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CHOWA SPACE ART

EST. 2023 A box to a space.

Chowa began as a kiri-bako practice, partnering with prestigious brands to share the value of Japanese craft through the humble box. Kiri-bako remains the heart of our story.

Yet many who visited our TriBeCa showroom for the boxes asked for more: the same harmony, throughout their homes. In response, we acquired Serious Construction, the builder behind our showroom founded by Yudai Kanayama, and formed Chowa Space.

Today we design, build, furnish, decorate, and style private homes, stores, and restaurants from beginning to end, a practice we call Interior Art. Each project is a unique work, serial numbered like a piece of art.

Chowa Original

Chowa Original

Residential and retail, designed and built and furnished from beginning to end. Serial numbered, like a work of art.

Selected works
Chowa Ventures

Chowa Ventures

Partner with us to run spaces and businesses. Any ideas.. library, a showroom, a hotel a spa...anywhere.

Our locations
Chowa Furniture

Chowa Furniture

Pieces drawn first for our own projects, now made to order. Eleven to begin with, and commissions beyond them.

Learn more
Chowa Woodshop

Chowa Woodshop

56 Bogart St Basement, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.

Our woodshop in Brooklyn is where our team builds every piece of original furniture and millwork for our spaces. Making it ourselves lets us control each detail, from raw timber to final installation.

Chowa Ventures

Alongside our work for clients, we build and operate places of our own. These are spaces where the craft behind the boxes can be experienced rather than described. We are rapidly expanding this side of our business in partnership with leaders in hospitality, art, and wellness.

Here are 4 Chowa-operated locations across New York City and Tokyo.

Chowa Library

56 BOGART ST BASEMENT, BROOKLYN, NY, U.S.A.

Featured in The New York Times. A phone-free, photo-free Brooklyn teahouse and design shop, with exclusive events and guided tours available on request.

Chowa Showroom

401 BROADWAY #2312 NEW YORK CITY, NY, U.S.A.

Our first space, overlooking downtown New York from TriBeCa. Designed to showcase the spirit of craftsmanship behind our kiri-bako and box works.

Chowa Hall Tokyo

18-20 NANPEIDAI, SHIBUYA CITY, TOKYO, JAPAN

Our first Tokyo project, set in the former residence of Prime Minister Takeo Miki. A great honor, now home to private hosting and tea ceremony.

Chowa Bar Tokyo

1-6-13 HIGASHIYAMA, MEGURO CITY, TOKYO, JAPAN

Our second Tokyo space and our first open to the public. Exceptional cocktails and warm energy, built around one idea: tell your mother you love her.

SELECTED COLLABORATION SPACES

Chowa X Mercer

A launch event in collaboration with The Mercer Hotel in New York. Every detail was crafted for a single night.

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Chowa X Monna

A luxury retreat in the attic of an original Shaker house in Old Chatham, New York, in harmony with Shaker craft.

LEARN MORE

Chowa Lodge

A private residence in Silo Ridge, an exclusive community in Amenia, New York. Designed for our very first client.

PRIVATE PROJECT

Chowa X Turrell

A private space in Daikanyama, Tokyo, home to a James Turrell artwork. Completed in December 2025.

PRIVATE PROJECT
View more images of the space works

PRE-ORDER JUST STARTED

With a crafts soul of box making, applied to chair design.

Inspired by a circa-1900 Pennsylvania drugstore chair discovered while sourcing antiques for the Chowa Library, Ray Suzuki reimagined its Shaker and Amish influences into the Chowa Chair—a signature piece blending American craftsmanship with contemporary Japanese sensibility.

Pencil sketch of the Chowa Chair

Sketch by Ray Suzuki

Every Chowa Chair is crafted to order in Halikko, Finland.

See the Chowa Chair

THE DESIGNERS

Since 2024, Ray Suzuki and Yudai Kanayama have taken more than 12 projects from first sketch to completion, working alongside licensed architects, industry specialists, and leading artists. Their exacting, distinctly Chowa approach has been featured in The New York Times, Monocle, and more prestigious publications. They shape each space around the client's vision while keeping full control of its making, which they believe is the only way to deliver a project that succeeds for both sides.

Yudai Kanayama

Head of Chowa Space

Yudai brings a decade of building and running his own New York restaurants. After graduating from FIT, he founded The Izakaya in the East Village, a gathering place for the culture and fashion world, followed by Dr. Clark in Chinatown, whose outdoor kotatsu tables drew wide attention during the pandemic. Frustrated by local contractors, he founded Serious Construction, acquired by Chowa in 2024. He leads construction on site alongside our carpenters, and with his wife runs Subject, a respected American antiques dealing house.

Ray Suzuki

Founder of Chowa

Ray leads the details of design language of Chowa Space. His pursuit of chowa, harmony between Japanese tradition and the classic and contemporary spirit of New York, shapes every project. A background in graphic and motion design gives his spaces their precise proportions, graphic detail, and deliberate pairing of materials. Ray translates ideas into technical drawings and realistic build plans, working with architects and furniture designers, and directs carpenters on site until each detail is resolved.

INQUIRIES

For new commissions, collaborations, and private viewings, please share a few details below. Our team will be in touch.
Chowa's commissioned projects begin at $300,000. We also welcome collaborative proposals.
Out of respect for our clients, around 60% of our projects remain entirely private and are not photographed. To request a tour or a private viewing of project images, please mention it in your message.