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»TRADITION IS CONTINUOUS INNOVATION«

KOTARO NISHIBORI

Kotaro Nishibori was born in Wakayama, Japan in 1974. He worked as a civil servant and was involved in global businesses including tourism administration, where he made full use of his English skill studied in Toronto, Canada.

After his marriage at the age of 23, Kotaro visited his wife’s family owned WAGASA (Traditional Japanese Umbrella) studio, HIYOSHIYA, now the only WAGASA making company in Kyoto with a tradition of 160 years. There, he was fascinated by the beauty of WAGASA and decided to abandon his prior career to spend his years' training as a WAGASA craftsman. He became the president of HIYOSHIYA after inheriting the company in 2004 as the 5th generation.

Under his philosophy of “tradition is continuing innovation,” Kotaro actively promotes collaboration with designers and creators in different countries to create products that match modern lifestyles and to make the tradition sustainable. He announced the “KOTORI” lamp collection in 2006, which is a lampshade produced with a combination of both aspects of tradition and modern designs. His career broadened as his lampshade was recognized through many awards including the GOOD DESIGN AWARD (Japan) or the iF DESIGN AWARD (Germany). KOTORI was also exhibited in internationally well-recognized exhibitions such as Maison&Objet, Ambiente, ICFF, Milan Design Week etc.

HIYOSHIYA, which once faced business closure in the late 1900s, now thrives with a scale of around 15 staff, preserving Japanese tradition by fitting it into modern lifestyle, which may become a part of the new tradition of interior design.

While working with KOTORI and his concept in HIYOSHIYA, Kotaro also founded the TCI laboratory in 2012, utilizing his own unique experience and network to support the production and market development of traditional crafts, not only in Kyoto but also in many other areas of Japan. Through such production, he intends to support the local governments and the ministry of economy, trade industry. He supports mainly over 500 traditional craftsmen and studios by sharing his networks for local craftsmen and artists.

Having had a long relationship with the founder of MEISTERSTRASSE, Nicola and Christoph Rath, he was greatly touched by their business philosophy of MEISTERSTRASSE and will also serve on a Japanese agency in 2020.

He wishes developments of many more traditional studios and to support craftsmen around the world. Kotaro commends MEISTERSTRASSE as he believes it will be a huge contribution to the goals currently being held.

www.wagasa.com

www.tci-lab.com