NO.001: Hisashi Morishima — The Creator of the BONCOURA Universe (Episode One)

< INTRO >

Most of the time, when I take the time to truly understand a brand, I gradually begin to sense the founder’s aesthetics, values, lifestyle, and even the subtle habits that shape who they are. If I were to take it one step further, I often feel that I can also glimpse how the founder understands the world itself.

BONCOURA, however, has always been one of the rare exceptions. To understand BONCOURA, you almost have to begin by entering Hisashi Morishima’s personal universe first. Only then does the brand itself start to make sense. It feels almost like watching the movie — < TENET > in reverse (lol). As someone trying to understand a brand, this approach felt completely unnatural to me at first. Yet, when viewed simply as one person getting to know another, it somehow becomes as natural as the way friendships are formed in childhood.

During its early years, BONCOURA consistently described itself as a fashion brand. Ironically, that was probably the statement that felt the most unnatural to me. In the Western world, the word “FASHION” is generally understood through two dominant expressions.

The first is "Fast Fashion"—a world built around speed, market share, and rapid turnover rather than obsessive attention to detail.

The second is "High-end Fashion", where innovation takes centre stage. Here, designers often challenge convention through new ideas, fabrics, construction, and silhouettes.

So naturally, one question stayed with me from the very first day I became a BONCOURA dealer:

“Where does BONCOURA stand within the world of fashion?”

Because when you look at BONCOURA’s products, what you encounter most is not novelty, but origins. Every cotton yarn used in BONCOURA’s cotton garments is developed exclusively by Morishima-san himself. From the copper rivets and major buttons to the buckles, every piece of hardware is produced from custom-made molds, carrying its own tactile character and distinctive engraving standards. Even the indigo and black dyeing methods are developed exclusively for the brand.

It took me nearly ten years of increasingly in-depth conversations with Morishima-san before I slowly found the answer to the very first question I had asked myself:

“What kind of fashion brand is BONCOURA?”

Answering that question will probably take at least five chapters.

So before we get there, let’s begin with the first one.  —  < Episode One — The World of Antiques >

< Episode One — The World of Antiques >

Over the past few years, Morishima-san has quietly built a secret base of his own — what we call the “Warehouse Office.” For now, the space is only open to close industry friends and a small number of important partners.

As Morishima-san puts it: “This is a relatively private space of mine, filled with a large collection of vintage pieces and antiques that I have gathered over the past few decades. The purpose is not to show them off (laughs). By living with and encountering these ‘treasures’ every day, I continue to train my own eye — and, in turn, refine BONCOURA itself. Ultimately, it is about taking that elevated sense of beauty and quietly weaving it into every BONCOURA product.”

< OBJECT ONE - Wooden Kongōrikishi Statue (Edo Period) >

The first thing that caught my eye upon entering the “Warehouse Office” was this Wooden Kongōrikishi Statue from the Edo period. Around 300 years old, it remains remarkably well preserved to this day. Look closely at the carving, and every individual cut of the chisel feels incredibly raw and primitive. Yet take a step back and look at the piece as a whole, and it suddenly becomes extraordinarily vivid — almost alive, carrying a presence that feels somehow divine.

Three centuries have left upon the wood the quiet traces of time — an aged beauty that feels almost wabi-sabi. And yet, strangely, standing before it does not make me think only of the past. Instead, it sends the imagination in the opposite direction, into a kind of fantasy of infinite time.

< OBJECT TWO — Stone Gods of Grain > 

The second objects that fascinated me were this pair of “Stone Gods of Grain.”

 Morishima-san explained: “My family had been in the rice business for generations, for well over a century. These stone gods have been with me since childhood — they are part of what has been passed down through our family. A hundred years ago, Japan was a land of countless gods. There was a sense of reverence for almost everything around us. When I was a child, whether the year brought us an abundant harvest or a poor one, there were certain occasions when my family would gather and pay our respects to these two stone gods.

I no longer continue my family’s traditional rice business. But that sense of reverence has stayed with me — I carry it quietly within myself. Whenever I see these Stone Gods of Grain, I am reminded to be grateful simply for being alive.”

< OBJECT THREE — Hand-Painted “Mountain Gods” (Showa Period) >

 The third object that immediately fascinated me was this hand-painted depiction of the “Mountain Gods,” dating from the Showa period. Somewhere along its journey through the past century, the identity of the original artist has been lost to time. Now, a small confession from the writer himself — Lee of CORL has long been fascinated by stories of the Anunnaki and the legends of the “Ant People” (lol).

So naturally, this strange old painting became one of my personal favourites in the Warehouse Office. There are even legends and speculation connecting ancient Japan with beings resembling the Anunnaki. Whether there is any truth to such stories, I have absolutely no idea. But standing there, looking at these mysterious figures painted nearly a century ago, something strange happened. For just one second — and I still don’t quite know why — I just believed it. “

< OBJECT FOUR — Wooden Rain Priest (Edo Period) >

The fourth object is a "Wooden Rain Priest” from the Edo period, another antique passed down through the Morishima family. For a family whose livelihood depended on rice, an abundant harvest was inseparable from the blessing of rain. At certain times each year, the head of the family would carry this wooden figure to the river and immerse it in the water flowing towards their rice fields, praying that the coming rainy season would bring water — and, with it, a plentiful harvest.

Repeated immersion in the river over generations gradually transformed the sculpture itself. Many of the original chisel marks have become weathered and uneven; some of its features have softened so much that their original outlines are slowly disappearing. And yet, to me, this erosion has not taken anything away from it. Quite the opposite. It feels as though the river has continued the work of the original craftsman — slowly carving the figure again, year after year, until the boundary between something made by human hands and something shaped by nature begins to disappear.

