Profile
Learning from the field, and creating new possibilities.
This profile introduces a fresh member who is gaining experience while working across two sites: Tsuyama Sogo Mokuzai Ichiba and the Innosho Forestry Building Materials Center.
At the market, he handles product auctions, purchasing, and profit management. At the building materials center, he works with local builders and customers. Alongside these roles, he is also exploring new expressions of wood, including resin tables, not only thinking about how timber is sold, but also how it is used, appreciated, and carried into people’s lives.
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Why He Joined
Encouraged by Yoshito Mamehara, his senior colleague, he began taking part in Mokuseiren activities. It has become a valuable place to meet and befriend people in the timber industry from across Japan, people he would not usually meet through everyday work, and a place that broadens his perspective.
Current Work and Challenges
Tsuyama Sogo Mokuzai Ichiba
At Tsuyama Sogo Mokuzai Ichiba, he is responsible for product auction sales, purchasing, and profit management. There were times when the market felt quiet, with fewer people gathering even when sales were held. Today, however, he is working to bring in interesting materials from across Japan, attract more people, and create a market where visitors feel that coming was worthwhile. Recently, he has been traveling around the country for purchasing. In a market that had rarely handled fine and special timbers before, he has begun bringing in such materials almost as an extension of his own personal interest, enjoying the process while expanding what the market can offer.
Innosho Forestry Building Materials Center
At Innosho Forestry, he is also taking on the challenge of managing the building materials center. Since his sales career originally began at the timber market, building materials were not something he understood from the beginning. Working at the center, however, has gradually helped him understand architecture and construction. It has been especially interesting for him to see how the timber he once handled at the market is actually used in houses, shops, and everyday spaces. He is now studying so that he can think not only about wood itself, but about architecture as a whole with a broader perspective.
Interest in WOODWORKING
Through encounters with a wide variety of wood materials at the market, my interest in creating products that bring out the natural character of wood has continued to grow. One example is my challenge of making resin tables. Rather than hiding knots, cracks, colors, and other unique features of the material, I try to preserve them as part of its charm and combine them with transparent resin to explore new ways of presenting wood. Gradually, I have begun to see some sales results as well, and the enjoyment that lies somewhere between work and hobby continues to inspire my next challenge.
Vision for the Future
His vision has two sides, one for Tsuyama Sogo Mokuzai Ichiba and one for Innosho Forestry. At the timber market, his goal is to make it “the most exciting timber market in Japan.” Together with his colleagues, he is trying to break through old assumptions about what a timber market can be, opening the door wider to both customers and suppliers, and taking on new ideas with a spirit of trying things first. Recently, people who have moved to the Mimasaka area have even started visiting him through word of mouth to look for wood. He does not yet know what the final form of the market will be. Even so, he wants to create something that has not existed before, something people find interesting, and something that can be useful to society. At the Innosho Forestry Building Materials Center, the vision is to become the building materials store most appreciated by the local community. Because Innosho Forestry works across a wide range of fields, from forests to sawmilling, laminated timber, and precut processing, he believes there are unique ways to contribute to customers. By combining those strengths in different ways, he is now planting the seeds of new ideas and services that can lead to better customer value.
Message to Members
“I really do love wood.” Because of that feeling, he hopes to connect more with Mokuseiren members and build friendships that go beyond work. Having friends in the same industry all across Japan is not only valuable for work, but also a treasure in life. With that in mind, he hopes to keep expanding his connections with people through Mokuseiren.
Here is his message to Mokuseiren members.
Music and Saxophone
Outside work, music is an important part of his life. He has played saxophone since his student days, and his performance history has now reached its twentieth year. He mainly plays jazz and is active primarily in Okayama Prefecture, performing at some kind of live event almost every month. In a different way from the timber field, music is another place where he connects people and creates shared moments. He also has a message for any musicians among the members: let’s have a session sometime. Below are a recent live-stream archive and Kurashiki Avenue, a venue in the Bikan Historical Quarter where he performs regularly.
Kurashiki AvenueA live venue in the Bikan Historical Quarter where he performs regularly.
Editor's Note
I first exchanged words with him when he visited our company as a salesperson from the timber market. As our conversations expanded beyond work, I recommended COTEN RADIO to him, as I often do. When we spoke by phone a week later, he had not only started listening to the program, but within just a few hours had absorbed its mission and values, and had even joined as a paid CREW member.
Even at the time, I was struck by how quickly he grasped the essence of things and acted without hesitation once something felt right. During this interview as well, he immediately understood the structure behind each question and even responded with thoughtful suggestions of his own. I was once again impressed by his sharpness and intelligence.
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