Shigeki Matsuoka
Shigeki Matsuoka
Shigeki Matsuoka
Born in Tokyo in 1977, Shigeki Matsuoka founded KOMA in 2003 and has devoted his practice entirely to the art of Japanese woodcraft. Named one of Japan's youngest Contemporary Master Craftsmen by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, he brings to his work a discipline forged through years of relentless making — sketching and building as many as three prototypes a week in his formative years. That early rigor instilled in him a core conviction: that beauty in design is not imposed, but revealed — through the material, through touch, and through a sustained attunement to the living nature of wood.
At KOMA's workshop on the outskirts of Tokyo, Matsuoka-san works almost exclusively with North American black walnut and cherry — woods chosen for their warmth, strength, and expressive grain — seasoning each plank for months before carving begins. Traditional tools guide the hand: kanna planes and kiri chisels shaping soft, seamless curves that no machine can replicate. A single chair may take three months to complete.
His work arises not from stylistic pursuit, but from a deep inquiry into materiality, proportion, and the silent elegance of functional form. No two pieces are identical; the wood dictates, and the hand listens. Matsuoka-san's work has been recognized with the Red Dot, A'Design, and DNA Paris Design Awards and is presented at KOMA's Tokyo showroom and at Ateliers Courbet in New York.
Shigeki Matsuoka
Born in Tokyo in 1977, Shigeki Matsuoka founded KOMA in 2003 and has devoted his practice entirely to the art of Japanese woodcraft. Named one of Japan's youngest Contemporary Master Craftsmen by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, he brings to his work a discipline forged through years of relentless making — sketching and building as many as three prototypes a week in his formative years. That early rigor instilled in him a core conviction: that beauty in design is not imposed, but revealed — through the material, through touch, and through a sustained attunement to the living nature of wood.
At KOMA's workshop on the outskirts of Tokyo, Matsuoka-san works almost exclusively with North American black walnut and cherry — woods chosen for their warmth, strength, and expressive grain — seasoning each plank for months before carving begins. Traditional tools guide the hand: kanna planes and kiri chisels shaping soft, seamless curves that no machine can replicate. A single chair may take three months to complete.
His work arises not from stylistic pursuit, but from a deep inquiry into materiality, proportion, and the silent elegance of functional form. No two pieces are identical; the wood dictates, and the hand listens. Matsuoka-san's work has been recognized with the Red Dot, A'Design, and DNA Paris Design Awards and is presented at KOMA's Tokyo showroom and at Ateliers Courbet in New York.
