Within the scope of Toshio Tokunaga’s art, there’s perhaps no better example of this than the Crochet Chair and Ganpi Shi Chair, which pair his woodwork with fabric craft of the highest level.

Made from 300 year-old Japanese maple, the Crochet Chair is a collaboration between father and daughter. Tokunaga-san’s characteristically pared down design is complemented by Yuriko Tokunaga’s hand crocheted upholstery.

The joinery of this particular chair is of great importance as Tokunaga worked to create a tapped and threaded internal wood screw connection.

This particular one-of-a-kind Crochet Chair upholstery is created with hand-spun washi paper made from Kozo mulberry, dyed with sumi ink, twisted into string, and finally crocheted to cover the chair’s seat and back.

Kanna is both the name for a type of woodworking and the planing tool at its heart. Avoiding power tools and sanding of any kind, Kanna is a patient and an intuitive process guided by the hand’s touch. 

Tokunaga sees the tool as akin to a stethoscope that tells him the condition of the wood and how it will respond. His consciousness as a designer lives as much in his fingertips as in his mind. The process, which resembles sculpting, is a sustained act of attention that involves listening to the sound of the planer makes as it passes over the wood. No two wood blocks respond the same. The result is an immaculate finish that higher-tech methods can’t equal.