Nobuo

Kumiko is a delicate and sophisticated technique of assembling wooden pieces without the use of nails, with roots going back to the 8th century. Thinly slit wooden pieces are grooved, punched and mortised, and then fitted individually using a plane, saw, chisel and other tools to make fine adjustments. Many of the 200 most common patterns have been used since the Edo period (1600-1868), with each design having a meaning or mimicking a pattern found in nature. 

The Toyama-based artisans at Tanihata began using this technique to manufacture kumiko screens in 1959. After returning home to Toyama at the age of 26 in 1959, Toshio Tanihata started the Tanihata Kumiko Company, literally from the ground up, having no property or machines. After receiving the Prime Minister’s Award at the National Fitting Exhibition at the age of 44, his name became known across Japan. The sales of kumiko rapidly picked up. His skills in turn developed due to the increased demand. He soon grew too busy to follow up on all orders, so he began to accept requests for apprenticeships. Twenty-five craftsmen who once worked as trainees with Tanihata have gone on to found their own businesses. 

By the 1990s, Japan’s economic recession struck the business, compounded by the fact that the younger generation was tending away from traditional Japanese style rooms towards a preference for Western-type dwellings. With sales declining, Toshio’s son Nobuo decided to return to his hometown to take over the family business. One innovation was Kumiko room dividers suitable for westernized homes, which he began sell to bigger companies like department and furniture stores.   

After Nobuo launched the company website and focused on online sales, the numbers gradually started to rise. In October 2007, Tanihata received the “METI Award for 100 Best IT Management Companies.” They currently work a lot with hotels for luxury design, creating a number of modern and versatile designs whose varied names hint at interesting backstories.