ZINE/ZAKKA/FREE PAPER/GALLERY/RISO GRAPH
SPECIAL INTERVIEW
63mokko EXHIBITION
63mokko
SPECIAL INTERVIEW
April 1, 2022 (Fri.)
Interview: Yoshiko Asano
Photo: Ryo Inoue
Beautiful curves and incredibly natural colors,
Wooden eyeglasses that exude warmth.
Musashi Kanda of "63mokko" has his workshop in a single-story house in Tachikawa City.
Why did we decide to make wooden glasses?
How is it made?
I interviewed them.
I've loved how things work ever since I was little.
I understand you've been making eyeglasses for 10 years now. I'd like to ask why you decided to start making eyeglasses.
From a young age, I loved arts and wood. I was born in Koganei City, so I grew up familiar with Koganei Park, which is nearby, and I always felt comfortable in spaces with big trees. I liked drawing, but I was more interested in crafts. I remember a class where we made a mechanism that spins around using strings, and it was really fun. This connects to my current preference; I like things that have a mechanism that moves rather than things that are just objects. Maybe I enjoy making glasses because they have a folding part. We developed a mechanism called the "Wood Fit Regulator" for our glasses, which allows you to adjust the fit by changing the length of the temples, making them easier to purchase online, and the seeds of that idea may have been sown around this time.
So, you've had an interest in this field since you were little, which led to your current work. Mr. Kanda, you learned wooden furniture making in Hida Takayama, right?
I studied architecture at university and got a job at a company that dealt with timber, but I spent all day in front of a computer drawing CAD plans and had absolutely no opportunity to touch wood. I wanted to work with my hands, so I quit my job and went to a place in Hida Takayama where I could learn while making furniture.
What I realized then was that I didn't have the talent for furniture making compared to the people around me, and that I didn't want to make things that other people had designed (laughs). I was able to use the tools freely after the assigned tasks and during breaks, so I really enjoyed that time. At that point, I decided that once I finished learning, I would make glasses out of wood.
You can only truly understand wood by touching it.
What kinds of wood are used to make eyeglasses?
For example, Somei Yoshino cherry trees are made of fairly hard wood, and while they start out with an orangish color, the color gradually deepens as they fall. Their smooth, glossy surface is also a distinctive feature.
Maple trees are quite pale in color. They're also used for baseball bats, so they're very tough and resilient.
The dark olive-green color is characteristic of the Jindai Zelkova tree. While zelkova trees are usually more brown, this particular tree, named "Jindai" (meaning "ancient times"), was unearthed after being buried in the ground for over 1000 years due to some unknown influence.
In addition, you can choose from 20 to 30 different types of wood at any given time, including the red-colored paddock tree from Africa.
Even though we just say "wood," the colors and grain patterns are so different. This will be a tough decision when ordering... By the way, which type of wood is particularly special to you, Mr. Kanda?
Hmm, maybe persimmon. There's a type of wood called black persimmon, and I think its grain is the most beautiful. The dark color is also calming and easy to wear as eyeglasses. It's a rare wood, with beautiful grain appearing in only about 1 in 10,000 trees, so it's the most expensive of the eyeglasses we make, but it's also the most popular.
You can't really tell what kind of wood it is until you touch it. When I used to work at a lumberyard, we only handled cypress and cedar. Now we can handle all kinds of wood. When making eyeglasses, we first cut the wood into a board, then trace the shape, and cut it out with a coping saw. When it's cut into a board, you can see its hardness and texture. That's when you can tell if it's suitable for eyeglasses.
Words are born from new encounters.
63mokko's words are also impressive.
What are "Clad in Trees" and "Itoshiki Yasei"?
"Wearing wood" is exactly what it sounds like, but I came up with it myself when I started 63mokko because I realized there weren't many wooden items that people wear on a daily basis. I've been using it ever since.
