Osaka Fine Cabinetry

The history of rosewood furniture in Japan goes back to the Nara period (705-794). The government envoys to China of that time returned with exotic and unusual furniture, the likes of which had never been seen in Japan. The rosewood of these pieces became known as 'Chinese wood.' Of course, at that time only a few members of the imperial family were able to enjoy the beauty of the small amount of such furniture imported from China.
In the Edo period (1603-1868), rosewood was imported through the port of Nagasaki and it all was purchased by medicine wholesalers in Osaka, who had a monopoly on this material. With the peace and prosperity of the Edo period, craftsmen increased in number, and Osaka became the main place where rosewood furniture was made. The skills of this craft have been transmitted from generation to generation of Osaka craftsmen, and today's fine rosewood furniture has become a luxurious adjunct for contemporary life. With a history of almost 300 years, Osaka fine cabinetry maintains the beauty and luxury of this long craft lineage, adapted to today's lifestyle.

Once most of the rosewood furniture workshops in Osaka were located in today's Nishinari and Ikuno wards. As solutions to modern urban problems of noise and waste retrieval, the workshops today have moved to various locations--14 in Osaka, 2 in Nara, 1 in Fukui, 1 in Wakayama, 6 in Hyogo Prefecture, and so forth.
We visited the workshop of Designated Master Craftsman Seiji Yoshida in Nara Prefecture. "My father's workshop was in Ikuno Ward in Osaka, and I worked with him there. In 1974, we moved here to Nara Prefecture, where my father was born." Here Mr Yoshida worked together with a young craftsman. "In the past, craftsmen were paid by piecework, not a monthly wage, and they were given work by the master craftsman of the workshop. In my youth, the harder we worked, the more we got paid. Thus, the harder I worked, the more my skill developed. However, today the demand for traditional craft items has decreased, and the chance for young craftspeople to develop their skills by constant hard work has disappeared, I am sorry to say." This problem is common today in today's traditional craft world. Inexpensive imports have supplanted quality traditional objects.