Winter 2025.
Now that our keyboard workshop is complete, come visit us!”
The person who contacted us was t-miyajima, a one-man keyboard workshop.
I met him through a keyboard repair order and we became good friends who often corresponded with each other.
He has been building such a workshop for making keyboards since 2023.
This time, we went to cover the workshop, which was finally completed.
This article reports on the situation.
Representative of GreenEchoes Studio
He launched his own media as a site operator and web writer, and now plans and manages multiple corporate media. He often types heavily in his work, and in his search for greater efficiency, he became addicted to the keyboard swamp and established “GreenKeys”.
Visit Murahana, a natural keyboard studio
It takes about 3 hours from Niigata by Shinkansen and local train.
The area surrounding the workshop was full of nature, warm and somewhat nostalgic.
The name of the workshop is Murahana.
The second floor of a warehouse was converted into a mysterious space with the warmth of wood and a vintage feel.
On the second floor of the warehouse, a handmade “room” has been created where like-minded people can gather.
On this day, many friends had come from far and wide to celebrate the completion of the workshop.
Everything in this visible space is handmade by him.
I learned how to make them from scratch,” says t-miyajima.
He says that he was particular about wanting to assemble the main part of the building without using nails as much as possible, and that he learned the wood assembly method from scratch.
The workshop’s commitment is to be “natural.
The impetus for the project seemed to be inspired by the “prep work” he experienced before building the workshop.
The warehouse, which was originally a materials and scrap yard, had many “hard-to-dispose-of artifacts” that had to be discarded in the construction of the workshop.
Through this process, he said, he has come to insist on “environmentally friendly and natural materials” for his studio and the works he makes at his studio.
KawamuraMany of the materials used are “reused products.
I was very impressed by the many unique items that had a “second life,” such as wood from demolished old houses, sliding frosted glass doors, and glass shades.
What is the “natural keyboard” you want to make?
Using my experience in building the workshop, I want the keyboards I make to be “something you don’t have to worry about when you throw them away.
It’s funny how we think about throwing things away before we even make them.
If the keyboard case is “wood” it can be burned, screws and plates can be recycled if they are made of steel, and wiring can be reused in the same way with copper wire.
Although it is inevitable that electronic components must be used on the board to some extent, we would like to make the board size as small as possible, taking the environment into consideration as much as possible.
I also want to stick to handmade.
When I heard the word “keyboard,” I had an image of a “mass-produced product,” and it seemed somewhat cold.
There is something warm and fuzzy about a “handmade keyboard” made of wood.
I would also like to support them to the point of fixing what I have made as much as possible.
From the interview
The concept of the keyboard he was aiming for was distinctly different from the feeling we have of the “keyboard” as we imagine it.
The general image of keyboards is that they are “mechanical,” “throw them away and replace them when they break,” and “they will eventually deteriorate because of their plastic housing.
On the other hand, his image of a keyboard is “something that can be used over time,” and may be based on a “fusion of functional beauty and artistry as a tool,” similar to planes, ink pots, inkstones, tea utensils, and lacquerware.
- Pursuit of functionality: planes are used to prepare wood, inkstones are used for calligraphy, tea utensils are used to support the rituals of the tea ceremony, and lacquerware is used for both preservation and aesthetic purposes. Wooden keyboards may be elaborated with “consideration and ingenuity for comfortable typing.
- Spiritual enrichment: Beautiful objects made with care and attention bring a quiet sense of fulfillment and aesthetic satisfaction to everyday life. Being able to work with a handmade wooden keyboard may be spiritually enriching.
- Enduring value: Wooden keyboards, unlike plastic, will not decay unless they last longer than a human lifetime. Continued use lends flavor and the potential for lasting value.
A keyboard can be purchased for as little as $1,000 if it is inexpensive and will surely serve the same role as typing.
However, from that perspective, the logic can be applied to all “tools,” saying that it does not matter whether they are cheap or expensive as long as they fulfill their roles.
However, human beings are strange, they seek another “value” in the same role and feel pleasure in owning, seeing, and using it.
The keyboards he creates have the potential to provide the “spiritual richness” that the Japanese have almost forgotten.
Keyboard Meetup in 叢華
Finally, here are some photos of the keyboard meetup.
COLF”, which uses an integrated column staggered layout based on the Lofree Flow motif, and “Alfuer”, a macro pad using vintage switches called
Alps axis (work by Yoh Tatekawa ).
What will be produced from those two hands?
This is to report on Mr. t-miyajima who opened Kobo Souka.
The “sustainable design” keyboard he envisions probably does not yet exist in Japan.
We can’t wait to see what kind of works will be created from this workshop in the future.
Thoughts on the Opening of the Workshop – t-miyajima
