Traditional Japanese joinery without glue or screws: Stop by 45R’s new flagship when you’re in Ginza
You can’t help but slow your pace as you walk through the store
Summary
- 45R has opened a new four-story flagship store in Ginza 5-chome, Chuo City, Tokyo.
- The building uses traditional techniques of dismantling and reassembling old houses, with natural solid wood throughout the store, without relying on glue or screws.
- The third floor houses a special “Ai Shokunin” shop, showcasing natural indigo-dyed clothing from farm cultivation to hand dyeing.
- Each of the four floors uses different types of wood, and every level features a traditional Japanese recessed display alcove, or tokonoma.
Reassembled from the solid wood of old Japanese houses without glue or screws, the new 45R store in Ginza 5-chome, Chuo City, Tokyo, is a building that makes you want to look twice. As the brand approaches its 50th anniversary, this four-story flagship is less a clothing store than a place to slow down and take in the details of its woodworking and indigo dyeing.
No glue or screws: a different wood scent on every floor, from the first to the fourth
The brand partnered with the traditional woodworking team Sankakuya, using neither the glue, tape, nor composite boards common in modern construction. Instead, it used the techniques of dismantling and reassembling old Japanese houses to piece together reclaimed lumber and natural solid wood. Reportedly, each floor from the first through fourth uses different types of wood as a result. The first floor features chestnut and Burmese teak, the third floor uses cypress, and the fourth has beech and Manchurian ash. As you walk through the store, you can’t help noticing the distinct woody scent on each floor.
Indigo dye changes color over time
After taking in the woodwork, the details of the clothes themselves are just as interesting. 45R’s best-known indigo dye begins with Japanese indigo grown in its own fields, then artisans hand-knead, wash, and dip-dye the fabric dozens of times to create its color. At the “Indigo Artisan” specialty store on the third floor, you can see this richly layered denim. Company president Shinji Takahashi says the clothes aren’t handed over in the stiff state they have straight from the factory. Instead, the hope is that their color will gradually change with the wearer, taking on more of its own character the more they’re worn.
From gender-neutral clothing to Chamatei on the top floor
Beyond indigo dye, the first floor carries the Cherished Items and 908 collections, including classic jeans, bandanas, and T-shirts. Their cuts blur gender boundaries and feel comfortable to wear. If you’re not in a hurry, visit the “Chamatei” gallery-salon space on the fourth floor. Each level also has a traditional Japanese display alcove, known as a tokonoma, featuring artwork related to the seasons.
45R Ginza Flagship Store
Address: Ginza 5-chome, Chuo City, Tokyo
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