| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this paper is to clarify how bent-wood chairs developed in Austria during the mid-19^th> century were introduced into Japan and developed here. The method used in this study was to collect documentary materials which were verified through field surveys.
During 2000 we performed field surveys of bent-wood furniture makers, who had been referred in documentary materials, in Hiroshima, Tottori, Hyogo, Osaka, Nara, Akita, and Miyagi. During 2001, we further surveyed bent-wood furniture makers in Hokkaido, Nagano, Tokyo, Shizuoka, Aichi, and Osaka. As a result, the following are our findings.
The bent-wood industry in Japan has its origin in sleigh making. It was in the 10s of the Meiji era (1880s) in Hokkaido when the chief of Hokkaido Settlement and Development Organization hired sleigh makers from Russia, thus the bent-wood processing technique took root there.
In Tokyo, Yodobashi Mageki (bent-wood) Factory was established in 1897, but no bent-wood chairs were produced. Tokyo
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Mageki Factory was established in 1905, but regular production of bent-wood chairs was realized only in 1907. In Osaka, Izumi Mageki Factory was established in 1907, that produced bent-wood chairs as it's main product. We can conclude, therefore, that mass production of bent-wood chairs in Japan started in 1907.
The forestry experiment station of the Forestry Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce started a bent-wood chair making experiment in 1907. Devices used in bending wood used in the forestry experiment station were transferred to the state-operated Kajiyazawa Seizaisho sawmill in Miyagi in 1909, and later loaned to Akita Mokko Co., Ltd. established in 1911.
During the Taisho era (1912-1926), 15 bent-wood furniture makers were inaugurated in Tottori, Shizuoka, Hokkaido, Nagano, Gifu, Gifu, Hiroshima, Nara, Hyogo, and Osaka. Out of bent-wood furniture makers established in the Meiji and Taisho eras, only two makers, Akita Mokko Co., Ltd. and Hida Sangyo Co., Ltd., are producing bent-wood chairs at the present. Less
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