In traditional Japanese architecture, a hanare is a detached secondary structure on the same plot of land as the main residence (or omoya). The smaller, independent building can serve multiple purposes — as accommodation for multi-generational living, a ceremonial tearoom, an art studio or even a quiet home office. For the Tojiro Knife Gallery Hanare, in the historic Asakusa district of Tokyo, designer Yoshihito Katata translated the concept of a hanare into a “contemporary brand experience” just a few steps away from the Tojiro flagship (which Katata also designed in 2023).
“Rather than simply expanding the flagship, we conceived the Hanare as a separate place with a different role,” says Katata of the 30-square-metre auxiliary space. Where the main showroom features an extensive selection of knives and welcomes a range of visitors, both those well-acquainted with the specialized culinary wares and those encountering them for the first time, the complementary gallery-like shop allows for a more intimate interaction between curious shoppers and brand experts to find the “one knife that is right for that individual.”
To create an appropriate sense of arrival, Katata had the threshold to the Tojiro Knife Gallery Hanare clad in steel louvres, which sets the tone for the material-driven interior. Referencing senbon-gōshi — or “thousand-bar lattice,” a traditional Japanese architectural style typically comprised of closely spaced vertical wooden slats — the steel entrance also recalls “the orderly rows of metal blanks and blades seen during production at Tojiro’s factory.”
That “productive landscape from which Tojiro knives emerge” is continued throughout, with metalwork, stone and charred cedar informing the space with tones “created by nature, fire and fabrication” in the Niigata-based factory that crafts the sharpened steel implements. To that end, plaster mixed with straw and earth from the Tsubame-Sanjo region was hand-applied to walls by craftspeople who travelled in from the Ishizuki Plastering Industry in Sanjo, Niigata. Rather than using exaggerated decorative trowel marks, the natural movements of the artisans’ hands allowed for slight variations in the finish, with the characteristics of fine cracks and visible straw remnants creating subtle texture that changes with the light.
For the richly toned floor tiles, Katata selected Yasuda kawara clay-based ceramic tiles, a historic roof tile dating back centuries. Manufactured by Marusan Yasuda Kawara Kogyo using traditional techniques, the tiles were finished with a natural glaze and reduction-fired at approximately 1,200°C, resulting in a silvery-grey hue. Metal is repeated in the form of stainless-steel cabinetry, fixtures (both fabricated by Vivaz) and, of course, the product itself. Given pride of place on either wall of the gallery, the expertly crafted knives are displayed in recessed niches that are lined with charred cedar planks that have been treated with an uzukuri brushing process to bring out the grain. Alluding to the logic of Japanese sword storage, the blades are set on charred cedar dowels, which creates a controlled presentation and reduces the risk of markings and abrasions on the blades.
Anchoring the entire space is a central glass-topped table supported by a massive stone sourced from a river near the Tojiro factory. “It was not selected as a decorative or precious stone,” says Katata of the natural formation, “but as something that had existed for a long time within the landscape from which Tojiro’s manufacturing culture emerged.” Its rugged profile was largely maintained for authenticity, with only the contact point for the glass surface flattened for a solid connection. “The stone represents the beginning of the material story. Steel, too, begins with minerals extracted from the earth. Over time, stone becomes earth, and earth can in turn become plaster or fired tile. We wanted the stone to carry this longer continuity of matter and time,” says Katata of the themed materiality of the interior. In contrast to the stone, a precisely fabricated stainless-steel cabinet serves as a second base, with the transparency of the glass top providing a visual lightness that helps open up the small room.
“What matters in this space is not a dramatic contrast between colours, but the subtle differences that exist within tones that initially appear black, grey or silver,” says Katata of the monochromatic palette that emerged from the material selections. “As the direction and intensity of light change, so do the silvery-grey tiles, the earth and straw in the plaster, the grain of the charred cedar and the fine vibration of the pattern of the stainless steel.”
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