Miya Shoji

Miya Shoji is a Japanese carpentry and furniture business based in New York City. Founded in 1951, the shop began with a focus on shōji, the traditional Japanese sliding screens and partitions made from wooden frames and translucent paper. It subsequently expanded its work to include futons, tables, tansu storage chests, mizuya kitchen cabinets, and other Japanese furniture. The company occupies a distinctive position between traditional craft workshop and urban specialty retailer. Its carpenters continue to use traditional tools and methods, while the business also develops designs intended for contemporary interiors and for customers outside Japan. The shop is particularly associated with double-sided shōji, which incorporate a second wooden frame to provide greater strength than a conventional single-sided construction. Miya Shoji has also produced original designs that are not direct replicas of forms typically found in Japan; former owner Hisao Hanafusa described some of the shop's work as unlike what one would ordinarily see in Japan. Although Miya Shoji was established in the United States, its identity is closely connected to Japanese material culture and carpentry. The workshop uses wood sourced from both Japan and the United States, combining imported and domestic materials according to the requirements of its products. Its work has been featured by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, indicating recognition beyond its retail and local craft activities. Hisao Hanafusa began working at Miya Shoji after immigrating to the United States in 1963. He purchased the shop in 1970 and later operated it with his son, Zui. Under their ownership, Miya Shoji continued as a specialized Japanese carpentry shop serving New York City and customers seeking custom or traditionally made Japanese furnishings. It has been described as the only Japanese carpentry shop in New York City. The business remains active, but publicly available reference material provides limited information about its scale, finances, corporate structure, and sales beyond its workshop and retail identity.

Miya Shoji was established in 1951 in New York City as a workshop and business devoted to making shōji. Shōji are traditional Japanese sliding screens or room dividers built from a wooden lattice or frame and covered with translucent paper. The company's original specialization placed it within a relatively narrow craft tradition, but its work later broadened to encompass other forms of Japanese furniture, including futons, tables, tansu storage chests, and mizuya kitchen cabinets. A major transition in the company's ownership occurred after Hisao Hanafusa immigrated to the United States in 1963. He began working at Miya Shoji and acquired the shop in 1970. Hanafusa subsequently operated the business and was later joined in ownership by his son, Zui Hanafusa. The family-led ownership helped preserve the workshop's continuity while allowing it to serve customers in New York and elsewhere who wanted Japanese furniture or architectural details made through specialist carpentry. Miya Shoji's practice combines inherited methods with design experimentation. Its carpenters continue to use traditional Japanese tools and techniques, and the business uses wood from both Japan and the United States. At the same time, the shop has produced original designs rather than limiting itself to reproductions of forms commonly encountered in Japan. Its double-sided shōji are a notable example: the additional wooden frame improves structural sturdiness and distinguishes the construction from more conventional single-sided screens. The resulting work has been positioned as both functional furniture and architectural craft. Miya Shoji's products can serve as room partitions, screens, storage, sleeping furniture, or other interior elements. The business has also attracted institutional attention; its work has been featured by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reference material describes Miya Shoji as the only Japanese carpentry shop in New York City, underscoring its specialized place in the city's design and craft landscape. The available public record does not provide a detailed chronology of every product introduction, commission, retail location, or management change. It does establish the principal milestones: the 1951 founding, Hanafusa's arrival and employment beginning in 1963, his purchase of the shop in 1970, and the subsequent involvement of Zui Hanafusa. Miya Shoji remains an active New York-based maker and retailer of shōji and related Japanese furniture, with a business model centered on specialist craftsmanship rather than mass production.

• 1970

  Hisao Hanafusa purchases Miya Shoji

  [1]Miya Shojien.wikipedia.org

  Hanafusa acquires the shop and becomes its owner, beginning the period of Hanafusa family ownership.

• 1963

  Hisao Hanafusa joins the shop

  [1]Miya Shojien.wikipedia.org

  After immigrating to the United States, Hisao Hanafusa begins working at Miya Shoji.

• 1951

  Miya Shoji is founded

  [1]Miya Shojien.wikipedia.org

  The New York City business is established to manufacture shōji, traditional Japanese sliding screens and partitions.

• Work is featured by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

  [1]Miya Shojien.wikipedia.org

  Miya Shoji's work receives institutional exposure through its presentation or inclusion at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

A specialist New York Japanese carpentry and furniture workshop combining traditional construction methods with original designs for contemporary interiors.

• Japanese architectural screens and partitions · 1951

  Shōji

  Miya Shoji's core product is the shōji screen, a framed Japanese sliding partition traditionally made with wood and translucent paper. The shop makes both traditional forms and original designs intended for contemporary interiors. Its best-known construction is the double-sided shōji, which uses a second wooden frame to increase sturdiness. The carpenters retain traditional tools and methods while adapting dimensions, details, and designs to individual projects.

• Japanese bedding and furniture

  Futons

  Futons are among the Japanese furnishings manufactured and sold by Miya Shoji alongside its shōji work. The available reference material does not specify particular models, materials, or production dates, but identifies futons as part of the shop's broader range of Japanese household products.

• Japanese furniture

  Tables

  Miya Shoji manufactures tables as part of its wider Japanese furniture offering. The products are made within the shop's carpentry practice, which uses wood sourced from Japan and the United States and applies traditional construction methods. Specific table collections and launch dates are not documented in the available reference material.

• Japanese storage furniture

  Tansu

  The shop makes tansu, traditional Japanese storage furniture, as part of its product range. Tansu are associated with chests and cabinet forms, and at Miya Shoji they sit alongside screens, tables, futons, and mizuya. The available sources do not identify individual models or a separate product launch chronology.

• Japanese kitchen furniture

  Mizuya

  Mizuya are Japanese kitchen cabinets or kitchen-storage furniture made by Miya Shoji. They extend the business's work from room partitions into built or freestanding domestic furnishings. As with its other furniture, the reference material describes the category but does not provide model names, specifications, or launch dates.

1. 1Miya Shojien.wikipedia.org