Yamakawa Rattan won gold at the Milan Triennale in 1957 and became the first Japanese furniture company selected for MoMA's permanent collection in 1964, announcing Japan's arrival on the global design stage. But behind this institutional recognition lies a more intimate story of family, craft, and the belief that exceptional design can emerge from the most unexpected beginnings.
A Family Business Born from Love
Hichiro Yamakawa started his company in 1952 for the most personal of reasons: two of his three sons were hearing impaired, and he wanted to provide them with security by training them with a marketable skill. Rattan weaving was perfect — it required the kind of precise handwork his sons excelled at, and it didn't rely on verbal communication.
Working from a storage room behind their Tokyo home, the family discovered they had something special. The two hearing-impaired brothers became master weavers while their third hearing brother Yuzuru juggled day work at the family business with night classes at design school. This combination of traditional craft skills and formal design training positioned Yamakawa Rattan at the forefront of Japan's post-war design renaissance.
Breaking Ground at MoMA
Recognition came swiftly. Yamakawa was the co-winner of the Governor of Tokyo Prize in 1954, a co-winner of the gold medal at the Milan Triennale in 1957, and one of their designs was selected for the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1964. The pieces that caught MoMA's attention showed exactly what made Yamakawa special: clean lines that felt organic, precision construction that still felt warm, and a way of working with rattan that elevated it beyond its humble reputation. Their work demonstrated how rattan—often dismissed as casual or colonial—could achieve sophisticated expression when guided by masterful hands and thoughtful design.
Design Relevance Today
Yamakawa's pieces resonate powerfully with contemporary interior design. Their work predated today's sustainability movement by decades, yet embodies every principle we now champion: natural materials, timeless construction, human-scale comfort. The organic curves and woven textures provide essential counterbalance to our increasingly digital environments.
For design professionals, Yamakawa pieces offer rare versatility. They anchor minimalist spaces with textural richness while complementing maximalist schemes through their neutral palette. The sculptural quality means they function equally as seating and art objects.
Yamakawa at Twenty One Tonnes
We're thrilled to present authentic Yamakawa pieces because they embody many of our own values: exceptional craftsmanship, a compelling backstory, and enduring design relevance. The lounge chair and footstool we're sharing showcase the company at their finest.
These pieces carry forward a legacy of inclusive innovation and material mastery. For designers seeking furniture with both beauty and meaningful provenance, Yamakawa Rattan offers something increasingly rare: pieces that improve with age, stories that deepen with telling, and craft that honors both maker and material.
See them now:
Armchair & footstool
by YAMAKAWA RATTAN
