Fifth-generation futon making

Japanese futon maker Takuya Niwa grew up with the soft rhythm of cotton beating and thread stitching, observing his father shape bedding by hand in the family atelier in Nagoya. Though he later studied cultural anthropology and explored product design, it was the quiet mastery of his father’s craft that called him home. Today, as the fifth-generation custodian of Niwa Futon, and one of the few futon makers still crafting entirely by hand – for optimal comfort and longevity – Niwa-san oversees every step of production. His skilled and intuitive process is deeply physical, grounded in the flow of movement he also hones through karate and ‘kata’.