“Encore,” the IMPERIAL THEATRE comfort chair

Moquette fabric was used in the audience seating of theIMPERIAL THEATRE. We rewove it and created a chair that sublimates the comfort of a theatre seat, with a higher level of luxury.

On the cushion of the backrest, we reproduced the vertical center line typifying theatre seating. On the upper surface of the cushion, we attached a seat number plate that was actually used in the theatre.

The memories of the seats where audience members sat and stared at the stage come alive in each chair, which calls forth the thrill and elation felt by theatre-lovers the instant they entered the seating area.

The tips of the legs have a boat-shaped design so the chair can smoothly slide over the floor or carpet, without damaging them. In addition, the chair orchestrates an interlude of watching movies etc. at home like a voyage of the heart. It is an “encore” hail to the second theatre, fusing the seating comfort born of Karimoku Furniture’s sophisticated technology, and the design wrapping it in the grace of the IMPERIAL THEATRE.

IMPERIAL THEATRE container: “Restructured Purple”

The top of the lid of this container is covered with a new material that was made by layering and compressing moquette fabric which was actually used in the audience seating of the IMPERIAL THEATRE and colored the seating area. A clear coat was then applied to the fabric to give it a gloss.

The royal purple symbolizing the seating long loved by theatre-goers was put through an upcycling process that changed it into a completely different purple imbued with a refinement while retaining the depth of the original purple. For the container body, we selected Japanese-grown cypress wood of a prominent white shade that seems to answer the refined tone of the lid. The container is constructed with a view to having the old and new, and memories of the theatre and the coming time, silently nestle together.

The container is an item we hope their owners will long utilize as a silent receptor of accessories, small jewelry, memories of milestones, and the like, all kept close to them in daily life.

Production cooperation by Seishoku Co., Ltd.

“IMPERIAL THEATRE Longtime Bench”

In the Imperial Theatre, a grand staircase led to the second floor of the lobby.

Throughout the theatre’s history of about 59 years, its wooden railings supported countless audience members as they went up and down the staircase. These railings gave birth to stool-type benches that could be put to use in casual scenes in everyday life.

Two pieces of wood from railings on the top and bottom are supported by wood from Karimoku Furniture. The resulting bench reproducts perfectly embody the spirit of the Imperial Theatre Legacy Collection Project.

The benches are items that can be used not only for sitting near entrances and in corridors but also as little stands where things can be placed.

“IMPERIAL THEATRE Tray”

We made simple wide trays of an oval shape by combining the iconic royal purple moquette fabric long loved by IMPERIAL THEATRE audiences with quality walnut wood.

The moquette fabric is of the same type as that used on seating which once greeted myriad audiences. It makes a gentle holder of everyday accessories and stationery items. The beautiful form incorporating straight lines is a product of Karimoku Furniture’s sure woodworking technology. It expresses the accumulated history and imposing character of the IMPERIAL THEATRE.

While simple, the trays exude an elegance and look distinctive anywhere. They would make excellent holders where their owners can always keep eyeglasses, accessories, stationary items, keys, etc. In correspondence with their use, they can convey aftertones of the theatre in all sorts of places.

“IMPERIAL THEATRE Terrazzo Table”

These low tables are made of newly designed terrazzo materials. The materials were created by upcycling the rare natural stones (Imperial Red and Black Swede) used in the pillars of the IMPERIAL THEATRE lobby, bricks embedded all over the lobby walls on the audience seating side, and glass doors from the entrance.

The stone and bricks that had supported the theatre were finely pulverized and then recomposed. In this way, they were reborn as new materials, each with a different pattern.

The tables give materials that had been a part of the appearance of the theatre for so many years a new role and place. Through them, we hope that memories of the second theatre will continue to quietly live in everyday scenes.

IMPERIAL THEATRE coaster “Black Swede”

We remade stone from the pillars in the theatre lobby into coasters.

The coasters come in sets of two types: a normal type conveying the materiality of the stone itself, and a type bearing a design of the seating chart at the theatre.

We would be delighted if they call to mind the theatre’s atmosphere and seating when watching a performance, and even resurrect the thrill of the performance.

What is used for this item is Black Swede, a natural stone from Sweden. It was utilized for pillars in the second theatre and remained on duty in the lobby without a change, right from the opening in 1966. Please enjoy a special time together with the theatre’s history while tilting a glass lifted from the coaster.

