Akiyuki Sasaki sits among his furniture creations — sofas, chairs, tables, all natural woods, clean lines and minimal forms with a nature-inspired palette of textiles — that at first sight feel unquestionably Japanese.
Yet there are subtle clues that this is no conventional Japanese brand, as the designer explains while picking up a small oak stool and running a finger along its gently curved sides.
"See this H-shape?" he asks. "It was inspired by a very old Chinese coin dating back thousands of years, which I saw in the National Museum (of China) in Beijing. My furniture has a lot of soft, flowing lines inspired by the Qing (1636-1912) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties."