Since the 1930s, Takeo Yamanaka, the founder of Maruni Wood Industry, has led his company to become Japan’s most celebrated furniture manufacturer. Designing and manufacturing classic armless chairs, armchairs, wooden chairs, stools, lounge chairs, sofas and ottomans, benches, tables, and side and low tables, Maruni established itself as Japan’s leading provider of high-quality furniture that evokes a traditional sense of Western beauty.

Much discipline and effort have been invested in this achievement. Growing up in Miyajima in Hiroshima Prefecture, a region with a rich tradition of woodcraft, Yamanaka was fascinated by the way wood, as a material, could be shaped and transformed. University-educated as a mechanical engineer and self-taught in German to study modern industrial processes, Yamanaka established Maruni Wood Industries as one of the first Japanese companies to achieve high-quality modern design furniture using advanced manufacturing methods.

During the 1960s, Maruni developed its own carving machines and other advanced production processes to manufacture furniture featuring sculpted carvings, achieving a level of quality previously associated with handcrafting one unit at a time. These sofas, ottomans, and wooden chairs remain among the most successful Western-style furniture ever produced in Japan.

Like so many others, Maruni’s record sales collapsed with the bursting of Japan’s economic bubble. “Japanese furniture in Western style had previously succeeded by emulating the culture of Western Europe,” explains Andrew Fisher, owner of the Arkitektura Consortium in San Francisco and Birmingham, Michigan, near Detroit. “But such an approach has no real historical significance. Their sense of impending crisis motivated Maruni to explore, once again, what chairs are really all about,” continues the Arkitektura Showrooms’ chief executive officer. “It was in this context that Maruni was presented with a raft of new ideas by the architect and product designer Masayuki Kurokawa.” Both classic and new furniture concepts from Maruni Wood Industries can be viewed at Arkitektura Showrooms.

Thus, the nextmaruni project was born in 2004. Throughout the company’s history, Maruni had directed and managed every aspect of the design process. This new approach was profound: now, twelve designers from around the world were challenged to create their own designs, while Maruni’s expertise was focused on bringing them to life. This intense collaboration between designers and Maruni resulted in beautiful new forms that garnered international attention.

Maruni collaborated with an astonishing roster of brilliant designers, including Alberto Meda, Harri Koskinen, Jasper Morrison, Kanji Ueki, Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA, Masayuki Kurokawa, Michele De Lucchi, Naoto Fukasawa, Sean Yoo, Shigeru Uchida, Shin & Tomoko Azumi, and Tamotsu Yagi.

These were chairs as works of art—born from inspired design and realized through Japan’s most advanced furniture manufacturing techniques.

Following the success of the nextmaruni project, Maruni shifted its focus toward establishing a more cohesive and long-term design direction. This transition led to the creation of the Maruni Collection, introduced in 2008 under the artistic direction of Naoto Fukasawa. The collection embodies Maruni’s signature balance of Japanese craftsmanship and contemporary design, further strengthening the brand’s presence in the global furniture industry. Today, the collection continues to evolve through collaborations with renowned designers such as Jasper Morrison and Cecilie Manz, further solidifying Maruni’s position in the international market.

“It is always a pleasure for the Arkitektura Showrooms in San Francisco and Detroit (Birmingham, Michigan) to introduce Maruni’s beautiful beech, oak, maple, and walnut furniture to architects, interior designers, and private clients,” concludes Andrew Fisher, whose showrooms are authorized representatives.

“The two-seat and three-seat sofas by Naoto Fukasawa are essential foundations of the Hiroshima concept. Not to be missed are the armless chair from the nextmaruni collection, designed by SANAA, the armchair from the concept by Jasper Morrison, and Bench 165 from the Asian Bench concept, also designed by Naoto Fukasawa,” Fisher adds.

Through continuous reinvention, Maruni’s furniture fuses the Japanese sensibility for delicacy with technical craftsmanship, creating pieces designed to remain beautiful for a hundred years and beyond.

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