AFTER YEARS OF LIVING BETWEEN TOKYO AND FUKUOKA, THE M FAMILY—HE, A MATHEMATICIAN AND RESEARCHER; SHE, A METICULOUS CARETAKER OF THEIR HOME ENVIRONMENT—DECIDED TO BUILD A NEW HOUSE IN KAMAKURA. THE MOVE WAS MOTIVATED BY THEIR DESIRE TO UNIFY PRIVATE LIFE AND WORK IN A CALMER, MORE HARMONIOUS SETTING, SUPPORTED BY THE CONSTANT PRESENCE OF CAREFULLY AND THOUGHTFULLY COLLECTED RITZWELL FURNITURE. THIS IS A STORY OF DELIBERATE CHOICES, FORTUNATE ENCOUNTERS, AND THE DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN COMFORT, RESEARCH, AND BEAUTY.
“We enjoy using this furniture. We didn’t look for it; it just happened to come our way. We think it was a fortunate encounter.”
The M Family
Since the start of the pandemic, many people have adopted a dual-base lifestyle, but the M family was already living between Tokyo and Fukuoka. To travel light with just a single bag, they kept two sets of everything—one for each home. In autumn 2024, they began building a new house to consolidate their lives into one place. The interior design of the new residence reflects a collection developed over time, featuring some of Ritzwell’s most iconic pieces: among them, the RIVAGE | ARMCHAIR, RIVAGE | EASY CHAIR – design ATELIER D.Q. and the DIANA | 1 and 3 SEATER SOFA – design SHINSAKU MIYAMOTO.
A Researcher’s Home
Mr. M: “Living in two far-apart cities was sometimes quite challenging. Then, after the pandemic shifted everything toward remote work, I realized I could do my job from anywhere. About two years ago, I seriously started thinking about moving to Kamakura (a city 50 kilometers from Tokyo) —a place I’d wanted to live for a long time.”
The M family’s decision to leave their two convenient urban homes was heavily influenced by a trip they took two years prior to visit a friend in Israel.
Mr. M: “My friend, who’s also a mathematician, had a home that was incredibly spacious by Japanese standards. After spending over a week there, my wife seemed to feel sorry for me constantly complaining about our cramped Tokyo apartment.”
Mrs. M: “It’s really difficult to have a spacious home in the city. So I thought Kamakura, where my husband had always wanted to live, could be a good compromise. I started searching online for a renovated old house that we might like.”
Soon, the couple found what they thought was the perfect property and made an appointment to see it—only for it to be sold just before their scheduled visit.
Mrs. M: “We decided to go to Kamakura anyway, just to get a feel for the area. It was as beautiful as we had imagined, which made missing out on the house all the more disappointing. But on the way home, we happened to stop by a local real estate agency. They showed us three different plots of land, and this one was the one we both fell in love with.”
The M family’s connection with Ritzwell began about five years ago through an ad in SIGNATURE, the Diners Club member magazine. The ad featured an article about Ritzwell’s new Itoshima Seaside Factory, launched in 2019, which highlighted the brand’s dedication to craftsmanship.
Mrs. M: “My husband had mentioned wanting a chair to relax in between work sessions. When I saw a photo of the RIVAGE chair in that article, I thought, ‘Isn’t this chair kind of wonderful?’ and suggested it to him. The fact that his former workplace was near Itoshima may have also played a part in our fondness for it.”
Gathered in Kamakura
The couple first visited Ritzwell’s Tokyo showroom in spring 2020 to see the RIVAGE easy chair in person. While there, the wife also discovered another memorable piece of furniture.
Mrs. M: “After trying out several items, I completely fell in love with the comfort of the DIANA sofa. It was so comfortable—even when I was lying down in a rather ungraceful position, it felt like I was being embraced. I wanted to get it for our renovated Fukuoka home, but we didn’t have enough space, so we bought the single-seater instead of the three-seater.”
The M Family’s Ritzwell purchase history:
At their Tokyo residence, a RIVAGE easy chair was purchased in May 2020, followed by a RIVAGE armchair in May 2021. For their home in Fukuoka, the family chose a DIANA SEATER SOFA in July 2020, and later a RIVAGE armchair in October 2022. Finally, at their Kamakura home, they purchased a DIANA 3 seater sofa in November 2024.
Mrs. M: “After moving in, we realized we were surrounded by Ritzwell furniture. But when we were asked to do this interview, we really hesitated, wondering if we were the right people for the R'discovery feature.”
