people have experimented with using hinoki for
furniture as it is believed to be too light and too soft.
Oshima, however, quickly decided to make furniture
using only hinoki precisely for those reasons. Youbi’s
Windsor chair, for example, can be easily lifted with
one hand despite its sturdy construction. Because
of the flexibility of the material, Youbi is able to bend
the wood into shapes that would be more difficult
with harder species. ‘It’s also important for us that
we support the local lumber industry,’ says Oshima.
When forced to rebuild the factory after the fire,
it was only natural to look at using local lumber for the
bulk of the construction, too. A friend showed Oshima
a way of using plain sugi cedar beams in a grid structure
that would allow for the wide spans needed for the
large factory area. Oshima was quickly convinced this
method would make a striking statement for the
company. Work started in June 2017 and because funds
were tight, Oshima invited friends to come and help
with the construction. ‘Word quickly spread, and we
even had people showing up that had heard about a fun
project here in Nishiawakura, but otherwise had no
idea of what the project was or who we were,’ Oshima
laughs. In total, more than 400 volunteers helped out,
before the factory reopened earlier this year. Visitors
are welcome, and if you arrive around noon you might
be lucky enough to get invited to the staff lunch. ∂
youbi.meLEFT, THE STAFF DINING
ROOM OVERLOOKS LUSH
RICE PADDY FIELDS
BELOW, THE SHOWROOM,
WITH A PAIR OF ‘HOTARU’
STOOLS AND A SELECTION OF
CHAIRS, ALL MADE OF HINOKI
CYPRESS. ON THE BACK WALL
IS A SERIES OF COLOURFUL
STOOL CUSHIONS MADE
FROM TRADITIONAL JAPANESE
FISHING FLAGS‘One of the staff came
up with the idea of having a
dining room at the centre’
222 ∑
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