Iwado Base
Use
Location
Design
Contractor
Date
Photo Credits
Design Assistants
: Installation
: Yokohama
: ISHIKAWASAMBO
: Keishin Kogyou
: June 2025
: ISHIKAWASAMBO
: Ayato Sonobe
Eisyun Saito
Ishikawa Kumiko
Enami Noriko
Yabuki Asuka
Following our participation in the early spring’s Makers' Day! event, we were invited to take on an unexpected and meaningful challenge: to design and build a temporary shrine for the 44th Yokohama Kaikosai, a major annual festival celebrating the opening of the port.
Though modest in scale, this project offered us a chance to experiment with the tools currently at our disposal, particularly our xTool laser cutter, and rethink how traditional motifs can be translated through contemporary making methods.
The shrine's visual identity draws heavily from the iconic seigaiha (青海波) motif—an ancient Japanese wave pattern formed by layered semicircles. Rendered in laser-cut plywood, these concentric waves ripple across half the wall panels, grounding the structure in maritime symbolism while maintaining a light, permeable presence.
At the center front, a small wooden boat anchors the shrine, evoking Yokohama’s deep connection to seafaring and trade. Meanwhile, the prayer and offering area is adorned with a laser-etched whale—an animal traditionally seen as a symbol of protection, abundance, and safe passage across the seas in Japanese folklore. The whale becomes a quiet but powerful guardian of wishes and intentions.
Color-wise, we stayed close to the festival’s official “Thanks to the Port” palette—navy, white, and signal red—but allowed ourselves to explore more modern applications of these hues in layering, form, and detail.
We are currently in the process of producing original ema (wooden wish plaques) and omamori (protective charms), which will be available at the shrine to invite quiet interaction and personal reflection during the festival.
This project allows us to merge cultural storytelling with digital craft, and to reflect on how small-scale architecture can still hold symbolic weight. It’s a celebration of heritage, reinterpretation, and gratitude—offered in a format that can fit in a single city square.
