Collection Exhibition
Masterpiece from Oda Collection Vol.22 “Chairs Connected to Japan: Japan Seen from the West”
DATE
2026/09/30(Wed) - 2027/03/08(Mon)
※6/19(木)～7/2(水)は展示を一時休止させていただきます
TIME
All of the day
SHARE
Collection Exhibition
DATE
2026/09/30(Wed) - 2027/03/08(Mon)
※6/19(木)～7/2(水)は展示を一時休止させていただきます
TIME
All of the day
Higashikawa Town, a principal production area of Asahikawa furniture, has designated the Oda Collection as public property and promotes its use to support the furniture and design industries. This exhibition presents furniture born from connections with Japan: chairs designed for Japan by Finn Juhl and Hans J. Wegner; furniture in which the French designer Charlotte Perriand distilled what she had learned during her time in Japan into her own design; the "Tokyo Chair," created for the Swedish Embassy in Tokyo; and the "Wakuden Chair," made for Wakuden, a restaurant in JR Kyoto Station.
Traditional Japanese aesthetics value respect for nature and the use of its materials and forms, restraint in ornament that makes the most of empty space, compositions free from strict symmetry, and a sensibility that finds richness within simple forms. Alive in architecture, crafts, furniture, gardens, and everyday life, these aesthetics began to leave a strong impression on artists and designers abroad in the late 19th century, as Japan deepened its exchange with the West. Through the works on view, this exhibition explores the encounter between Japanese and Western design, the rich resonance of aesthetics and form born from it, and the image of Japan that emerges.
Japan Chair
Finn Juhl
1957
Japan Chair (Custom Model)
Hans Jørgensen Wegner
1982
Stacking Chair Ombre
Charlotte Perriand
1954
Wakuden Chair
Hans Sandgren Jakobsen
1997
Tokyo Chair
Carl Axel Acking
1958
Oda Collection consists of furniture and household items with excellent 20th century designs, collected and studied worldwide by chair researcher Noritsugu Oda over more than 50 years. It includes over 8,000 items such as chairs and tables, lighting, tableware and cutlery, and toys, primarily from Scandinavia. Along with related literature, photographs, drawings, and other materials totaling about 20,000 items, this collection is systematically organized and is an extremely valuable collection, unparalleled in the world. Currently, about 1,350 chairs, which form the core of the collection, have been acquired by the town of Higashikawa, Hokkaido, and registered as cultural assets. Through exhibitions and lectures, the collection conveys to many people the joy and inspiration of “for a thoughtfully beautiful lifestyle.”