Keep it long, treasure it long.

A pioneer in Japanese design

Mr. Watanabe was born in Tokyo in 1911.
After graduating from the Tokyo Higher Polytechnic School and the Wood Crafts Department, Riki Watanabe worked as an assistant professor at his alma mater and then became an assistant forestry subject at the Tokyo Imperial University (currently the University of Tokyo).
After the world war II, he became a freelance designer and attracted attention from both home and abroad with the “string chair” announced in 1951.
In 1957, "Triis Tool", which is a representative work, won the Compassodolo Award at the Milan Triennale. In addition, he is one of the leading designers in Japan and has won numerous awards, including the New Architecture Award of the New Production Association Exhibition, the Gold Prize of the Milan Triennale Exhibition, the Minister of International Trade and Industry Award, the Mainichi Industrial Design Award, and the Good Design Award. In addition to starting with the former Tokyo Hilton Hotel, he worked on over a dozen hotels and was deeply involved in the establishment of the Japan Design Committee, JIDA, Craft Center Japan, Tokyo Zokei University, and interior design departments.