Vol. 1: The Sanctuary in Shimogamo
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On a building that has stood since 1912, and the space it became.
In the quiet northern reaches of Kyoto, along what was once the approach to Shimogamo Shrine, stands a structure built in 1912. This building is a rare example of kanban-kenchiku — signboard architecture — featuring a unique façade that has watched over a five-way intersection for over a century.
This is where SMOKE is.
A Building That Has Watched Over a Five-Way Intersection
For generations, this corner was a tobacco shop. It watched the intersection. It saw people pass — daily, seasonally, for decades. The façade remained. The building stayed.
When we found it, we understood immediately: this was not a space to be transformed. It was a space to be continued.
A Vessel Where Time Slows Down
While we preserved the iconic exterior that had served as a local landmark for over a century, we carefully renovated the ground-floor shop area to create a vessel where time slows down.
As an architect, I aimed to maintain the building's historical integrity while breathing new life into its interior. The old columns remain. The light from the five-way intersection still enters as it always has. What changed is what the space holds.
SMOKE is a working shop. Things here are meant to be touched, tried on, and taken home.
What the Space Holds
At the centre of SMOKE is kitt — a Japanese sweatwear brand crafted in Wakayama using vintage knitting machines and three generations of textile knowledge. Not fashion. A tool for everyday life.
A building that learned how to stay. Things chosen by the same logic.
In Vol. 2, the personal story of how this space became the home for a very specific tool for living.
kitt is available year-round at SMOKE — the only permanent stockist in Japan — and ships worldwide from our online store.