Occupying a space adjacent to the Tadafusa factory, the new showroom and shop welcomes visitors to discover the company’s collection of professional knives and cutting boards. An adjustable shelving system featuring a lattice-like pattern was custom-designed by Seki’s studio and made by local artisans, allowing the showroom to change its configuration based on the items on display. Meanwhile, the shelves themselves were placed behind a screen of sliding glass panes: this setup was conceived as a blown up version of the typical knife display case usually found in kitchen supply stores, one that the visitor has to physically enter in order to approach the items inside. As the designers convey in a press statement, this dissolves the safety distance between the user and the deadly knife, but also creates a shrine-like space of reverence, reminiscent of the elevated platforms seen in Japanese temples. Meanwhile, one of the factory’s external blue walls was kept intact and incorporated into the interior design, blending the location’s industrial character with the refined lightness of the woodwork and the knives themselves.