BEARS WOOD PROJECT Turns Bear-Scarred Cedar into Urushi-Lacquered Surfboards in Kyoto
In the area of Keihoku, located north of Kyoto, Asian black bears are causing extensive damage to cedar and cypress trees by stripping off their bark. According to Kyoto City, the damaged trees are frequently processed into chips for fuel. The BEARS WOOD PROJECT, initiated in 2022 by Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi, repurposes this compromised timber into wooden surfboards branded as siita. Takuya Tsutsumi, who has managed the family-run lacquer shop since 2004, works alongside surfboard shaper Rodrigo Matsuda. Their production facility, housed in a renovated farm shed, creates boards that showcase the unique grain patterns. Siita officially debuted in 2023, transforming tree damage into a distinctive characteristic of each board, echoing Kyoto's timber supply history since the founding of Heian-kyo over a millennium ago.
Key facts
- Asian black bears in Keihoku, north of central Kyoto, strip bark from cedar and cypress trees in a behavior known as kumahagi, causing warped, irregular grain.
- Kyoto City says damaged trees are often chipped for fuel or left in the mountains; Kyoto Prefecture identifies the damage as a significant forestry issue with unresolved aspects.
- The BEARS WOOD PROJECT launched in 2022 by Kyoto's Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi with foresters and woodworkers in Keihoku.
- The siita brand produces wooden surfboards from bear-damaged timber, with the altered grain visible through a glossy urushi coating.
- Takuya Tsutsumi is the fourth-generation head of Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi, founded by his family in 1909; he joined the business in 2004.
- Tsutsumi works with wooden surfboard shaper Rodrigo Matsuda, who has made wooden boards for close to two decades.
- Their workshop sits beside the Katsura River inside a converted century-old farm shed, where temperature and humidity affect the urushi process.
- Keihoku has supplied timber to Kyoto since the establishment of Heian-kyo more than a thousand years ago; siita formally launched in 2023.
Entities
Artists
- Takuya Tsutsumi
- Rodrigo Matsuda
Institutions
- Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi
- BEARS WOOD PROJECT
- siita
- Kyoto City
- Kyoto Prefecture
- designboom
Locations
- Keihoku
- Kyoto
- Japan
- Katsura River
- Heian-kyo
- Hawaii