I grew up in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture. My parents were part-time farmers and owned a mountain. When I was in elementary school, I would go into the mountains with a saw, cut down trees, tie them up, and make secret bases to play with. I would use chisels until they got so worn out that my parents would get angry with me.

I had only ever known the area around my house and the mountains, so I entered the mechanical engineering department at the same school to broaden my horizons. I studied materials engineering and mechanical mechanics, so I somehow thought I would become an engineer in the future. I didn't have much experience working with wood, except for using it in research on snow fences based on fluid mechanics. I was also a member of the ski club at the time, so I had my own cold weather gear, and I was always the one working in the snowstorms.

That was in 2007. I transferred to the Econifa development team in 2011. At my previous company, I was involved in the development of furniture using particle board (a board made of solidified small pieces of wood), so when I was talking about furniture with the head of the Econifa team, he said, "You know so much about wood!"

A recent example is the big office table "silta". But the best product is the first one I made, "Segheriano". Cross-lamina panels are made by gluing solid wood pieces together horizontally and vertically, and are a material that reduces the warping of solid wood, making use of the distinctive grain pattern in the design.

Yes. At the time, I had almost no connections with factories that could handle solid wood, so I attended meetings of the Forestry Agency and was introduced to some, got in touch with business partners, and consulted with my senior at the technical college... It was hard work, but I was blessed with the opportunity to meet people.

At the now-defunct ITOKI Tokyo Innovation Center SYNQA, we were trying to get the FSC Project Certification for the first floor space. This was extremely difficult!
FSC is an independent third-party certification that all wood used in a project has been managed from harvest to completion. All of the wood used, from the underlayment of the flooring, which is not visible from the outside, to the fireproof materials in the ceiling, are FSC-certified (or managed) and domestically produced. Not only did we cut the wood, saw it, and dry it, but we also visited each manufacturing plant to ask for their cooperation. There were many incidents and situations where we felt like giving up, but with everyone's cooperation, we were able to successfully obtain certification.

There are many things, but perhaps the feel of the furniture. Unlike buildings, you can touch the furniture, which is nice.

We conducted a joint study with the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, the University of Tokyo Graduate School, and Nihon University to find out what effect the surface material of large office tables will have on the productivity and psychological well-being of workers in 2020. The results showed that, compared to melamine, solid chestnut veneer was more effective at improving concentration and creativity, suppressing anxiety, and reducing stress.

Yes. People often say, "Real wood furniture is great," but evidence is also important to get people to adopt it. I think that in the future, research into the factors that influence the results of demonstration experiments will progress.

The drying techniques at each sawmill are amazing. Hardwoods are naturally dried for a year, and softwoods for three to six months. They are then artificially dried so that they can be used for furniture and other purposes. However, if the wood is not properly dried, it will crack or shrink. This is what we call "the wood going wild."

It's a fast-growing broadleaf tree called China tree. It grows quickly and is ready to be used for furniture in about 20 to 40 years, half the time it takes for regular hardwoods. It has beautiful reddish-brown grain and looks like American cherry. It's strong, so I think it can be used for a variety of things. The government also seems to consider the use of domestic fast-growing broadleaf trees as one of the measures to revitalize the forestry industry.

People think I know everything about trees, but when trees are standing in the forest, it's often difficult to tell them apart. When I can't tell the difference between cedar and cypress by their grain, it's the smell that counts.

Powder. I'm thinking about how I can use powder instead of wood chips in various ways. Recently, I've been talking about powder so much that some people call me the "Kona-ized old man" lol.

Econifa originally started as a kind of social activity, and we have been working steadily since sales were small. I think it is important to continue to provide solid wood furniture and interior items to the market in order to realize a recycling-oriented society. Also, it is important to increase the value of wood by combining its quality with technical and design capabilities, as a way to help properly turn the cycle of felling trees, planting seedlings, and growing them.

That's right. In the past, most of our consultations were with companies developing businesses related to public facilities and forests, but in recent years, we have seen an increase in requests from many companies to use domestic timber and internationally certified timber, such as FSC-certified timber, in order to contribute to the SDGs.
In addition, real wood furniture used to be seen as a luxury item and was often placed in executive conference rooms, but now that the working environment of employees is becoming more important, it is being placed in office spaces. I think solid wood furniture has become more familiar to workers.

A pink raincoat from head to toe. It stands out when I go into the mountains and protects me from hornets. I also have a backpack. Nowadays, many office workers use them as business bags, but I've been using one for over 10 years. When I go to the work site, I don't know what I'll encounter, so it's good to always have both hands free.

Ah, that's right! It's made of cypress and cedar. It's made of thinly sliced veneer made from natural wood.

I like DIY and making benches. However, I am so particular about my work that I never finish it.