My interest in craftsmanship was transformed into action when I witnessed handmade kiri-bako boxes being replaced by machine-made plastic packaging.

Rooted in Japanese history, these boxes embody more than function. They represent knowledge passed quietly from one generation to the next, a continuity of craft that becomes increasingly rare with each passing decade.

To me, bringing the wisdom of sustainable craftsmanship together with contemporary ideas in today's market landspace presents a powerful possibility: sustainable luxury.

I visited Akebono Kougei, our partner workshop in Fukuyama, Japan, where I spoke with a master artisan who has worked at the same table for more than 40 years, since he was 18.

With a gentle smile, he told me:

“I still learn new things every day. The idea of making boxes that will protect treasured objects, perhaps something priceless to someone, motivates me to keep improving.”

Those words stayed with me.

From that moment, I became committed not only to preserving this craft, but to celebrating the philosophy and history surrounding it, and to bringing its deeply sustainable wisdom into a contemporary luxury landscape.

Traditional workshops such as Akebono Kougei rarely stray from the paths they have followed for generations. So when they agreed to collaborate with us in an entirely new way, Chowa began.

In January 2024, we opened a small showroom in TriBeCa, New York. What surprised us was that visitors became interested not only in the boxes themselves, but also in the space, the materials, the design, and the culture surrounding them.

That curiosity led us to establish Chowa Space Art

Since then, we have created more than 12 Chowa Original spaces, overseeing everything from design and construction to styling and decoration. Each project has allowed us to translate the same principles we discovered in kiri-bako craftsmanship, restraint, precision, respect for materials, and quiet beauty, into a larger environment.

In 2026, we reached another milestone with the opening of Chowa Bar Tokyo, marking the beginning of Chowa’s evolution into a broader lifestyle brand.

Today, we are working on numerous projects, and there is much more we look forward to sharing.

Yet everything we create begins in the same place: with respect for the artisans of Japan.

We create spaces because they give us another way to tell the story of these delicate crafts. We design environments so that traditions that might otherwise remain unseen can be experienced, discussed, and carried forward.

Chowa exists to champion overlooked excellence.

Much like the kiri-bako itself, we believe there is profound beauty in an existence that is noble yet humble, something created not to demand attention, but to protect, support, and endure.

We are deeply grateful to the generations of craftspeople who have dedicated their lives to passing down such a gentle tradition.

Their dedication is what drives us forward.

It inspires us to create something worthy of being passed on, in turn, to generations yet to come.

With gratitude,

決して消えることのない我が国の和の心とは、職人や、脇役として使われる道具、箱にも平等に敬意を表す、崇高にして謙虚な姿勢だと考えます。

またそれは、顕示的なラグジュアリーから本質的なラグジュアリーへと転換し始めている世界の市場に、日本国が提案できる価値であると私たちは確信しています。

日本国から遠く離れたニューヨークで前衛的なアイディアを心得、崇高にして謙虚な和の心を持ち、


いざ世界へ。

– Ray Suzuki, Founder and CEO