However, after World War II, Japan experienced a period of rapid economic growth, and its lifestyle changed drastically. Wooden Oke, which had been indispensable in Japanese daily life up to that point, were replaced by plastic products, and wooden Oke almost disappeared from daily life.

At the same time, the Oke makers, of which there used to be at least one in the town, went out of business one after another. Our workshop too experienced a sharp decline in sales, and we were in a state unable to carry on the traditional craft of making Oke.

However, Seiji, a second generation craftsman, sublimated the work as a work of art while using the traditional technique of Oke making, and was recognised as a Preserver of Important Intangible Cultural Properties for his efforts. He was also able to survive because of orders from inns and ryotei, with whom he had been in contact since the founder's time, ordering his Oke for hospitality / luxury use.

And now to the present day.
Nakagawa Woodworking is now aiming towards:

"Tradition with Innovation"

Nowadays, every traditional craft should be aware of this term. At Nakagawa Woodworking, the second generation applied the traditional technique of Oke making and innovated upon it as a work of art.

In June 2003, Shuji, the third generation of craftman, spun off from the original Kyoto workshop and opened Nakagawa Woodworking Hira in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, and in 2010, together with a French champagne maker, he introduced a uniquely designed champagne cooler, which caught worldwide attention. The shape of the cooler was designed in a way that was beyond the imagination of what Oke could be.

Originally, the basic form of a wooden Oke is a simple circle, but Shuji has explored the design of wooden Oke by combining multiple circles and transforming them into sharp ovals, triangles, pentagons, and corrugated shapes while maintaining the principle arch structure. In particular, he believes that the arch structure of the wooden Oke has some affinity with architecture, and focusing on this point, he also aims to create ""craft architecture"" that utilizes the structural beauty and functionality of Oke.

Together with the youth, for the future of crafts.

In 2024, the first step toward this goal was to create a "wooden Oke tea room". Using Japanese cypress wood and the traditional Tagajime technique, we created a space with the unique warmth and aroma of wooden Oke and the expansive space provided by the arch structure, creating a tea room space filled with tranquility and peacefulness.
The complex structural calculations and the production of a work of such extraordinary scale for a workshop that mainly produces tableware were a great challenge, but working together with young craftsmen through trial and error, we believe we were able to shed stereotypes and update our creativity and ability to make things flexibly and give shape to it.

Nakagawa Woodworking Hira aims to create new values through collaboration with different fields such as design, art, technology, and architecture in order to preserve the traditional techniques and culture of wooden barrels for the next 100 years.

For it is Oke that contains the wisdom and techniques of our forefathers. For we still believe that the possibilities of Oke are still endless.