yusan to Exhibit for the First Time at Milan Design Week 2026
Tokushima-based culture brand yusan will make its debut at Milan Design Week 2026, the world's largest international furniture and interior design fair, to unveil the "yusan stool—Forest, in time." This product, which showcases the time a tree lived by cross-sectioning a log, aims to create an opportunity to re-evaluate the value of abandoned forests.
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- 📰 Published: March 31, 2026 at 20:19
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Tokushima-based culture brand yusan will unveil "yusan stool—Forest, in time." at Milan Design Week 2026, the world's largest international furniture and interior design fair.
This product, which expresses the time a tree lived by cross-sectioning a log, creates an opportunity to re-evaluate the value of abandoned forests.
Concept
Forest, in time.
This stool brings 'mountain time' into any space.
The annual rings revealed on the surface of the stool are a cross-section of the unique time a single tree lived in the mountains. No two annual rings are exactly alike in the world. Within the uniform flow of urban time, the long, circulating time of the mountains flows.
This gives a new axis to the time we live in—a chair like a clock, but without a specific time.
Message
I was born into a family that ran a forestry business until my grandfather's generation. But now, those trees are left in the mountains and called a liability. Yet, when I enter the mountains, I feel a mysterious sense of fulfillment. I believe this is because I immerse myself in 'mountain time.'
Urban time is fast, efficient, and creates abundance. But in its speed, we sometimes miss important things. On the other hand, a completely different time flows in the mountains. Things that have lived for a long time circulate. When I surrender myself to that time, my senses sharpen, and I feel truly alive. And once I know that feeling, it lingers even after returning to the city.
Could we incorporate such 'mountain time' into various spaces away from the mountains? This stool was born from that question.
The annual rings of the wood that became this stool count exactly 50 years. The sight of cutting down a tree that had grown for many years felt like a ritualistic moment of taking a life. The annual rings are inscribed with the time that tree lived. From information like rainfall and land data, one can reflect on trees that lived in the same era and region.
This product begins with a single mountain in Tokushima. And I hope to make it a medium to convey that mountains sleeping in various places are alive. Using time as an entrance, we contemplate the value of mountains. With this wish, I hope to shed light on all dormant values.
Miyu Tanaka, yusan
Technology
As a technology that allows annual rings to be directly utilized in design, a method using machinery for making veneer sheets is employed. Originally, veneer is manufactured by thinly slicing logs along the grain, but in this work, using similar machinery, logs are cut cross-sectionally to realize a veneer with the annual rings directly exposed. Normally, annual rings are prone to cracking due to drying and are difficult to maintain in their original state, but by applying special treatment after processing, the material is made viable.
While veneer manufacturing is a rational processing method that generates less wood dust and scraps, it is often processed into standardized plywood, and the individuality of the wood is homogenized. This work, while using the same manufacturing technology, shifts towards visualizing the individual differences and time of the wood as they are. The annual rings appearing on the seat surface are traces of the time each tree grew, making it possible to express a uniqueness not seen in conventional uses of wood.
Design and Manufacturing: Kodai Iwamoto
Exhibition and Brand Overview
yusan, launched in November 2025, aims to connect people, culture, and nature, starting from sensibility and creativity.
This product, which expresses the time a tree lived by cross-sectioning a log, creates an opportunity to re-evaluate the value of abandoned forests.
Concept
Forest, in time.
This stool brings 'mountain time' into any space.
The annual rings revealed on the surface of the stool are a cross-section of the unique time a single tree lived in the mountains. No two annual rings are exactly alike in the world. Within the uniform flow of urban time, the long, circulating time of the mountains flows.
This gives a new axis to the time we live in—a chair like a clock, but without a specific time.
Message
I was born into a family that ran a forestry business until my grandfather's generation. But now, those trees are left in the mountains and called a liability. Yet, when I enter the mountains, I feel a mysterious sense of fulfillment. I believe this is because I immerse myself in 'mountain time.'
Urban time is fast, efficient, and creates abundance. But in its speed, we sometimes miss important things. On the other hand, a completely different time flows in the mountains. Things that have lived for a long time circulate. When I surrender myself to that time, my senses sharpen, and I feel truly alive. And once I know that feeling, it lingers even after returning to the city.
Could we incorporate such 'mountain time' into various spaces away from the mountains? This stool was born from that question.
The annual rings of the wood that became this stool count exactly 50 years. The sight of cutting down a tree that had grown for many years felt like a ritualistic moment of taking a life. The annual rings are inscribed with the time that tree lived. From information like rainfall and land data, one can reflect on trees that lived in the same era and region.
This product begins with a single mountain in Tokushima. And I hope to make it a medium to convey that mountains sleeping in various places are alive. Using time as an entrance, we contemplate the value of mountains. With this wish, I hope to shed light on all dormant values.
Miyu Tanaka, yusan
Technology
As a technology that allows annual rings to be directly utilized in design, a method using machinery for making veneer sheets is employed. Originally, veneer is manufactured by thinly slicing logs along the grain, but in this work, using similar machinery, logs are cut cross-sectionally to realize a veneer with the annual rings directly exposed. Normally, annual rings are prone to cracking due to drying and are difficult to maintain in their original state, but by applying special treatment after processing, the material is made viable.
While veneer manufacturing is a rational processing method that generates less wood dust and scraps, it is often processed into standardized plywood, and the individuality of the wood is homogenized. This work, while using the same manufacturing technology, shifts towards visualizing the individual differences and time of the wood as they are. The annual rings appearing on the seat surface are traces of the time each tree grew, making it possible to express a uniqueness not seen in conventional uses of wood.
Design and Manufacturing: Kodai Iwamoto
Exhibition and Brand Overview
yusan, launched in November 2025, aims to connect people, culture, and nature, starting from sensibility and creativity.