Mockats

For over 10 years Shoichi Kusakari has run a small woodcrafting workshop in Chizu, Tottori Prefecture, Japan, a region that is 93% forest and known for its high-quality cedar.

Shoichi Kusakari practices traditional magewappa (bentwood) techniques unique to Chizu, carefully bending thin slices of cedar into beautiful oval-shaped bento boxes.

From selecting the tree to slicing and prepping the wood, he handles most of the work himself; his mother occasionally helps him.

Cedar continues to change with humidity and heat. Kusakari says the tree keeps living even after it becomes a bento box, subtly evolving over years of use, and the wood’s cedar aroma makes the lunch inside even more enjoyable.