Pair of Armchairs
From Series “H”
Manufactured by Tendo Mokko
Japan, 1970s
Teak, rosewood plywood, upholstery

Measurements (each)
74 × 71 × 70h cm
29,1 × 28 × 27,6h in

Provenance
Private collection, Japan

Literature
Cho Daisaku: 84 Year Old Active Duty Designer, p. 73.
Daisaku Choh / Gan Hosoya / Novhiko Yabuki. Published by Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, 2006. Page 33

About Daisaku Choh
Born in 1921 Daisaku Choh considers his activities as an architect and interior designer to be two sides of the same coin. "Where does the interior end and the exterior begin in the same building?" he asks. "The fundamental essence of Japanese architecture lies in the fact that the interior and exterior constructions [...] are virtually identical." After graduating in architecture from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, Choh joined the architectural firm of Junzo Sakakura in 1947. In 1960, he was responsible for the Japanese section of the Milan Triennale, which won a gold medal for its exhibition design He also designed furniture, manufactured by Tendo Mokko (No. 49), and was a member of the jury for the company's annual furniture design competition (1960–1966). He opened his own office in 1972 and devoted himself to furniture design and housing as an architect. He received numerous awards, including the Mainichi Prize for Industrial Design in 1971 and the Japan Association of Interior Designers Prize in 1977.

About Tendo Mokko
In northwest Japan, in Yamagata Prefecture, a group of carpenters and joiners created a cooperative that primarily produced wooden objects, ammunition and supply crates for the army. Incorporated in 1942, the cooperative worked with the Sendai Institute of Industrial Arts and used the new molded plywood technology to make decoy aircraft. After the war, Tendo opened an office in Tokyo (1947). It produced furniture for the occupying troops, then turned, in the early 1950s, to furniture for the domestic market One of his first commissions came from the architect Kenzo Tange, who designed plywood seats for the Ehime Prefecture, built in 1953. Plywood was then a new material for designers, and Tendo was one of the first manufacturers to use it for its furniture, notably for the Butterfly stool, created in 1956 by Sori Yanagi. Tendo's policy of paying royalties for design projects attracted many other designers, so much so that, in the sixties, Tendo could boast among its ranks the leading furniture designers Isamu Kenmochi, Daisaku Choh, Riki Watanabe, whose creations are still produced. In addition, Tendo encouraged young designers by funding an annual competition from 1960 to 1967 and by manufacturing some of the winning designs itself, such as Reiko Tanabe's plywood chair. In 1964, Tendo received the Mainichi Prize for Industrial Design for its pivotal role in furniture manufacturing.