How it all started

Kurkasa is a very young company that appreciates very old traditions. This is how it all started.

The founder always loved nature in all its various forms, but had a special affinity for plants and trees. After a busy day at work, he started wondering how he might be able to bring this important greenery into daily life.
As he started to read more and more about old Japanese traditions he was introduced to the intricate world of bonsai, where breathtakingly small, but very old pines and junipers were revealed in all their beauty. And this is where it actually started…as in historically started.

Bonsai

Japanese bonsai masters display their bonsai in a small dedicated room called a tokonoma, particularly when honouring an important guest or marking an event.

The tree in this room is almost always accompanied by a hanging scroll depicting the seasonal scene, a small figure or animal (tenpai) and a small accent plant (kusamono). In this order they represent humanity, heaven, and earth.

Every once in a while, they bring their outdoor trees such as pines indoors, so that they can enjoy the forest feeling in their living room – but not for too long, because they are, and always remain, outdoor trees.
Most importantly, this practice enables people living in a big city and in busy modern times to enjoy a meditative moment in their hectic day. They can take pleasure in all the things displayed in that room whenever they enter it.

How can we do the same in our lives? And how do we fit it into our interiors? We wanted to find the answers to these questions and come up with a delightful and natural end product.

We chose the most natural, environmentally friendly material we could find. From there we started drawing, drawing, and drawing some more until we’d figured it out.

And guess what, we did…

We hope that you will experience all of the above when enjoying these products.
Go and find your own kusamonos and tenpais for these pedestals of beauty.