Our History

“If a customer is standing right in front of us, we take on any job, as long as it involves wood.”

That was the motto of my father Shigefumi, who resolved to live as a woodworker serving our community. It has also become the motto of Yoshihara Woodworks.

In our early years, most of our commissions were for joinery and wedding furniture, but if asked, he’d handle anything wooden: replacing wall panels or ceilings, repairing old chests, even lids for leaf boilers (hagama). With no car back then, he’d use a farm tool called an oiko to carry the finished products on his back, walking them to customers.

“I begged my busy father to let me help, and we carried those wardrobes one by one over that mountain. On the way home it was pitch black; I’d sing to fend off the loneliness. And my old man—terrible singer he was (laughs)…”

With no skilled joiners (sashimono craftsmen) in the area, and buoyed by Japan’s “high-growth era”, our business started to really boom around 1965. We could afford to hire artisans and gradually introduce machinery. Despite the struggles, my father felt real momentum in the business.

Then disaster struck Yoshihara Woodworks.

In July 1983, relentless rains triggered a historic flood in Misumi. The town suffered catastrophic damage, with 130 homes swept away or destroyed by the raging Misumi River. Even our mountainside Murodani area was hit by massive landslides, leaving deep scars on the workshop.

Amid the pounding rain, my father was frantically clearing the workshop when he felt a strange rumbling and shaking from the hillside. The next instant, a torrent of mud and debris burst through the walls. He escaped by the skin of his teeth, but over half the workshop became rubble in seconds, and most of our key machinery was swept away. He watched helplessly as the roaring flood claimed our vital equipment.

“It tore me apart inside. ‘Take me with them,’ I thought, for real.”

(Max hourly rainfall: 90mm; total: 500mm. Shimane Prefecture recorded 107 deaths, mostly from slope failures.)

The so-called ’58 Flood (because it occurred on the 58th year of Emperor Showa) prompted my father to take a bold decision: build a new workshop on the only flat rice paddy fronting the prefectural road.

Until then, our workshop was only accessible through narrow roads, so we had to hand-carry our materials. This new facility, however, included a dedicated storage yard. Our workspace expanded dramatically, enabling us to take on larger commissions. It was unyielding spirit in action, and this, our second attempt, marked a fresh start for Yoshihara Woodworks.

Misumi Town has a long history of papermaking, and has fostered internatinoal ties with with the Kingdom of Bhutan through the traditional craft “Sekishu Washi” papermaking. In 1993 and 1997, Yoshihara Woodworks was recommended to participating in a program to accept trainees in Japanese paper and woodworking techniques, and accepted trainees from the Kingdom of Bhutan.

The Bhutanese were earnest and endearing; their tireless work ethic and passion for mastering Japanese techniques won over the entire community. We are worlds apart in nation and culture, yet compassion and integrity bridge us all. Through this exchange, we learned what matters most in life.

During the more than 50 years that have passed since our founding, Yoshihara Woodworks has moved forward, thanks to the warm support of the local community and our customers. Thanks to this, we are now equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and handle not only general residential projects, but also furniture and joinery work for shop interiors and public facilities.

In November 2012, the business passed from my father, Shigefumi, to the second generation, and Yoshihara Woodworks entered a new phase. Today, we approach our daily work and craftsmanship with a renewed determination and an even stronger sense of responsibility.

In what is often called an era of drastic change, Japanese manufacturing is being asked to prove its true worth. To faithfully inherit the skills, wisdom, and traditions built up by our predecessors, and to carry them into the future is, we believe, the irreplaceable mission of artisans living today. It is with this mission in mind that we will continue our craft.

We will carry our traditions forward into the future.