We have entered into a business partnership with TeaRoom to promote the appeal of art and Japanese culture both domestically and internationally.

Tanseisha has entered into a business partnership with TeaRoom Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo / Director: Ryo Iwamoto / hereinafter referred to as TeaRoom), which is involved in tea ceremony-related cultural projects. In the market for arts and crafts and Japanese culture, where there is still much room for new development, such as developing overseas markets, we will combine the network of craft artists held by B-OWND, an arts and crafts platform operated by Tanseisha, with the know-how of providing cultural experiences that TeaRoom has cultivated to create value.

Going forward, the two companies are planning to hold tea ceremonies using the "Tesera Room in Room model. President and Chief Executive Ofcer," a portable, modular, two-tatami-mat tea room that was jointly supervised by the two companies and based on a tea room developed by modular furniture manufacturer Tesera Inc. (Head office: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture / CEO: Takehiko Uchida, hereinafter referred to as Tesera). The first event will be held on Saturday, June 3rd as a special event for the "Ceramicist Takahiro Koga Solo Exhibition "NEO WABI-SABI" - Grand Opening Special Exhibition -," which will be held from Wednesday, May 31st in conjunction with the grand opening of B-OWND's permanent gallery, "B-OWND Gallery" (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo).

By allowing visitors to actually handle crafts as art during the tea ceremony experience, we aim to create an opportunity for them to experience their appeal on a deeper level, and to contribute to the promotion of craft works as art and the passing on of culture.

News Release
"Tanseisha" and "TeaRoom" enter into business partnership to promote the appeal of art and Japanese culture both domestically and internationally
~Co-supervising a modular teahouse and providing cultural experience opportunities in various regions~

Background of the collaboration between Tanseisha and TeaRoom

"B-OWND", an art and craft platform run by Tanseisha, has been holding experiential art events that combine art and tea ceremonies to give people an opportunity to experience crafts as art. At the event, TeaRoom's representative, Mr. Iwamoto, who is also a tea master, entertained visitors by making tea using tea utensils made by artists, providing an experience rooted in Japanese culture.

Based on this track record, we believe that by strengthening the collaboration between the two companies, we can create more opportunities to promote the appeal of crafts and Japanese culture and accelerate market expansion, which led to this current collaboration.

<TeaRoom Participation Tea Ceremony Results>
・HANEDA ART EVENT - A new form of art and tea ceremony -
・Crafts 3.0 -Art x Technology x Japanese Culture- produced by B-OWND

Details of collaboration

By combining the network of craft artists held by B-OWND, an art and craft platform run by Tanseisha, with the know-how TeaRoom has cultivated in providing cultural experiences, we will hold tea ceremonies in various locations both in Japan and overseas, and raise the value of both crafts as art and Japanese culture. By allowing people to actually handle craft works as art during the tea experience, we will create an opportunity to feel their appeal even more, and while it is an ancient tradition, we will approach a new demographic by offering a fresh experience.

In order to provide such experiences in various settings and "make the world of tea ceremony more accessible," the two companies jointly supervised the B-OWND model based on a tea room developed by modular furniture manufacturer Tesera. The "Tesera Room in Room model. B-OWND" is a modular two-tatami tea room that can be carried and assembled with a simple structure that can be used for various purposes. It is expected that it will not only be used for events, but will also be introduced in corporate offices for the purpose of internal and external communication, and a "Tesera Room in Room model. B-OWND" has currently been installed in the TeaRoom office. In the future, we also plan to develop content to support the use of tea rooms by companies that adopt it.

Comment from Ken Ishigami, B-OWND Producer, Business Development Division, Planning and Development Center, Tanseisha

TeaRoom and B-OWND began collaborating through art and tea ceremony events held in Haneda in 2021 and Hakata in 2022, and the appeal of the new cultural experience was highly praised, especially by young people and overseas customers. As a further initiative in the future, we are considering promoting business collaboration to increase the added value of Japanese culture for domestic and international markets by combining the know-how of space creation, which is Tanseisha's main business, with the soft cultural experience provided by B-OWND and TeaRoom. We hope that this initiative will lead to an expansion of the number of people working in traditional Japanese culture and the size of the market.

Comment from TeaRoom CEO Ryo Iwamoto

We have had the opportunity to work with Tanseisha on a wide variety of occasions, and have continually produced results that far exceed expectations, despite the current situation of the decline of Japanese culture, including crafts. We are very much looking forward to working on more developmental initiatives around the world through our business partnership this year. Culture is identity itself, and it is an idea that we would like people from around the world, as well as the new generation who will spread their wings from Japan to the world, to experience. Together with our many colleagues, we will continue to work hard on each and every project, aiming to create a rich society filled with culture.

Ceramicist Takahiro Koga's solo exhibition "NEO WABI-SABI" -Grand opening special exhibition-

To celebrate the grand opening of the B-OWND Gallery, a solo exhibition by ceramic artist Takahiro Koga, "NEO WABI-SABI," will be held at the Hankyu Men's Tokyo 1F MAIN BASE & 7F B-OWND Gallery. During the exhibition, you can actually experience the "Tesera Room in Room model. B-OWND" at the tea ceremony to be held on Saturday, June 3rd.

<Tea and sake ceremonies>

＜Talk event＞

About "B-OWND"

Launched in May 2019, B-OWND is an online marketplace that handles craft works as the highest form of art that expresses Japanese beauty. By carefully introducing artists and their works, the platform aims to connect artists with buyers. In addition, B-OWND allows you to purchase works that come with a blockchain-based digital certificate of authenticity. The fact that you have purchased a work is recorded semi-permanently, and each person's aesthetic sense is engraved in the history of art and crafts.

Related information

Related Links

B-OWND, an online marketplace that sells craft works as art: https://www.b-ownd.com/