The Nakagawa Mokkougei is a traditional Japanese woodwork of cooper which consists of pails, buckets and other wooden items. The process is a 700 some year old technique that uses strips of wood arranged in circular form, then bound together either by a metal ring or bamboo piece. In honor of this long-lived craft a beautiful rendition by Nendo presents oke cup / oke carafe / uneven-oke bucket in October at Tokyo Design Week. Their new design observes a curved bottom which fits in your hand quite nicely. They are made of either traditionally used Japanese cypress (hinoki) or Jindai Cedar, which is a rare wood that reveals a dark color from being buried in the earth for more than 2,000 years. Like a band of glory, the metal ring glistens from being sandblasted to a matte texture followed by a coat of powdered paint.
Photographs © Akihiro Yoshida
