Japantastics, Inc.
Masugumi Sofa Table
Delivery: 9 months
Refund Policy: https://japantastics.jp/policies/refund-policy
All prices include international delivery, duties, and taxes, fully arranged on your behalf.
All orders are shipped internationally via Nippon Express, with delivery fully managed from Japan to your residence and tracked throughout.
Installation will be personally overseen by the artist.
An Exceptional Convergence of Structural Tradition and Contemporary Form
Overview
This remarkable work reinterprets masugumi—the intricate bracket system central to Japanese temple and shrine architecture—as a sculptural sofa table for the modern interior. Long associated with the support of monumental timber roofs, masugumi is here transformed into an object of both structural clarity and aesthetic refinement.
Exhibited at the Dynamic Contemporary Artists Exhibition (November–December 2025), the piece received the Excellence Prize, recognized for its commanding presence and technical mastery.
Materiality & Construction
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Reimagined Architectural Joinery
The complex geometry of masugumi has been rigorously recalculated and reconstructed at a domestic scale. The result is a composition that embodies both tensile strength and rhythmic precision, revealing the latent sculptural qualities of a traditionally functional system.
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Urushi and Gold Leaf
Built through successive layers of genuine urushi lacquer, the surface attains a profound depth and luminosity. This is further articulated by the application of gold leaf, executed with exacting control. The interplay of light across these materials produces a continuously shifting visual field.
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Transparency and Structure
A glass top introduces a deliberate contrast, allowing full visibility of the internal framework. The viewer is invited to engage with the object from multiple vantage points, encountering an ever-unfolding dialogue between opacity and transparency, surface and structure.
Artist
Executed entirely by Kenichiro Sato (Tsuru City, Yamanashi), the work reflects a practice grounded in both traditional discipline and contemporary inquiry. Following the loss of his workshop to fire in 2023, Sato has pursued a renewed commitment: to reposition Japanese craft within a global contemporary art context.
Statement
Neither solely furniture nor purely sculpture, the Masugumi Sofa Table occupies a liminal space between utility and art. It asserts itself not merely as an object within a room, but as a work capable of redefining the spatial and cultural atmosphere it inhabits.
A singular piece—imbued with presence, precision, and enduring resonance.
Main Body
- Dimensions: Height: 590 mm / Diameter 1200 mm
- Weight: 35 kg
- Material: Camphor Wood, Bush Clover Motif
- Finish: authentic urushi lacquer, gold leaf, tempered glass
Artist’s Profile
Master Artisan of Contemporary Japanese Furniture
Third-Generation Head of Sato Mokko
Born into the distinguished Sato Mokko workshop—founded in 1934 in Tsuru City, Yamanashi Prefecture—Keiichiro Sato is the third-generation heir to a lineage long revered for exceptional craftsmanship. Once known locally by the saying, “For bridal furnishings, go to Sato Mokko,” the atelier built its reputation through refined heirloom furniture and traditional architectural woodwork.
From an early age, Sato absorbed the discipline of master craftsmanship under the guidance of his grandfather, Zenjuro. He inherited techniques rooted in shrine and temple architecture, including intricate kumiko latticework, complex structural joinery, and precision cabinetry—foundations that would later define his artistic language.
At seventeen, he encountered a defining turning point when the family business faced severe financial hardship under the second generation. Taking on responsibility at a young age, Sato sustained traditional commissions while simultaneously pursuing an independent vision—one that would unite heritage craftsmanship with contemporary form.
Guided by the belief that true craftsmanship is timeless, Sato established his signature genre of Creative Japanese Furniture: works that combine rare solid Japanese zelkova, authentic urushi lacquer, gold leaf, and centuries-old techniques with a bold contemporary sensibility. His creations transcend conventional furniture, emerging instead as collectible works of functional art that embody the Japanese ideal of beauty through utility.
In recent years, his work has received recognition both in Japan and internationally. Exhibitions include the Paris International Salon (recommended invitation), the Cartago Museum in Costa Rica (presented at the request of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs), exhibitions in Dalian, China, and selection for the Japan–France Contemporary Art World Exhibition for his work TAMATEBAKO. His works have also been presented at The National Art Center, Tokyo, alongside numerous museum exhibitions, solo shows, and publications.
In 2023, a devastating fire destroyed his factory, showroom, tools, and materials accumulated over decades. Yet within only seven months, Sato resumed production—an act that reflects the resilience and uncompromising spirit that define master artisanship.
Today, Keiichiro Sato continues to shape wood in pursuit of works intended to endure not merely for a lifetime, but for generations—objects of substance, beauty, and permanence, created with a view toward the centuries ahead.
