About

About Kyoto Rakuo

• 1868
• Kinshin was founded.
  Shinsuke Murata, two generations previous of the company representative, started furniture and fine art dealer under the name of "Kinshin" at Omihachiman, Shiga prefecture.
  
  

• 1945
• Saburo Murata, previous company representative, opened Kinshin Kyoto store in Kyoto city.

• 1948
• At that time, Saburo Murata, who was trained by Shinsuke Murata-called as connoisseur of antiques in Kansai area-, was becoming prominent in the Kyoto art dealing market. He met Fusaji Takao, who was Karaki furniture craftsman and opened Rakuo atelier inside of the Kinshin Kyoto store. Through the fusion of the aesthetic and sense of beauty of Saburo Murata and transcendental techniques of Fusaji Takao, "KYO-KARAKI", which had beautiful forms with unique fine lines and many curved surface in traditional technique, and a type of Karaki furniture with graceful appearance, was created. From that day on, Rakuo has been producing and selling the KYO-KARAKI for 70 years.

• 1949
• Kinshin incorporated and became Kinshin Co. Ltd.

• 1958
• The production and marketing department of Karaki furniture of the company separately incorporated as Rakuo art atelier Co. Ltd.

• 1959
• The Kyoto store was independent from Kinshin Co. Ltd.
  Kinshin Kyoto store Co. Ltd. was newly established.

• 1981
• The company changed its name from Kinshin Kyoto store Co. Ltd. to Prevell Co. Ltd.

• 2007
• Rakuo art atelier Co. Ltd. dissolved.

• 2008
• "Kyoto Rakuo" was founded as Karaki furniture department of Prevell Co. Ltd.
  The company has its atelier and showroom in Uji city in Kyoto. Led by Shinro Baba, executive director and producer and incomparable 4 furniture craftsmen, Kyoto Rakuo is planning, desigining and selling the original Karaki furniture.
  The company regularly holds "Kyoto Rakuo, KYO-KARAKI + art exhibition" at the major department stores, leading furniture shops across the nation, and galleries in Tokyo, and it receives high reputation from visitors and buyers.
  * Please see the schedules of the "Kyoto Rakuo, KYO-KARAKI + art exhibition".

Our address:
81, Ochiai, Makishima-cho, Uji city, Kyoto, 611 - 0041
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Tradition and New Sensibilities,
The Uniqueness of the Karaki Furniture

In Japanese house, there used to be a special room called the "Ozashiki" (drawing room).
It was a space with a noble air to receive guests.
The room would be filled with furniture and antiques, and flowers of the season or hanging scrolls in the alcove, which symbolized the family's wealth, status, cultural understanding and preferences. It was the sum of high taste and the notable spirit of hospitality of Japan.

In addition, Karaki furniture was highly suited for the Ozashiki.
Zashiki tables, display shelves, flower stands, incense burner stands are both works of art and furniture, which have beautiful wood grains, shaping and are finely sculpted.
It was an symbol that showed the status of the family itself.
As the time goes by, the number of family holdings with Ozashiki have been reduced and the needs for Karaki furniture has changed drastically.

Kyoto Rakuo is producing the distinctive Karaki furniture by adopting the traditional techniques and knowledge, adding a new sensibility for the production of Karaki furniture.
Our products are stimulating, luxurious, and have creative designs, such as limp form, unique motifs, and a combination of various materials.

Artistic Objects Known as Furniture
What is Karaki Furniture?

As its name tells "Kara-no-ki", Karaki furniture means furniture which is created from wood from Chinese quince, pterocarpus santalinus, and ebony transmitted from China. The origin of the woods are in Indonesia, Thailand and Laos, however, they were called as "Karaki" since they are transmitted through China. Karaki is solid and difficult to process, on the other hand, it is suitable for arts and crafts due to its hardness, emphasizing the feeling of tension, its cubic effect and solidity.

The Karaki furniture of Kyoto Rakuo are selected from a few hundred-year old crude woods, which are suitable for furniture. The craftsman can express both sharp and soft lines by only shaving and curving the wood. Despite the time-consuming nature of the process, traditional methods such as "mortise and tenon" are applied in constructing substantial framework, and then are finished carefully with a "wiped-Japanese lacquer" finish.

This "wiped-Japanese lacquer" is a hallmark of Kyoto Rakuo and adopted from traditional methods. To utilize the beauty of the wood texture, after it is polished thoroughly by using sandpaper, rubbing raw lacquer then wiping and drying; the same process is repeated for 7-8 times. Our furniture attracts people with its color combinations of wood texture and lacquer, and mellow luster.

As explained above, we named Karaki furniture created by Kyoto Rakuo as "KYO-KARAKI", which has a sensitive and soft form, assembled by traditional "mortise and tenon", and finished with the beautiful texture by "wiped-Japanese lacquer".

The Fusion of Unique Imagination
and Excellent Technique of Craftsman
”KYO-KARAKI + Art”

Kyoto Rakuo is looking to further the utility of Karaki furniture, and aiming to create new styles of furniture which can be used in an entrance and living room. Karaki furniture, which have been valued as art by many, maintains the aesthetic sense of our ancestors. In order to inherit Japanese sensitivity, culture, and technique, we are taking in the essence of modern art with the thought of creating the Karaki furniture using the aesthetic sense of its contempories.

We create furniture with new and unique designs, which seems brand new, by using the idea and excellent technique cultivated by craftsman for a long time. It is the fusion of tradition and revolution that can only be achieved by Kyoto Rakuo with their 70 year-old history.