Boxes and containers made of kiri (paulownia wood) are known for their ability to protect their contents from moisture while also being lightweight. The smooth texture of the wood is also an attractive element. Matsuda Kiribako is a company in Kasukabe, Saitama prefecture, which has been making kiri boxes for over one hundred years. This week, PingMag MAKE spoke to thirty-one year old company president Katsunari Matsuda about his unique vision for the company and the evolution of kiri wood products.
Interviewed by Hiroko Torigoe
Translated by Claire Tanaka
You took over the company at just 28 years of age! Were you uneasy about taking on such responsibility?
Of course I was worried. I took over the company when my father died, and there was a lot I didn’t know. In particular, my father had been doing all the communication with customers, so the first thing I had to do was to send a letter or an e-mail to each customer saying “I’m still very young but I hope we can continue to do business” and introduce myself to everyone.
Were you worried at all about the manufacturing end of things?
I’ve always been making things since I was very young, so I wasn’t worried about that at all. The things I didn’t learn from my father, I can learn from the kiri box guild members. Of all the people in the guild, I’m the youngest. The oldest is 80 years old. I go drinking with him and he teaches me about his techniques for making kiri boxes, and I adopt some of his techniques for making my own.
Everyone seems to be supporting you. Tell me, had you been planning to become a kiri wood craftsman ever since you were young?
Yes. I’ve felt that way for as long as I can remember. I suppose I was brainwashed (laughs). When I look at my yearbook from kindergarten, everyone wrote that they wanted to be a superhero like Solar Squadron Sun Vulcan or something when they grew up, but I wrote that I wanted to be a kiri box maker. I guess there just wasn’t anything else that I wanted to do (laughs). When I had time off school, I was always helping out in the workshop.
When you became company president, did you have some kind of vision for the company that was different from the previous generation?
Yes. I wanted to be able to train craftsmen from scratch. The previous president always wanted to do everything himself, and he was the kind of person to take on all the difficult jobs alone. So he only gave simple jobs to the workers, and didn’t allow them to become true craftsmen. I’d like to do the opposite and give the difficult jobs to the workers. I think it’s better to get everyone’s opinions while making something new rather than try to come up with it all by myself. They may make mistakes, but I’m not too hard on them.
Not too hard on people making mistakes, what a generous company! So what exactly are you doing to train people?
Now, what I do is when our work is done, I tell the young workers, “Here are some leftover materials, try making whatever you like.” And I get them to make things. Everyone tries really hard to make something good, everyone. They have lots of ideas, and they all have their own sense. I am in the role of helping to extract those ideas and senses, and I think that we can make good things this way while keeping up people’s motivation at the same time. If we do it this way, I think our company will be alright.
The arrow case born from a staff member’s idea
What a free environment at the company. Do people make quite unique items?
Yes. One person’s idea became a new product. The kiri arrow case. There’s a staff member who practices archery, and he built something he felt he’d be able to use himself. The final product was pretty interesting, and we figured there would be a demand, so we put it up on our website. It’s become quite popular. He said he really shows it off at archery tournaments (laughs)
Other than the arrow case, you’ve got a lot of other unique products. How do you get the inspiration for your work?
In my case, I get hit when I first open my eyes in the morning. When I wake up, and I’m just sitting there staring into space and thinking, an image will come to me and take shape. When that happens, I have to get working right away. There I’ll be at five in the morning, all excited and heading off to the workshop to get down to business. Normally, I don’t get new ideas while I’m working, but they’re in my subconscious mind, and when I’m just floating, that’s when the ideas just naturally come out.
That’s interesting. Now, your products are sold at pretty affordable prices, aren’t they?
Yes. That’s one of our features. Normally, by the time the products get to the end consumer, the price has gone up many-fold. The distributors ask the manufacturers to supply it at as low a price as possible, but in the end, the customer is charged a high price. I’ve always felt a little dissatisfied with that. I thought it would be ideal if we could provide the best quality at the lowest price through direct sales.
Is there anything in particular you do to promote the development of good ideas?
We put value in what the customer says. Sometimes we’ll get a totally unreasonable demand from a customer. In particular, designers will order things with unusual shapes and impossible angles (laughs). But that’s where we get new ideas for how to make things, so we try not to say no when people give us difficult orders. We use our techniques and ideas to get results.
A business card case with a light, modern design
A hinge that doesn’t use any screws
How does the customer react when the product is ready?
They’re quite surprised (laughs). In the case of the business card case, we were asked to attach a hinge, but kiri is quite a soft wood and it won’t hold a screw. So we made a hinge that didn’t require the insertion of a screw. Also, we were asked to include a magnet so that the case would stay closed, and we managed to incorporate the magnet in such a way that it was hidden from the eye, and the designer was really surprised.
This rice bin protects its contents from moisture
Beautiful white, sleek kiri wood
What makes you happiest in your work as a manufacturer?
That would have to be when people are pleased with the work, and times like the story I just told you when we manage to surprise people (laughs). One time, we received a complaint from a customer who had bought one of our rice storage bins. It was after the three year warranty period had expired, so the staff weren’t sure how to deal with the complaint. Then, we were contacted by telephone and e-mail with complaints from the customer’s son and daughter. So we had them send us the broken rice bin. When it arrived, we could see that it had a lot of wear, and we wouldn’t be able to repair it, so we sent a new one in replacement, and they were really pleased. We got a letter of thanks from the son, the daughter, and the mother, and that made us really happy. If we deal with customers sincerely, then that sincerity will come across to them. That’s something I’ve learned recently. Something I learned from our customers. You’ve got to treat customers well.
A low stool with rounded corners
Fold-up legs for easy storage
That kind of attitude in companies has become less common lately. Now, could you tell me about your future plans?
I want to make this company to be more than just a factory, I want it to be a place where a variety of things are born, a place where a group of craftsmen can create things. We’ve got to do our high-volume production work in order to make a living, and so we do our regular style of production (high-volume production) while also using our free time in order to work on new items, not as work, but as almost a hobby for the craftsmen.
New kiri boxes made as the craftsmen’s hobby! It will be interesting to see what kind of things emerge from this.
Yes. Everyone has lots of different ideas. As the company president, the products we make are used as part or everyday life, and we are kiri box makers, so I want us to make the best kiri boxes that we can. Actually, the next thing we’re hoping to make into a regular product is another rice storage bin. We already have a rice bin, but it is a very simple product without any special features or design elements. So, the concept for our new rice container is the “Ultimate, final edition, kiri wood rice bin”.
Matsuda Kiribako
Midori-cho 5-1-16, Kasukabe, Saitama
Katsunari Matsuda
Born in Kasukabe, Saitama, in 1976. President of Matsuda Kiribako. Kiri box craftsman.
39 Comments
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PingMag MAKE is the sister site to PingMag. We use an interview format to put the spotlight on a wide range of people active in rural areas. We document the voices of these unknown heroes and broadcast them to the world. It’s the Japan-based magazine about people and making things, coming out once a week. We’re passing on the passion, ideas, skills, and life stories of people who are building today and exploring tomorrow: craftsmen, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors. Stay tuned!
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