東京都昭島市拝島町に工房を構える「でく工房」は、市販の椅子では座ることがむずかしい方や、食事の場面で不便を感じている方のために、からだに合わせた椅子や生活用具を製作しています。約50年にわたり、暮らしに寄り添うものづくりを続けています。

Based in Haijima, Akishima City, Deku Kobo manufactures custom-made chairs and daily living tools for people who find it difficult to sit on standard chairs or who experience inconvenience during mealtimes, carefully tailoring each item to their body and lifestyle.
For around 50 years, the workshop has continued to engage in craftsmanship that supports people’s daily lives.

佐世保の幼なじみ3人から始まったものづくり

Craftsmanship that began with three childhood friends from Sasebo

でく工房は、九州・佐世保の小学校時代の幼なじみ3人によって立ち上げられました。
東京で会社員として働いたり、芸術大学の彫刻科で学んだりと、それぞれの道を歩んでいた3人。
当時は、障害のある子どもたちのための道具を専門に作る仕事はほとんどありませんでした。そんな中で出会ったとある障害のある少年のために訓練用テーブルを作ったことが転機となり、「これこそ自分たちのやるべきことだ」と感じた3人は、1974年にでく工房を設立しました。

Deku Kobo was established by three childhood friends from their elementary school days in Sasebo, Kyushu.
After following different paths in Tokyo—as company employees or as a student in a sculpture department at an art university—the three were asked to create a training table for a boy with a disability at a time when there were almost no businesses specializing in tools for children with disabilities.
This experience led them to feel, “This is exactly what we should be doing,” and in 1974 they established Deku Kobo.

食事の時間を楽しくするための器を

Tableware that makes mealtimes more enjoyable

当時、障害のある方の食器は、種類の少ないプラスチック製のものが主流で、「楽しく食べる」という雰囲気からは遠いものが多かったといいます。
「椅子はからだに合わせてきちんと作っているのに、ご飯のときだけプラスチックというのはおかしいのではないか。」と、そんな疑問から厚生省（当時）の研究費を得て、食器づくりの研究が始まりました。

市販の食器を一つひとつ採寸し、どこが使いにくいのかを手書きで記録。試作と検証を重ねた結果、「すくいやすさ」と「持ちやすさ」を両立した器が生まれました。器の内側に傾斜をつけ、スプーンで端に寄せた食べ物が自然とすくえるようにするなど、細かな工夫が随所に盛り込まれています。

At that time, tableware for people with disabilities was mostly limited to a small range of plastic products, which did not create a warm, enjoyable atmosphere at mealtimes.
Questioning this situation—“We take the time to make proper chairs that fit the body; why should we rely on plastic only when it comes to meals?”—they obtained research funding from the then Ministry of Health and Welfare and began research on tableware.

They measured commercially available tableware item by item and kept handwritten records of what made each piece difficult to use.
Through repeated prototyping and testing, they developed dishes that combine both “ease of scooping” and “ease of holding.”
For example, the inside of the bowl is gently sloped so that food gathered at the rim with a spoon naturally moves toward the spoon, along with many other subtle design features.

有田の窯元「しん窯」との協働で生まれた、すくい易い食器

Tableware that is easy to scoop, born from a collaboration with Arita kiln “Shingama”

でく工房の食器は、有田焼の窯元「しん窯」との協働により誕生しました。
試作段階では、形や模様のバリエーションを数多く作り、検証を重ねました。工程上のむずかしさも多くありましたが、職人の技術と工夫によって、「すくい易い」「持ち易い」形が実現しました。

また、形だけでなく色も検討し、黒い器は白いご飯や豆腐とのコントラストをはっきりさせ、見えやすくするねらいがあります。有田焼では窯が汚れるおそれから黒色は敬遠されがちでしたが、「見易い器がほしい」という利用者の声を受け、しん窯の理解と熱意により製品化されました。
これらの器には「青花」という青い花のブランド名が入り、しん窯の商品として、現在も長く作り続けられています。

Deku Kobo’s tableware was created in collaboration with “Shingama,” a pottery kiln in Arita, Saga Prefecture.
During the prototyping stage, many variations of shapes and patterns were produced and carefully examined.
Although there were many technical challenges in the production process, the skills and ingenuity of the craftspeople made it possible to achieve forms that are both easy to scoop from and easy to hold.

Furthermore, they considered not only the shape but also the color; for example, black dishes were designed so that white rice or tofu would stand out clearly, making the food easier to see.
In Arita ware, black glaze had long been avoided because of the risk of staining the kiln, but in response to users’ requests for “dishes that are easier to see,” and thanks to Shingama’s understanding and commitment, these products were realized.
These dishes bear the brand name “Aoka” (“Blue Flowers”) and have long been produced as part of Shingama’s product line.

ユニバーサルデザインの先駆けとして

A pioneer of universal design

でく工房の食器は、今の暮らしに馴染み、家庭の食卓にも取り入れ易いシンプルなデザインです。
障害のある方だけが特別な器を使うのではなく、その家族や周りの人も同じ器を使って一緒に食事を楽しめる――。こうした考え方は、現在では「ユニバーサルデザイン」として知られていますが、でく工房の取り組みは、その先駆けといえます。
「割れること」を前提としながらも、「壊れてもまた同じ器を選びたい」と思う方たちに、長年愛用されています。

Deku Kobo’s tableware features a simple design that blends into modern living and is easy to incorporate into the family dining table.

Rather than only the person with a disability using special dishes, the idea is that family members and others around them can use the same tableware and enjoy meals together.
This way of thinking is known today as “universal design,” and Deku Kobo’s initiatives can be regarded as an early example of this concept.
While accepting that dishes may occasionally break in daily use, the workshop continues to make products that many people have cherished for years, saying, “Even if it breaks, I want to choose the same dish again.”

作り手の思いと、広がり続ける福祉の輪

Craftspeople’s passion and the ever-expanding circle of welfare.

メディアで取り上げられたことをきっかけに、全国から若者たちが工房を訪れ、学び、各地で独立していきました。今も工房仲間としてつながり続け、勉強会なども行われています。
現在は、昭島市を拠点に福祉機器展を主催し、障害のあるお子さんのご家族や施設関係者が、実際に多様な用具を見て選べる場づくりにも取り組んでいます。

「おしゃれなものがあれば使いたいし、好みもある。そういう選択肢が増えたのは、この50年で本当に大きな変化」と語るのは、代表の竹野さん。

After the workshop was featured in the media, young people from across Japan came to visit and learn, later going on to establish their own workshops in various regions.
They continue to be connected as colleagues, holding study sessions and other activities together.

Today, based in Akishima City, Deku Kobo also organizes welfare equipment exhibitions, providing opportunities for families of children with disabilities and staff of related facilities to see and choose from a diverse range of tools in person.

“People want to use something stylish, and everyone has their own preferences. The fact that such choices have increased over the past 50 years is a truly significant change,” says representative Ms. Setsuko Takeno.

からだや暮らしに合わせた椅子と器によって、誰もが「笑顔あふれる」日常を少しでも心地よく過ごせるように――。
でく工房の食器を通じて、みんなで楽しく毎日の食事の時間を過ごしてみてはいかがでしょうか。

Through chairs and tableware tailored to each person’s body and way of life, Deku Kobo aims to help everyone spend their daily lives—especially mealtimes—more comfortably, with smiles all around.
Why not try Deku Kobo’s tableware and enjoy your everyday meals together with everyone?