Production Area
Fuchu City, Hiroshima Prefecture
Historical Details and Geographic Characteristics
Fuchu furniture is said to have originated when Enzo Uchiyama, who learned the tansu (chest) manufacturing method in Osaka, returned to his hometown in the early 18th century and started production. At that time, only a few wealthy people owned tansu, and it was not until the end of the Edo period that they became widely popular. During the Meiji Period, tansu were also produced as a long-lasting tool for transportation and storage, along with daily living purposes, but they were mainly sold in the neighborhood due to their heavy and bulky weight. In the late Meiji Era, the use of large wagons began, and sales channels gradually expanded.
By the beginning of the Taisho period, Fuchu Furniture had become the largest furniture production center in the prefecture, and with the opening of the railroad, long-distance transportation became possible, which led to further development of the Fuchu Furniture business. After the war, when high economic growth started, Fuchu Furniture started to sell wedding furniture sets and became nationally known as a high-end furniture production area. In recent years, Fuchu Furniture has been producing not only wedding furniture, but also living room and dining room furniture, and is still highly recognized as one of the six major furniture production centers in Japan.
