about HOSHINA

homeabout HOSHINA

brand history

HOSHINA is ARFLEX JAPAN’s original international collection. ARFLEX JAPAN roots itself in Italy.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, ARFLEX JAPAN has become a long-established modern furniture brand that provides the highest-quality products to the Japanese high society, by manufacturing its products using the best materials and structures, and continuously being innovative to suit the demand for the top quality in the Japanese market.

In 1967, Tadashi Hoshina, the founder of ARFLEX JAPAN and a graphic designer then, moved to Italy after realising the difference in Western and Japanese lifestyles. He felt that the Japanese side was far behind its Western counterparts. In the same year, Hoshina made his fateful acquaintance with ARFLEX ITALIA, the leading company in modern furniture industry. Hoshina stayed to learn furniture making at the factory:

Tadashi Hoshina returned to Japan with the furniture-making skills and the right to manufacture original ARFLEX products in Japan. With a profound understanding of and sensitivity to Italian-inspired lifestyles, Hoshina founded ARFLEX JAPAN in 1969. Hoshina strongly believed that the Western lifestyle will take over the outdated Japanese “Tatami” lifestyle in Japan, and focused on the promotion of a “Japanese Modern Lifestyle” with sofas playing the central role. Sofas at the time were mainly used for receptions at the Japanese houses. However, Hoshina proposed to utilise sofas in creating living room spaces for everyday family life and gatherings. Soon Hoshina’s predictions proved right. The contemporary artists and designers at the forefront of Tokyo’s creative world started supporting the ARFLEX JAPAN furniture.

philosophy

The HOSHINA products are manufactured under one principle: Furniture should be used comfortably and long-lastingly. This philosophy is reflected in the high-quality, practical, warm and simple design of the HOSHINA products. By managing the product developing, manufacturing and sales processes from start to finish, HOSHINA is able to offer its products at fair prices and secure a stable supply. In the meantime, HOSHINA is able to develop its exclusive, advanced manufacturing techniques, which maintains its high competitiveness in the high-end furniture market.

factory

HOSHINA’s factory locates in Asahikawa in the centre of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. Asahikawa is a beautiful town surrounded by snow-covered mountains, which boasts its furniture crafting tradition and history.

The entire furniture production process, from the manufacturing of the sofa structures using moulded urethane, the cutting and sewing of the upholstery, to the final assemblage of sofas, takes place at HOSHINA’s 3500m² factory in Asahikawa. The highly complicated construction techniques of urethane are undertaken individually for each sofa at the factory, and HOSHINA’s original moulding techniques enable the high durability of the sofas. Thorough supervision of quality is achieved by establishing high standards at every steps of the manufacturing process.

Wooden products are manufactured in collaboration with top-level Japanese makers. Combining the profound production knowledge of ARFLEX JAPAN and the high techniques of the makers, HOSHINA chairs achieve ultimate delicacy and grace, yet extreme high level of toughness and durability. The complicated technique of applying moulded plywood to make 3D curves, as well as the sophisticated smoothening skills made by computer programmed machines, continuously overwhelm other furniture makers. The precise and delicate finishing by hand is incorporated to complete the fine and durable HOSHINA products.

quality

The design and development of HOSHINA products are carried out with the careful selection of the finest materials both in terms of comfort and durability. Furthermore, HOSHINA’s testing criteria ensure high quality. For example, only the chairs that have cleared the applicable test 12000 times, which is three times the Japanese Industrial Standards, are commercialized. And with sofas, repeated tests on the seat and back enable the high durability.

HOSHINA selects fabrics and leathers from top European manufacturers, mainly from Italy. These materials are then tested strictly, such as friction tests, to ensure the finest quality for the upholstery, which gives expressions to the sofas. Incorporating the global trends, HOSHINA launches new products and new styles on an annual basis.

casa mia kawaguchi-ko

Casa Mia—“my home” in Italian—is no mere showroom; it is a world where you can experience the vast potential of furniture in helping you to live your dream lifestyle.Here, you will find the ideal living space as imagined by HOSHINA, and understand the genesis of our vision.

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