IMPERIAL THEATRE table lamp “Café Imperial”

Café IMPERIAL was a coffee shop on the second floor lobby of the IMPERIAL THEATRE.

The cute lights suspended from its ceiling were given a new life and reborn as table lamps.

The stand combines two types of wood (oak and walnut), and the lamps are instilled with a deluxe, warm appearance by the dialogue between the wood texture and coloring. The old sockets and wiring were all replaced by new ones, and the lights are equipped with intermediate switches and Move plugs, all with safe and secure specifications.

We made careful repairs to eliminate even the slightest play, and adopted filament-type LED bulbs that emit a soft light.

A theatre light glows gently on a table, illuminating the memories of bygone time and their soft resonance.

DESIGNER

Yuma Kano

Born in 1988 in Tochigi Prefecture, Yuma Kano set up her own design studio after working as an assistant to the artist Yasuhiro Suzuki. Picking up the possibilities hidden in all sorts of things, he freely crosses scales of conception ranging from macro concept-mixing to examination of micro details. His activities similarly cross domains and go beyond the fields of products, interiors, material research, and spatial orchestration. Through his designs, he continues to update the very way we look at the world.

HIGHTIDE

Established in 1994, HIGHTIDE is headquartered in the Shirogane district of Chuo Ward in the city of Fukuoka. It consists of a stationery store and lifestyle shop that sells original stationery items and everyday sundries to customers inside and outside Japan. It directly runs HIGHTIDE STORE, which has six locations in Japan and two in the United States, and also operates an online shop.

Yoh Komiya

Yoh Komiya’s activities center around the design of products such as items of everyday use, furniture, and home electrical equipment. They extend to a multiplicity of domains including support for research and development (R&D) by companies and organizations in Japan and other countries, the launch of hardware and services, and brand direction. The major awards he has received are the iF DESIGN AWARD, Red Dot Design Award, and Design for Asia Award.

Yabashi Marble Co., Ltd.

Yabashi Marble is engaged in end-to-end provision and processing of, and construction with, stone materials from around the world for architectural use. It was founded in 1901, when Western-style architecture was making its way into Japan. At the time, it processed marble for use in fireplaces, for example. Eventually, its business widened to include building interiors and exteriors, and it began to handle not only marble but also limestone and granite. Ever since then, it has done masonry work for many landmark buildings including the National Diet and the Bank of Japan. Its business has progressed along with the culture of architectural stone in Japan. It is making efforts to keep creating enhanced architectural space through natural stone going forward as well.

SAKUMAESHIMA

SAKUMAESHIMA is an architectural design office based in Tokyo’s Harajuku district. Besides doing architectural designs for housing and commercial facilities, it handles interior designs for offices, stores, etc.; venue configurations for exhibitions; and product design. It aspires to maximize value while reinterpreting existing structures.

Hisakazu Shimizu

Hisakazu Shimizu is the representative director and a product designer at S&O Design Inc. During his employment at Canon, Shimizu was the chief designer of the digital camera IXY Digital series. He led its product branding, and helped the company to capture the top share of the world market for digital cameras. He has received numerous awards, domestic and foreign, including the German iF Design Award and the Good Design Award in Japan, and is also a member of the Good Design Award Judging Committee. He established S&O Design Inc. in 2012, and is practicing and promoting “continuous design,” an original three-dimensional design technique. He has also come to the fore for his diverse activities, such as Lovable Bad Design, a design research project spotlighting trivial everyday subjects, and his participation in the Setouchi Triennale, an international art festival. At present, he is additionally serving as an adjunct lecturer at the Kuwasawa Design School and the Tokyo University of the Arts.

Sae Honda

After graduating from the Department of Industrial, Interior, and Craft Design in Musashino Art University, Sae Honda worked for an interior manufacturer for a time before heading to the Netherlands. She graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2016 and relocated the base of her activities from the Netherlands back to Japan in 2021. Besides unveiling works of her independent production in Japan and other countries, she also makes works on commission. Some of her works are permanent parts of the collections at museums in the Netherlands, i.e., the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, and Museum Arnhem. She also serves as an adjunct lecturer at Musashi Art University.