“For this exhibition,” comments Mr. Nakamura, “we returned to the fundamental question of what the essence of manufacturing is, and explored what can only be achieved and what message should be conveyed at GINZA SIX. Every day, all sorts of things are being made, but many aspects, like the environment from which the materials are sourced and the processes they undergo before reaching consumers, remain obscure and aren’t readily apparent from the finished product. The origins of the materials, the processes by which products are shaped, and the distribution chains that bring them to people... I think it’s important to focus on these core aspects of manufacturing and to take the time to present the process in detail. I believe only a commercial facility with a long-standing commitment to art and culture can successfully express this process as art. And that is precisely why it’s worth doing.”

“What struck me most when I entered the mountains of Yoshino was the local people’s deep reverence for nature and for these sacred mountains,” he says. “There’s a shrine at the entrance to the forest. People always pray there before heading into the mountains. There are all sorts of stories about the gods—like, which days you shouldn’t go into the mountains and rules of etiquette—that we just can’t wrap our heads around. The grandeur and the fear when a tree falls. It left a far deeper impression on me than anything I had ever imagined. When cutting down a tree growing on a slope, the direction and angle at which it should fall is carefully calculated. I realized that it requires far more time and effort than I had imagined. It was a great learning experience for me in terms of working with natural materials, and I felt a strong sense of responsibility for the act of creating something.”

“I spent a month in the Yoshino area, interacting with local people involved in the forestry industry and listening to their stories every night.,” he says. “Through these conversations, I learned that demand for cedar—once touted as a high-quality timber—has dropped, resulting in plummeting timber prices and the decline of the forestry industry as a whole. One reason is that distribution channels have become extremely complex and are essentially a black box. The fact that timber is very expensive when it reaches the end user, while the price at which it is cut is very low, is discouraging the use of timber itself. Unless this situation is overcome to some extent, the forestry industry will continue to decline. Is there anything people like us, who make a living from design, can do? By incorporating the appeal of wood while reviewing distribution channels as a secondary theme, I hope to create an opportunity for a new and different phase in the industry. With this expectation in mind, we’ve entered into direct contracts with HOUEI FORESTRY and Ohtani Mokuzai, companies we met through the art festival, and are working on this project together.”

“Generally speaking,” he says, “people tend to say that cedar doesn’t have an attractive grain, but it really depends on how you use it. So, for this first phase, we deliberately kept the design understated. We created benches that make full use of the cuts typically made by our lumber supplier, Ohtani Mokuzai. Typically, a single log is cut into sections based on its parts, such as the core, flooring material, or laminated wood, but the cut alone is beautiful enough. All we at DAIKEI MILLS did was reconfigure the cut pieces of wood a little. Cedar is strong yet lightweight, making it highly practical for use in fixtures. And the beauty, grandeur, and texture of solid wood are wonderful.”

“It’s an art piece, but it’s also a product that we can actually touch and use,” says Mr. Nakamura. “With these solid-wood benches suddenly appearing within GINZA SIX—a space that brims with cutting-edge fashion and art—I think the contrast alone will create a fascinating visual impression.”

“In Phase 2, we plan to launch products created by six artist groups active both domestically and internationally,” Mr. Nakamura explains. “We reached out to artists who approach materials with genuine respect and sincerity. We will provide each artist with a 20-meter log. They will use four meters of the log to freely create a product. We ourselves are very much looking forward to seeing what kinds of products will emerge.”

“Thereafter, in Phase 3, the artists will be given free rein over the remaining 16 meters of the 20-meter log and challenged with creating small-scale architectural structures. By adding different content, these could become a café, a DJ booth, or even a bookstore. These will be distributed as pop-up installations throughout the facility to host small events, thereby creating community spaces. This initiative lets customers actually witness the entire process as it unfolds across Phases 1, 2, and 3.”

“The Yoshino cedar featured in the art park created in collaboration with HAKUTEN CREATIVE has undergone a traditional sawmilling process called ‘sewari[NQ: “seiwari”?]’ (back-splitting) to prevent and reduce surface cracking caused by drying,” Mr. Nakamura explains. “During the day, children can jump around on the steps. At night, visitors can enjoy a fantastical lighting installation created using this back-splitting, a spectacle not visible during the day.

Because GINZA SIX has such a strong affinity with art, there’s something about the space that allows even a single log lying there to trigger a pleasant illusion, prompting people to wonder, ‘Could this be art, too?’ From this perspective alone, I believe there’s great significance in presenting this project, A Tree, which prominently features the natural material of Yoshino cedar, at GINZA SIX.”