Kenta HIRAI combines exceptional design sensibility with high-level designer skills to produce contemporary wooden furniture using local Yoshino cedar* from Nara Prefecture. Almost knot-free, this wood is known for its fine and uniform annual rings and exceptional color, luster, and fragrance.
“I've always had a strong interest in design and am especially passionate about making things by hand.” Years ago as an art university student, “I was obsessed with questioning conventions and stereotypes, and longed to make furniture that changes our mindsets” -- furniture that has not been seen before. Using free-form lamination, an evolving methodology, Hirai can make furniture in unprecedented shapes. Because his process does not use molds, it allows for a more flexible forming methods that exceeds the limitations of molds.
Japanese cedar is generally considered unsuitable for furniture because of its light weight and softness. Taking inspiration from his love of Yoshino cedar, Hirai has successfully employed the technique of layering and crimping many thin veneers of the wood with an adhesive and is able to achieve the strength required in furniture. Finally, he applies “tatara,” a water-repellent ceramic coating developed by fellow JapanCraft21 Craft Leader, Tokunaga Furniture Studio (see 2022 Craft Leaders), which penetrates deep into the wood fibers, and allows the natural expression and beauty of the cedar wood to be preserved, while adding further strength to ordinarily soft cedar.
* There are many varieties of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria Japonica) that grow throughout the archipelago.
