About Us

Yuki Yoshimura Washi Studio:

Located near the historical coastal town of Tsuyazaki, in Fukutsu City, Fukuoka, our washi studio is an abandoned agricultural workshop located in the middle of rice fields, surrounded by mountains and the sound of ocean waves nearby.

All products are designed and handcrafted by washi artist Yuki Yoshimura, beginning with the base washi (Japanese paper).  Read more about our washi here.  

If there is a size, shape, or design style that you prefer but you don't see in our store, feel free to contact us for a consultation - we offer custom and semi-custom orders.  

Our washi studio is part of Yuki Yoshimura Design and Craft Inc., a family owned and operated business.  In addition to washi, Yuki also makes wooden furniture and leather goods, as well as offering lighting and interior design consultations for private residences, businesses, or other spaces.  Please visit our Instagram page for more information.

For any inquiries, contact us via the website contact page, or send us a direct email to yukiyoshimurawashi@gmail.com.  You can also DM us on Instagram.

 

About Yuki Yoshimura   　吉村 祐樹 

Making things has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a child, I made fishing nets and model kits; as a teenager, leather shoes and wallets; and as an adult, furniture and a vegetable garden. I have always followed my curiosity, trying my hand at many forms of making.

At university, I majored in architecture. When washi was introduced to us as a “traditional craft in decline,” it sparked a strong interest. Until then, I had not fully understood the qualities or potential of washi, but I was particularly drawn to its ability to softly diffuse light and create calm, restful spaces. For my master’s thesis, I researched the use of washi in contemporary architecture.

After graduating, I became an apprentice at a washi workshop in Tochigi Prefecture, where I spent two years learning a wide range of washi-making techniques and applications. During this time, I also worked at a thatched-roof traditional inn, experiencing rural life firsthand through farm work and daily living—an experience that had a profound impact on me as someone raised in the city.

After getting married, I returned to Fukuoka and chose to live in the town of Tsuyazaki rather than in the urban center of my hometown, Fukuoka City. While teaching for nine years in the Department of Housing and Interior Design at Kyushu Sangyo University, I led a busy life balancing education and child-rearing, yet my desire to return to washi-making never faded.

Living in Tsuyazaki, I began to notice abandoned fields and changing landscapes on a daily basis. Gradually, my interest deepened in the relationship between agriculture, handcraft, and everyday life. Life in a place where land and people are closely connected made me acutely aware of the value of time spent with family and community.

It was also during this period that I began to envision a way of living in which home, farming, and craft are not divided, but form a continuous and integrated structure of life. As my children were still young, I felt an even stronger desire to stay close and watch them grow. Approaching the age of 39, I began to reflect seriously on how I wanted to live and work over the next 10 to 15 years.

In Tsuyazaki, I encountered people who worked close to home while remaining present in their children’s lives, and I began to feel that this way of living and working was an ideal worth pursuing. Although my work at the university was deeply fulfilling, the long hours and daily commute made this vision difficult to realize. After much consideration, and the strong encouragement of my wife and family, I made the decision to resign in 2024. At the same time, I enrolled in a vocational training school for one year to study furniture-making, acquiring fundamental woodworking skills for the frames and structural elements of my washi works.

In 2025, I established Yuki Yoshimura Design and Craft Inc. Today, along with washi-making, I engage in farming, furniture-making, leather goods, and education, adjusting my work to the seasons and the rhythm of daily life. Much like Japanese farmers of the past who devoted themselves to agriculture in summer and handcrafts in winter, I move between different roles and spaces, depending on the season and the weather, depending on the needs of my family and community, depending on where and when I find the inspiration to create.

Whenever I make something, I return to a simple question: In a world overflowing with so much stuff, what should I make—and why?
Through the gentle light and warmth of washi, I hope to bring quietness and ease into everyday spaces—to create small moments of peace within daily life.