Mr. M: “We’re not furniture enthusiasts or experts. I think we just happened to come across the furniture that suited us. We enjoy using it and appreciate those encounters. One of my lasting impressions of Ritzwell furniture is the sense of security it provides. It’s not tiring to sit on, and I like the understated design. The sizing is just right—not too large. My positive first impression hasn’t changed. I was especially surprised by how pleasant the RIVAGE armrests feel.”
The DIANA | 1 SEATER SOFA is a landmark design, having won the Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum in 2017 (USA) and a Special Mention at the German Design Awards in 2019. These international accolades boosted Ritzwell’s confidence in their future direction.
A Home Designed to Fit a Life
The couple commissioned a local architectural firm in Kamakura to design their new home. Their only requests: high ceilings and large windows. Everything else was left to the architects. They also plan to plant a cherry blossom tree in the backyard someday.
Mrs. M: “It’s a little sad that we can’t see our grandchildren as easily as we could in the city, but the autumn leaves here are beautiful, and we’re close to a famous hydrangea viewing spot. We’re looking forward to that.”
Mr. M: “I go to the office less now, so I travel less, but I don’t have more free time—in fact, my schedule is filled with back-to-back online meetings. I’m even busier than before the pandemic.”
Lately, the husband says he's “busy, but not quite sure why.” Scribbled notes still lie scattered across his desk. Though this was our first time interviewing a mathematician, the atmosphere of his study—which offers a glimpse into his thinking—was endlessly fascinating.
Mr. M: “I have offices at both my company and the university, but I have far more books at home. Moving forward, I’ll be working in both basic research at a private company and education at a university. For people with a Ph.D. in mathematics, career options are usually limited to academia. I hope to expand opportunities, even just a little, for young people who want to pursue math.” He continues, “We’ve purchased Ritzwell furniture whenever we felt inspired—within reason. We never had a grand plan, but we don’t have any regrets. It was great to be able to design the new house around the furniture we loved. Now that I’m surrounded by comfort and an environment where work and life blend naturally, maybe I can do even better work.”
Mrs. M: “When we were raising our kids in Tottori (about 600 kilometers from Tokyo), life was very relaxed. We used to go to the hot springs, the sand dunes, and the beach with them. Now that we’ve settled in Kamakura, I hope to live as calmly as we did back then. Our favorite Ritzwell furniture is finally all in one place, so we have to stay healthy for a long time.”
Mr. M: “That’s right. Life was more relaxed back when I didn’t have so many meetings. I could just focus on research after teaching a few classes a week. Research can bring a lot of anxiety when things aren’t going well, but it’s something I truly love, so these past few years have been really happy for me.”
Mrs. M: “It’s taken us several years to gather all our furniture, so I imagine the time for maintenance is coming. There’s nearly a five-year gap between when we bought the DIANA single-seater and the three-seater. I’d love to attend the maintenance seminars offered by the Owners Club.”
Furniture That Grows With You
The M family owns two DIANA sofas in the same black leather, but natural variations in color and texture have developed due to the time gap and differences in leather batches. Leather softens and evolves with use. While the two sofas won’t ever look exactly the same, the aging process will be uniquely their own—growing together over time. Furniture is more than just a tool for daily life—it becomes something irreplaceable as it absorbs the affection of those who use it. The Ritzwell Owners Club was created to support those who want to live with their furniture for many years. The seminars and on-site maintenance sessions aren’t about Ritzwell staff doing the work for you—instead, they teach owners how to care for their pieces themselves, through hands-on demonstrations. The goal is to help owners keep their furniture in excellent condition over time.
The Unseen
Mr. M: “Currently, I do basic research at a private company—not to contribute to short-term business goals, but to clarify fundamental principles and explore the truths that form the foundation of technology. The goal is to develop technologies that enhance communication and benefit the industry as a whole. Sometimes, when I’m relaxing in my lounge chair between work sessions, I feel a similarity between that comfort and what I do in research—or what Ritzwell’s designers and craftspeople do. It’s about discovering principles that can be expressed in mathematical formulas—something that exists, even if it’s invisible. Making furniture requires tools and materials; mathematics just needs people and a bit of travel funding.”
God is in the details. This phrase is often quoted as a motto in both architecture and craftsmanship. It speaks to precision, scale, and material sensibility. In modern, stylish design, it’s especially important that materials convey warmth while expressing refined craftsmanship. In Ritzwell’s work, when different materials are combined, the aim is always to highlight the best qualities of each. Perhaps the world of mathematics and the world of comfortable furniture are connected by an equals sign. Or rather, let’s call it a hypothesis—and keep testing it, day by day. Among the scattered foreign books and documents on the study desk was a copy of The Unseen by Hideki Yukawa. We’ll have to read it someday…
To the M family—thank you for inviting us into your new home.
Photo Credits by Tonari_no_koho
