted to make from the very beginning. Recently, after speaking with other artists, I finally realized how self-indulgent we had been (laughs).

“Koku -枯白-”

Hanada: The name “Koku -枯白-” is striking.

Takaaki Inui: “Wither(枯)” suggests the beauty that comes with weathering.

Naomi Inui: When we looked it up, we found it can also mean “what remains after being pared down.” We felt that meaning was close to what we want to express.

Takaaki Inui: “White(白)” can mean “the beginning of things” or “blank,” which fit well for us.

Planning and the Unplanned

Hanada: For Koku, your collaboration is also an important element.

Naomi Inui: I think he is the type who starts with an image or plan and works steadily toward it.

Takaaki Inui: I studied design, but Nao studied sculpture, so she has long focused on creating singular works.　I think her strength lies more in creating from a place of emotion and inspiration.

Naomi Inui: Perhaps it’s about “something born out of the unplanned.” I feel happiest when I encounter something I did not intend, and perhaps I work in order to encounter that. That cannot be planned.

Takaaki Inui: No, it can’t (laughs).

Naomi Inui: He asks me, “When will that be finished?” And I answer, “I don’t know” (laughs).

Hanada: It’s wonderful how each of your individual qualities is brought together under the name Koku.

Naomi Inui: I think Koku emerges as we come together, without leaning too far toward either of our individual styles. When we talk things through, we eventually arrive at the same conclusion, and that gives us reassurance.

Takaaki Inui: The other day, I realized she had made something like a small iron bottle. When I asked her about it, she herself wasn’t even sure whether it was a product or not.

As It Is

Hanada: Through your craftsmanship, what is it that you hope to convey?

Takaaki Inui: We have always wanted to create things that excite us. And we want to share feelings such as “This is beautiful” or “This is interesting” with our customers.

Naomi Inui: There was also a time when something we created in response to a customer’s words felt as if it had “opened a new door” for us.

Takaaki Inui: Rather than trying to make wood look stylish, we want to show it as it is. Even wood that has turned pale, or begun to decay, or even timber lying around at a lumberyard can look incredibly beautiful to us.

Naomi Inui: Sometimes simply bringing focus to something is enough in itself, and perhaps we enjoy that. If we feel it is beautiful as it is, then it doesn’t need our intervention.

Bringing the Forest Indoors

Hanada: The range of things you create is broad. You make cutting boards, hangers, and furniture.

Takaaki Inui: From the beginning, we wanted to create all the everyday items around us through our own perspective.

Hanada: And then you even built your own house. It seems that new ideas might emerge from that as well.

Takaaki Inui: We think about what kind of furniture we would want to use in this house.

Hanada: Was there a particular theme behind the design of this house?

Takaaki Inui: Perhaps it is about feeling nature directly. In the past, houses were built entirely from natural materials, almost as if people were living as an extension of the forest.
People can feel healed and healthier when they are in nature. We wanted to move closer to that again.

Naomi Inui: This house also has an experimental aspect.

Takaaki Inui: For example, using whole logs like that is not something you would normally do in a standard house. It feels as if we have brought the forest directly indoors.
The exterior walls are left unpainted. Many people told us we should not leave them untreated, but we met an architect who said it would be fine, and so we were able to realize it.
The window frames are also unpainted, so we will see how they withstand the rain. They are probably fine, but the answer will come with time.

Naomi Inui: We say, “If it doesn’t work, we’ll fix it” (laughs).

Looking Ahead

Hanada: What would you like to pursue from here on?

Takaaki Inui: Last year, with the relocation, we were thinking almost entirely about architecture. Now, the stage is finally set again for making things.

Hanada: Perhaps it was good to step away for about a year.

Takaaki Inui: It felt like being in the “Hyperbolic Time Chamber” from Dragon Ball (laughs). Because we were in a different mode, we feel refreshed and full of motivation to create again.

Hanada: A word about the upcoming exhibition, please.

Takaaki Inui: We plan to show our shelves as well. We are also making a small leather-covered tissue box in a new size.

Hanada: Thank you very much. We look forward to it.

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