Maruni Wood Industry Inc. was founded in Hiroshima in 1928. Maruni worked with in-house designers on standard western models of chairs such as the Bank chair from 1928, inspired by Thonet chairs, and the Versailles chair from 1968, with a cabriole leg. In 2008 Maruni launched the Maruni Collection, working with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa on developing a new collection of chairs. The first result of this collaboration was the Hiroshima armchair, followed by the Cord chair by Nendo in 2009. Jasper Morrison came onboard in 2011 with the Lightwood chair and the T chair followed in 2016.

The T chair has a very simple form made up of a shovel-shaped seat, straight cylindrical legs and small back rest in solid maple. The backrest is connected to the seat by a gently S-bend sprung steel vertical element. The chair’s name comes from the form created by the steel vertical and the backrest. All the wooden components are 3-D milled from solid timber, using what Maruni calls ‘industrialised craft’, embracing both machine technology and the skills of the company’s artisanal makers. The steel vertical is powder coated.

The chair represents a period of work that Morrison developed after he opened a studio in Tokyo in 2007. Following the opening of this studio Morrison designed several projects for retailer Muji and also worked with more traditional Japanese manufacturers through the organisation Japan Creative for whom he designed a series of Oigen (cast iron) cook ware. The collaboration with Maruni comes from this period of work more closely focused on Japanese brands and manufacturers.