MARUNAO began as an engraving business decorating temples and shrines in Sanjo City, Niigata Prefecture.
Today, Marnao produces a wide variety of woodworking products such as chopsticks.
The products, which inherit the traditional techniques of carving and the experience of handling fine wood, are characterized by their high functionality and sophisticated appearance.
We offer products that are beautiful down to the smallest detail, combining the skillful handcraftsmanship we have accumulated over many years with the latest technology.
The Beginning of MARUNAO’s “Chopsticks
The Tsubame-Sanjo area is located slightly northwest of the center of Niigata Prefecture. Yahiko and overlooking the countryside of the Echigo Plain, lies the factory that also serves as the store for MARUNAO (MARUNAO Corporation). In this modern factory surrounded by forests, wooden cutlery, such as octagonal chopsticks and other high-end chopsticks and spoons, are carefully handmade one by one by craftsmen.
Marnao was founded in 1939. The company was founded in 1939 (Showa 14), when the grandfather of the current president, Takahiro Fukuda, started manufacturing carpentry tools in anticipation of postwar housing demand, based on the traditional techniques of temple and shrine and Buddhist altar carving that he had been engaged in until then. The company’s main product was the Sumitsubo Guruma, one of the three sacred tools of carpentry and a necessity for drawing straight lines. Since then, the company has continued to manufacture carpentry tools even though the year has changed to the Heisei era. However, as the times changed, demand for construction work declined and construction methods changed, necessitating a new business development. The third generation of the company, Mr. Fukuda, then, decided to use his craftsmanship in making hand tools to create chopsticks, which he saw as “something close to the human body and close to the delicate senses of those who use them.
Marnao Products Spreading Around the World
Carpenters who continue to use the tools they are accustomed to will never use them again once they are betrayed by them. Knowing this, Marnao wanted to produce only tools that they could be proud of and confident in. After much trial and error, they arrived at the octagonal wooden chopsticks with a tip of only 1.5 mm. When held in the hand, the even-numbered angles that fit the middle finger were the most stable, and the shape was both easy to grasp and pleasant to the palate. The shape of the chopsticks was also found to be suitable for hard woods such as ebony and ebony, which have a high density and do not allow water to penetrate easily. In particular, ebony, which is a representative wood for Marnao products and belongs to the family of Oysteraceae, has excellent water resistance, which is essential for wooden chopsticks that do not have lacquered surfaces, and the wood itself has antibacterial properties that are hygienic and beautiful to look at as well as being extremely durable. However, the use of rare and precious wood naturally led to high selling prices. At the time of the launch, the most expensive pair of Wajima-nuri chopsticks sold in department stores was priced at 5,000 yen, while the most expensive pair of Wajima-nuri-chopsticks was priced at 12,000 yen. Buyers were skeptical, asking why wooden chopsticks were so expensive. Nevertheless, Marnao’s chopsticks received high acclaim each time they were sold in person at major department stores, and consumers who actually enjoy eating with chopsticks began to understand how easy they were to hold and how good they felt in the mouth. In 2004, when torrential rains hit Niigata Prefecture, causing the Igarashi River running through Sanjo City to overflow and forcing the replacement of all machinery and materials at the Marnao factory, Mr. Fukuda, who had a solid response to the chopstick production, decided to change the course of his business plan to focus on chopstick production and persuaded his father, the second generation The following year, Mr. Fukuda assumed the position of representative director. The following year, Mr. Fukuda assumed the position of representative director and began to further develop the chopstick manufacturing business in earnest.
In 2009, the company exhibited its chopsticks alone for the first time at Ambiente in Frankfurt, Germany, the world’s largest international trade fair for consumer goods. The response was not bad. The following year, with an eye on demand for Western-style food, the company added wooden spoons to its lineup, with a base pressure of only 2 mm, which were both pleasant to the palate and beautiful to look at. The spoons and chopsticks caught the eye of Joel Robuchon, a master of French cuisine, who happened to be in town and decided to use the spoons and chopsticks at his Japanese restaurant in Monaco. With this as a foothold, the company next exhibited at Maison & Objet, an international exhibition held in Paris. Once the spoon and other culturally-appropriate products were accepted, chefs from prestigious starred restaurants began to seek out cutlery produced by Marnao’s advanced polishing techniques, and the company’s name recognition in Europe grew rapidly.
Tradition and innovation create MARNAO’s tools.
As Marnao’s products began to gain recognition and many buyers began to visit the factory, the craftsmen began to experience undue stress from having to interrupt their work every time a visitor came to the factory. In order to open the factory to the public at all times, a new building with an open factory and a directly-managed store was established in 2014 at the current location, where consumers can freely observe the manufacturing process. The glass partition between the manufacturing site and the gallery blocks out the presence of visitors, and the dark tone of the space on the visitor’s side makes it difficult for the craftsmen to see the visitors, allowing them to concentrate on their work. The design also allows visitors to feel the passion of the craftsmen for their craftsmanship up close, even through the glass. This structure led to a moderate sense of tension among the craftsmen, which positively contributed to the improvement of their technical skills.
In 2017 (Heisei 29), the company opened a directly managed store in Tokyo. Two years later, he opened his first overseas store in Paris, a long-sought-after first for Niigata Prefecture, as he wanted to “take on the challenge in a place with a different food culture and food history.
Plans are underway to build a new restaurant on the factory grounds to provide a place where visitors can actually eat with Marnao chopsticks and spoons. Marnao’s craftsmanship, which began with traditional carving techniques before World War II, has become the creation of beautiful and ideal tableware with the same high level of craftsmanship as at that time. The main focus should be on food, and the utensils should play a supporting role,” says Fukuda. The utensils should be easy to hold, easy to use, and clean. We have a strong awareness that we are making eating utensils that are touched by hand and put in the mouth,” he says proudly. This confidence and pride in providing the world with products that are truly good will continue to support Marnao’s further development.
Marnao’s craftsmanship began with the traditional techniques of engraving. Today, the company skillfully utilizes the outstanding skills of its elite craftsmen to produce products with high precision and beautiful workmanship. We will continue to produce tools that fuse tradition and innovation based on the trajectory of our predecessors.