Perhaps that is why, standing before it, I felt an even stronger sense of divinity. No longer simply a wooden sculpture of a god, it seemed almost as though it had spent centuries slowly dissolving into nature itself — becoming part of something larger, almost cosmic.

< OBJECT FIVE — “Mountain God Owl” by Masaaki Aiyoshi >

The fifth object is a wooden sculpture by Hokkaido master craftsman Masaaki Aiyoshi (相吉 正亮) — his own interpretation of a “Mountain God Owl.”

A self-taught artist of extraordinary instinct, Aiyoshi developed a language entirely his own. In this owl, there is a certain rawness, even a kind of deliberate bluntness. Nothing feels overly polished or eager to demonstrate technical perfection. And I believe this is precisely what Morishima-san is drawn to.

There is an idea often spoken of by Japanese artists: "Returning to the Shoshin" — the “Beginner’s Mind.” To possess technique, and then to forget technique. Perhaps that is where true mastery begins. The hand already knows what to do, yet the work no longer seems concerned with proving how skilful that hand is. What remains is something freer, more instinctive, and strangely alive. Looking at this little Mountain God Owl, I feel that kind of effortless confidence — the freedom of a master who has moved beyond technique and found a language entirely his own.

The artist makes the object, but somehow, the object begins to speak back.

< OBJECT SIX — Round Window from a Taisho-Era Western-Style House >

The sixth object is a Round Wooden Window Removed from a Western-style Japanese house built during the Taisho period. And behind it is a rather interesting story.

Morishima-san was once told that a century-old house was about to be demolished and rebuilt. The owner, who happened to be a friend of his, had little interest in antiques himself, so he simply asked Morishima-san if there was anything in the old house he would like to take before it disappeared.

Among everything that was about to be discarded, this round window caught his eye. Made entirely by hand around a century ago, its wooden frame had been painstakingly shaped and assembled using traditional joinery, without nails. Morishima-san immediately recognised something special in it. And so, rather than allowing the window to disappear together with the old house, he “invited” it home. Today, it has been given a second life inside the Warehouse Office, installed at the entrance to its innermost room — Morishima-san’s own little “Treasure Room.”

As Morishima-san explained to me: “Sometimes, truly good things may already be around us, every single day. Perhaps what we need is nothing more than — To See.” 

< OBJECT SEVEN — “Bear Catching a Fish” by Takayoshi Omote >

The seventh object is Bear Catching a Fish, a wooden sculpture by Hokkaido master carver Takayoshi Omote (表 高吉).

Morishima-san told me: “The first time I saw this sculpture — almost half the height of a person — I immediately decided I had to buy it. Why? Because… it was cute.(laughs) There are also old traditions in Hokkaido surrounding the sight of a bear catching fish in the wild — an auspicious image associated with nature’s abundance and the coming of a plentiful season. 

 I personally love collecting the works of Takayoshi Omote. What fascinates me is the way he carves — every single cut feels incredibly raw and direct. Look closely, and each chisel mark seems to contain the stubbornness, discipline and skill of a true craftsman. But then take a step back and look at the sculpture as a whole… It somehow becomes innocent again. Almost like something made by a child.

Perhaps that is what a truly gifted craftsman is — Someone with the Hands of a Master, but the Eyes of a Child.”

< OBJECT EIGHT — Buddhist Objects & Vessels >

The eighth is not a single object, but a small collection assembled by Morishima-san — a group of Japanese Buddhist objects from different periods. Among them, what caught my attention most was his collection of old Buddhist vessels, particularly the subtle variations of blue found across them.

 If you know BONCOURA, you probably already know how deeply Morishima-san understands — and obsesses over — the different shades of indigo, as well as the traditional methods of Japanese dyeing. For a long time, I wondered why he could be so particular about the idea of the “Right Colour.” Standing in front of these vessels, I felt I had found part of the answer. And this time, I think I’ll leave it there.

If you see what I see, perhaps no further explanation is necessary.

< OBJECT NINE — “Sky Lanterns” >

The ninth and final group of objects is another composition created by Morishima-san — something he calls the “Sky Lanterns.” Suspended high above the Warehouse Office, the installation brings together lighting from different worlds and different periods — from traditional Japanese forms to Western modernist design — rearranged into a single landscape of light.

The first time I looked up at them, I told Morishima-san: “They remind me of the old Chinese tradition of releasing Kongming lanterns into the night sky.” (laughs)

Morishima-san smiled. “Yes, something like that. Sometimes, the way things are combined can itself represent another level of understanding. I look at these different objects. I spend time with them. I feel them. And then I begin to think about how I might experience them again — in my own way, from a completely new perspective.

So eventually, I brought them together like this.

My own little sky of lanterns.” (laughs)

 

 

< OUTRO >

There are, in fact, thousands of objects inside the Warehouse Office. Today, I have chosen just nine groups of them — nine small glimpses into the world, and perhaps the taste, of Hisashi Morishima. By this point, some readers may already be beginning to feel what I felt. Perhaps we can now understand a little better why Morishima-san has always insisted on calling BONCOURA a Fashion Brand.

 

Many elements found within BONCOURA — from the garments themselves down to the smallest details, such as rivets and buckles — draw their aesthetic language from antique objects. But they are never simply reproduced. They are observed, absorbed, reinterpreted, and eventually transformed into something original — something that did not exist before. For that reason, I have always felt that describing BONCOURA as High-End Fashion is entirely appropriate. 

And perhaps there is something else. When your eyes are constantly surrounded by — and constantly measuring themselves against — hundreds of years of different aesthetics, at some point, you may begin to forget that Time Itself Even Exists. And once time begins to disappear, perhaps the idea of a “trend” — something fashionable only for a brief moment — begins to lose its meaning as well.

-- to be continued...