At "Itoshiki Yasei," we have a photograph of a wolf displayed in our studio, which is by animal photographer Masao Hisada. His photographs are truly amazing. I inherited the image that Mr. Hisada used in his own work, and I started using the phrase "Itoshiki Yasei" to make glasses from moose antlers. This concept was born only because I met Mr. Hisada. Perhaps new things can only be born from meeting people. Moose antlers are very hard and cannot be cut with a mechanical jigsaw, so they are cut with a manual jigsaw or knife. It is a really difficult material to work with, but it gives you the feeling of touching something natural.
Mr. Hisada isn't particularly wild either; he's actually very gentle. I don't have a lot of money, but I'm grateful that I can live happily every day. I don't live the kind of life where I complete the mission of "getting a good job, getting married, having children, building a house, and saving money for retirement," but I guess I'm the type who can handle instability (laughs).
Is there anything you want to do in the future?
From now on, I want to expand the possibilities of expression through eyeglasses. I've been vaguely thinking about whether eyeglasses that aren't just for practical use are possible. What's currently on my mind is "eyeglasses for a specific, limited situation." For example, "eyeglasses to wear when going to see a Vermeer painting" or "eyeglasses to wear when listening to punk records." Wouldn't that be fun?
This will be your fourth exhibition at the Nakameguro SUT Gallery. What kind of exhibition can we expect?
これまでに購入してくださったお客さまも多くなってきたので、お願いして過去の眼鏡を展示したいと思っています。先程もお話したように、木って新しいものよりも時間が経ったものの方が美しい。ぶつけたへこみも味わいとなります。それぞれに育った眼鏡が集まって、10年分のアーカイブを見渡せるような場になればいいと考えています。
ウッドフィットレギュレーターをつけている眼鏡は、持ち主が変わってもつるの長さを変えて、快適に使い続けることができます。子どもの代にまで受け継いでもらうこともできるかもしれないと想像するのも楽しいんですよね。
木が育つのにも長い時間がかかりますが、その木が眼鏡に姿を変えて、次の時間を生きると考えるのは、なかなかステキなことだと思います。
時間が堆積する眼鏡
63mokko
Eyewear designer Musashi Kanda
Born in Koganei City, Tokyo in 1982.
2005 Graduated from Kogakuin University, Department of Architecture
Joined the Forest Craftsman Academy in 2011.
63mokko was established in 2013.
"63mokko" is pronounced "Rokusan Mokko." 63 is a play on words from the name of Kanda Musashi. The brand's activities began with creating things that the creator himself wanted or wanted to use, mainly using wood. The designs are androgynous, neither too youthful nor too old-fashioned. Kanda Musashi, who learned his craft in Hida Takayama, creates wooden eyeglasses that are made with the concept of "wearing wood," and are designed to be worn for a long time.
Wooden Glasses
Japan is one of the world's leading countries in terms of the diversity of woods it possesses. Since ancient times, the Japanese people have lived alongside wood, and their identity has been closely intertwined with it. While wood has long been used for building materials and everyday items, 63mokko expands its possibilities even further to "wearable items." 63mokko learned its techniques in Hida Takayama, a region renowned for its advanced woodworking skills. Based on that experience, they create eyeglasses tailored to each individual customer. Maximizing the unique charm of each type of wood—the different textures of each species, the characteristics of each wood, and the color tones that change over time—they propose nostalgic yet innovative "wearable wooden items" using a variety of unconventional methods. For those who cherish their own way of life. Your own handcrafted wooden eyeglasses.
Japan is a country with a variety of trees in the world. The Japanese have lived with the tree for a long time. Their identity have associated with the tree deeply. The tree has been used as building materials and daily necessities. And 63mokko widen the possibility to "a thing to wear" more. I learned a technique in Hida-Takayama known as the high woodwork technology. I produce the glasses which matched each customer by the experience. I make use of the individual charm of trees to the maximum. tree's kind, the characteristic that the tree has, Color to change with time. I suggest "thing of the tree to wear" with innovative and nostalgia by technique various not to be seized with an established concept. I hope that a person valuing way of own life wears it. This is carefully made wooden glasses only for you.
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