A dark brown wardrobe that stands quietly and with dignity. A moist wooden spoon that fits comfortably in your hands. The crafts and furniture made around Matsumoto City, Nagano, have a unique beauty that feels familiar and unintrusive. Nagano accounts for the third largest forested area in Japan, with forests occupying 80% of the prefecture’s land. Blessed with its forests and a nicely dry climate, woodworking became popular near Matsumoto Castle’s castle-town from the end of the 16th century, and in the early 20th century, Matsumoto City became one of the largest producer of furniture in Japan.

In the Taisho era (1912-26), the lives of Japanese people became somewhat Westernized, and Western food and clothes gained more popularity among the population. However, the folk craft activist Yanagi Soetsu, found beauty in crafts that had been rooted in people’s lives. Furniture making has declined temporarily due to the turmoil of World War II, but after the war ended, the idea of ​​the folk craft movement, advocating beauty in daily life, was incorporated. In 1953, folk craft activists learned the technique of manufacturing Western chairs from the United Kingdom. Then they made the chair regarded to be a masterpiece of Matsumoto furniture based on the traditional technique handed down. Thanks to the efforts of these folk craft activists, Matsumoto Furniture was designated as one of the Japanese traditional crafts by the ministry of economy trade and industry, in 1974.