In the Spring of 2025, LUXE writer Masako Teddy and photographer, Alfie Goodrich, visited the Sugatakatachi showroom and workshop. To meet the owner, Makiko Takahashi, and help tell her wonderful story.
Here’s a little of Masako’s story. And there’s a link below to the full article online, in our LUXE digital edition.
Those who Carry on the Tradition
Can you imagine all those who have lived these hundreds and thousands of years, and who have left us with such beautiful designs in our lives? Let me tell you of the late Takahashi Yasufumi, who strove to create the most beautiful door handles in Japan, and whose dear wife collected a record of the efforts which have become his legacy.
This is no tale of tragedy, however. Rather, it’s the story of those who, filled with affection, have carried on his will.
My Meeting with the Door Handles of the late Takahashi Yasufumi
It was some years ago now. It began with a desire to replace the old door handle to my personal home. Door handles matter; they’re something you physically touch every day.
I searched and searched for a wooden door handle the likes of which anyone would be able to respect. At last, I found the Sugatakatachi door handles of Takahashi Yasufumi. He was very surprised that one of his handmade door handles fit so perfectly with my door. You rarely get a ready-made handle that fits so perfectly on a door. He told me about how he makes his handles. About how he would let wood slumber for years in order to achieve the right amber tone, and how his wife, Makiko, had assisted with crafting those same designs in the early days, polishing the wood with her own hands. He spoke of how he’d photographed the handles in Karuizawa, and how happy he was to be returning to Karuizawa again with those gently crafted handles.
Now, every time I grip that door handle at my home, I’m inundated with the passion he poured into his creation. And every time I grip that handle, it fills me with an aesthetic pride. You don’t often get to meet people with such passion.
As a writer, the idea of writing about Takahashi-san began to obsess me.
Some phots from the Sugatakatachi workshop and showroom. Made by LUXE photographer, Alfie Goodrich.
Click here to read the full article at the online edition of LUXE.