CLIENT : Abe Kogyo Co, Ltd.

Story

Kumiko is a traditional wood joinery technique in which various patterns are created by connecting thinly slit pieces of wood without the use of any nails or glue. The technique can be traced back to Asuka Era (600-700 AD), and every design pattern has references a pattern in nature mean to symbolize good fortune while distributing light and wind in pleasing manner.

Daishinsha’s DCD was asked to create a special Kumiko website in order to promote Kumiko products made by the craftsmanship of Abe Kogyo.

At the time of website development, the client was also interested in producing a video as well, so DCD created the video as a starting point for the main project.

Point

There were two main points of focus for this video.

First, was to focus on the level of craftsmanship of Abe Kogyo by pursuing a video structure which focused on the hands of the craftsman, and thus incorporating the spirit of artisanship into the video. If the video was structured in a way more akin to a documentary, going into the thought processes of the people, or the details of traditional techniques and history of Kumiko, the spirit would not be fully expressed.

The second point was to connect the theme of “sanctity” with Kumiko technique, creating an atmosphere around materials and editing to highlight this connection in a comfortable, pleasing way. Just like the feeling of light and wind through Kumiko patterns. For production, we went deep into the mountains of Nagano prefecture. In the middle of the woods, the “sanctity” of the materials could be captured. At the same time, the video focuses on the movement of hands which make Kumiko from scratch, following the processing from start to finish.

The resulting short video connects this special relationship, between the sanctity of the forest and the craftsmanship of the products. The video has been used for special sites and exhibitions.

Click here to see video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfK8Zofq-Wc&t=14s

Click here to check the special website : https://www.abekogyo.co.jp/kumiko/