Kamaasa Shoten | Newly Renovated Store Garners a Succession of Design Awards

Kama-asa Shoten

A long-established purveyor of cooking utensils in Kappabashi, founded in 1908.

Kama-asa Shoten Wins a String of Design Awards

Kama-asa Shoten, a long-established Kappabashi retailer of cooking tools founded in 1908, champions the concept of “tools for good cooking.” The store, which underwent a complete renovation on April 8th this year, was designed by EIGHT BRANDING DESIGN and KAMITOPEN, both of whom have been racking up design awards this year.

Text by OPENERSPhotos by Kama-asa Shoten

Winner of the Display Design Award and SDA Award!

Kama-asa Shoten also solicited cooperation from neighboring shops in Kappabashi to deliver relief supplies such as cooking stoves, pots, and knives to disaster-stricken areas. These efforts were made through the “J-WAVE Heart to Heart Connecting Hearts Project” on March 31st and the “Kamakura Delivery Team” on April 5th.

The store received the 2011 Excellence Award in the Display Design Award, an annual award presented by the Japan Display Association to recognize and publicize outstanding spatial design works from the past year, aiming to discover new creators and advance and expand the field of design.

Furthermore, the store also received the 2011 Encouragement Prize for Sign Design in the 45th SDA Award, an award unique in Japan for sign design, held since 1966 to promote and raise awareness of excellent sign design works. The award is presented by the Sign Design Association of Japan.

Kama-asa Shoten Main Store
2-24-1 Matsugaya, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03 -3841-9355
Opening Hours | 9:30–17:30 (Mon–Sat)
10:00–17:30 (Sun & Holidays)
Closed: None
http://www.kama-asa.co.jp/

Akihiro Nishizawa
Born in Shiga Prefecture in 1976. Representative of EIGHT BRANDING DESIGN.
He engages in corporate brand development, product development, and store development from the perspective of “branding design,” undertaking design activities across a wide range of genres including graphics, products, and interiors. His consistent design development methodology, “Focus RPCD,” which encompasses research and planning, has received high praise from many quarters.
His major works include the premium craft beer “COEDO,” the matcha cafe “nana’s greentea,” the miso brand “Hikari Miso,” the Kintetsu Department Store “Uehonmachi YUFURA,” and the Kirin Beverage “Nama-cha.” He has received numerous domestic and international awards, including the Good Design Award, PENTAWARDS, and THE ONE SHOW.
He is an adjunct lecturer at Kyoto Institute of Technology and Tokyo City University, and has given numerous lectures and seminars at universities and companies.

Masahiro Yoshida
Born in Osaka in 1977. Representative of KAMITOPEN Architects & Engineers.
He designs a wide range of commercial facilities, schools, and residences (new construction/renovation). He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology (Kishi Lab) in 2001.
His major awards include the Silver Prize for “Nikken Gakuin” at the JCD Design Award 2011, the Newcomer Award for “CSTYLE” at the JCD Design Award 2010, the Jury Special Prize (Jun Aoki Prize) for “C's fort” at the 44th SDA Award, and the Special Prize for “nana's green tea Kobe Harborland store” at the 18th BEST STORE OF THE
YEAR, the Excellence Award for “nana's green tea Shiki store” at the 18th BEST STORE OF THE YEAR, the Shop Design Award for “TIARA” at the Machinaka Good Design Award, and the Excellence Award for “Produce Naruse store” at the 2nd AICA Shop Design Contest.