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a design studio (...) creating new narratives from the legacy of Japanese folk craft. More
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Vernacular design

Material: keyaki wood
Technique: ittobori
Region: Fukui

Limited edition, made to order
Edited by ANF

Spec sheet and information (PDF)





New Yukinko



From a folk item to a collectible design object, New Yukinko examines how living conditions shaped by economy of means and collective refinement can generate highly distinctive outcomes. The project approaches the Yukinko figure as a structural response to life in Japan’s snow country (Yukiguni), a human condition shared across geographies, rather than as an expression of so-called ‘authentic’ Japanese culture. 



     
01. Exhibition leaflet dedicated to Houn Maeda 
02. Page featuring woodcarver Houn Maeda, from a municipal newsletter of the city of Ono, Fukui Prefecture, 1973 (quotation below)
03. Municipal newsletter of Ono, Fukui Prefecture, 1988
“If a work touches the hearts of those who see it and is loved, it is because it possesses beauty. But beauty is not simply a pleasant appearance. In my opinion, it is the quest for human essence in harmony with the laws of nature. Today, many people are content to pursue superficial beauty. But that brings no richness to life. True richness is beauty that opens up to us through creative activity. That is why creation is not reserved for specialists: it is necessary for everyone in their daily lives.”

The first documented Yuki Ningyo (“snow doll”) figures were presented in 1948 by Buddhist woodcarver Houn Maeda in Ono, Fukui Prefecture. Alongside his religious practice, Maeda began carving these wooden figures, drawing from a material culture shaped by seasonal isolation and heavy snowfall.

Rural life in Yukiguni required practical responses to long winters, a reality that was beginning to disappear under postwar transformation. This vanishing world was documented at the time by photographer Hiroshi Hamaya in his depictions of remote communities, a condition further celebrated by Maeda’s carvings.   




Reduced to an essential geometric volume, free of superfluous detail, yet precisely controlled, the form of the Yukinko is both a response to the limited resources of Yukiguni and a product of broader postwar influences. Carved from dense keyaki wood, its proportions echo winter garments and protective equipment made from straw, translating everyday conditions into a coherent form. 

Produced using ittobori (single-blade carving), the Yukinko conceals a disciplined process beneath its apparent simplicity. Controlled tool marks, strict alignments and balanced symmetry become legible only at close range. As in engraving, toolmaking or other repetitive crafts, mastery lies in restraint. The technique prioritises consistency and control over individual expression, allowing variation to emerge through repetition rather than authorship. 



07–11. Kazunori Ichihashi in his workshop, Fukui City. Photos Ulysses Ortega
In the late 1950s, Maeda, increasingly focused on religious carving and committed to a collective mode of production, invited his cousin Yoshiaki Kaneko to develop his own versions of the figure. Kaneko refined its proportions, expanded the range into multiple sizes and wood essences, and transmitted the process to local artisans and amateur woodcarvers. 

When production ceased in the late 1980s, the Yukinko remained confined to its regional context, regarded as a modest folk object with limited visibility beyond Fukui. To re-engage with this history, ANF conducted field research, gathering archival material, interviewing local residents and assessing the state of remaining carving practices. 

In Fukui City, ANF collaborated with Ichihashi Studio, a family-run workshop where ittobori carving continues to be transmitted across generations. As demand for traditional carving has steadily declined, the reactivation of Yukinko production offers a way to sustain the practice while repositioning it within a contemporary design context.

Positioned as a case study in collective authorship and material intelligence, New Yukinko demonstrates how vernacular forms can resonate beyond their original scope while retaining their defining characteristics.


Projects



TypeName
Designer


Recollection
New Yukinko
 Edition
Pedestal Furniture
      Luka Yasukawa

EditionCompra Vase
Baptiste Meyniel

 RecollectionNuriwake Tray
In-house design

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2026
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