Brand History and Concept
Work of Hidetarō Kanata, the 1st Generation
Kanata Seisakusho was established in 1927 by Shūtarō Kanata. Initially, it manufactured airplane seats.
By making airplane seats, he was contributing to the war effort and thus did not have to go to the front lines.
Production was mainly carried out by residents around the company.
After the war, the same factory produced and sold rattan furniture (see image below). Tondabayashi, where the factory is located, is a bamboo producing region, and it is thought that they were also skilled in processing rattan, which has similar properties to bamboo.
Work of Yoshiei Kanata, the 2nd Generation
Yoshiei Kanata launched the floor chair brand "KISEI." KISEI stands for "born" (生) in "Kishi" (喜), the factory's location, and before it became an alphabet, it was sold under the name "㐂生."
Although detailed records are unavailable, it is believed that the name was in use by 1975.
KISEI primarily conducted exhibition sales in department stores and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. The products feature a metal frame wrapped in urethane, and their high quality and comfort have been recognized, with orders still being received today. The main fabrics are floral patterns and synthetic leather, which have been popular since the Showa era.
Work of Keiji Kanata, the 3rd Generation
As mentioned, KISEI relied solely on department stores for sales channels, and the company faced a difficult situation when orders from department stores ceased.
To overcome this crisis, the 3rd generation president, Keiji Kanata, and his younger brother, Yoshihiro Kanata, launched the interior brand "SWITCH" in 1999. At that time, mid-century tastes such as Eames were popular, and they developed and manufactured sofas with designs conforming to this style, which were then showcased at large exhibitions. Initially, like KISEI, the mainstream products were those with metal frames wrapped in urethane and fitted with commercial chair legs. However, aligning with the times, they introduced products incorporating iron and solid wood, and a lineup of carefully selected domestic fabrics, thus establishing the SWITCH brand. They gained popularity through product development that valued a "SWITCH-like" approach from a現場目線 (genba mesen, literally "on-site perspective"), without relying on designers, and now, celebrating its 25th anniversary, the number of retailers nationwide has increased.
KISEI in 2025
While "SWITCH" accounted for the majority of our sales, "KISEI" sales decreased, but we continued to sell it. During an internal meeting, we discussed whether to discontinue it due to low sales, but decided to continue as the risk wasn't significant.
Naoya Kaneda, son of Keiji Kaneda, proposed a rebranding of "KISEI", and we began to implement it. Realizing that floor chairs had a fixed image of being 'outdated, cheap, and only suitable for old traditional Japanese houses', we selected fabrics to suit modern lifestyles and proceeded with photography and direction.
We are set to release it on an auspicious day in February 2025.
Re-evaluating floor chairs
- Compact yet offers substantial comfort.
- A wide variety of unique fabrics available through made-to-order production.
- Focused on in-house production to keep prices low and make them accessible to customers.
- Even if you live alone and can't fit a sofa, you can relax here. Hence, it's named "MP Chair" in the sense that it restores your mental power (Magic Point).
Floor chairs = not outdated and cheap, but
Floor chairs = something that fits you and will be with you for many years.
We will continue to create products that make you feel that way.