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2009 Records of Workshop and House Construction ① Until Construction Begins - Part 2 "Searching for a Workshop"

May 6
3 min read

Building a furniture store Building a house

Building a House ① Until Construction Begins

①-2 Searching for a factory

Building a House ① Until Construction Begins
Monday, March 30, 2009

I'm going to start a furniture shop. Asakura Woodworking.

A factory is necessary to make furniture.

First, we need to find a location.

Internet, magazines, real estate agents, etc.

We gather information by all means,

I narrowed my focus and headed to the scene.

There is often a significant gap between the information provided beforehand and the actual product.

There's a reason why some properties are more expensive.

There seems to be a reason why some properties are cheaper. That's obvious.

Finding an apartment in Kyoto while living and working in Tokyo is very difficult.

But this process is really fun.

Summer 2008

Posted by Kyoto Sumiyama Asakura Mokkou

Posted on March 30, 2009

(This article is a repost of an original blog post from when the site first opened, for data storage purposes.)

At a recent gathering to commemorate my mentor, Professor Ryosaku Takeda, I heard from his wife about her bitter experience of losing all of her past blog posts. This is an attempt to transfer data from my old blog to a new one. I'll proceed with the work little by little, remembering my original intentions. (Kyoto Sumiyama Asakura Woodworking, Asakura Reina)

(Added in 2026)

1. Wooden Spaces 2009 - Self-built workshop, home, and showroom

"Furniture where you can see the makers and workshops" house ""

1. Construction began in April 2009 and was completed in November 2009. Conventional construction method.

A building constructed using timber sourced from Kyoto Prefecture. The exterior walls are clad in cedar clapboard.

Master carpenter Koji Nomura and Grand Master Yasuyuki Nomura, both skilled in hand-carving.

I spent a month commuting to the workshop in Kyoto and worked alongside them until the roof was completed.

Design: Yoshitomo Koga of KOGA Architectural Design Office.

The lumber is from Mr. Nakagawa of Kyoto Hanase Sawmill.

I received help from many other people as well.

For the foundation, we had the master craftsman come over, and the three of us (Toru Asakura, Rena, and my father) tied together all the intersecting sections at 200mm intervals, which gave us a lot of experiences we wouldn't normally get to have.

By showing you furniture that has been well-used in my home, I aim to create a space where you can imagine what it's like to live with wooden furniture.

(This showroom is currently available by appointment only.)

Old blog of the Self-Build Workshop →