The Story of INAX
When asked the reason why INAX can help people live well, INAX answers: Japan is a country that respects the beauty of nature and people, and INAX is a brand nurtured by Japan’s unique tradition and culture, inheriting the techniques and spirit of craftsmanship, relentless in the pursuit of quality. Just as unique as Japan is in the world, INAX aims to become the brand of choice for people around the world.
japanese spirituality and water
Japan is a country blessed with an abundance of water. The Japanese have not only used water to live, but have traditionally placed it in places to reset one's soul, believing that water has the power to wash away impurities.
Shrines welcome visitors with a fountain to purify their hands, as they switch from the secular world to the sacred.
Through expressing the flow of water with raked gravel, Zen rock gardens allow the beholders to regain peace in their minds.
With numerous natural hot springs available throughout the country, the Japanese also have a deeply rooted custom of taking a bath to wash away the fatigue and recharge for what lies ahead tomorrow.
a space for self-reflection
The undecorated beauty of the room is what touches our hearts. With a sense of delight upon the moment of entry, in an instant, the mind switches as if one entered a different world.
In a minimalist space rid of all excesses, one may sometimes feel the tranquility and at other times a comfortable tension, depending on the state of mind at the time, even if the scenery is the same.
It is in such a space embracing Japanese serenity that one can enjoy a moment of self-reflection.
INSPIRATION FROM JAPANESE BEAUTY AND TECHNIQUES
Japanese forms exert their allure through various elements. The breathtakingly beautiful lines. The unique colors and luster. The meticulously skilled precision which one cannot believe is handmade.
All these components change and dignify the surrounding atmosphere, and give comfort to everyone who sees them. Highly regarded outside Japan, ageless Japanese beauty and techniques have inspired contemporary designers, marking a footprint in the products they design.
TORII GATE (doorway to the sacred area)
standing in the sea. The slight but splendid curve is a traditional Japanese form since ancient times.
The techniques of the artisan bring about Japanese beauty. Understanding the characteristics of natural materials, they assemble the parts with precision beyond what a machine can do, creating the forms, and emphasizing the beauty and strength.
inax and frank lloyd wright
The spirit and techniques of manufacturing that measured up to the ideals of the world’s greatest architect became the starting point for INAX.
In the early 1900s, when the number of foreign visitors to Japan began to increase, the Imperial Hotel commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the greatest American architects of the 20th century, to design its new building. As the tiles and terracotta for the walls were made with clay from the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture and required molding of original designs and special firing techniques, a dedicated factory was established in Tokoname.
Hatsunojo Ina and his son Chozaburo were invited to become technical advisors for this project. Upon the completion of the hotel, they took on the workers and the equipment of this factory, creating Ina Seito, which later became INAX.
The scratch face tiles which the craftsmen produced through trial and error under the guidance of Hatsunojo and Chozaburo Ina created an atmosphere worthy of welcoming VIPs from all over the world.
