An unique long-established "Takayama Picture Frame", rooted in Nayabashi

​"Takayama Picture Frame" is located along the Nayabashi River in the west of Fushimi, Nakamura Ward, Nagoya City. It is a long-established picture frame shop that has been in business for over 73 years. There is a picture frame shop on the 1st floor, a gallery on the 2nd floor, and a hidden cafe bar "TWILLO" next to it.

This time, we interviewed Daisuke Takayama, the 3rd generation owner, about the secret story behind the establishment, how to choose a picture frame and its appeal, and about Nayabashi.

The Takayama Picture Frame is located along the Nayabashi River. About 7 minutes on foot from Fushimi Station on the Higashiyama Line.

Inside the store, the space spreads out as if you had visited an overseas gallery. Various frames are lined up in the store, and the lighting and interior are also decorated with frames.

Birth of Takayama Frame Shop

Third generation owner Daisuke Takayama.

The owner, Daisuke Takayama, is the third generation. More than 70 years have passed since his grandfather Tsunetaka Takayama founded a picture frame shop in Nayabashi. First, we would like to ask him about an episode from when the company was founded.

Takayama: "My grandfather had a dream when he was young and wanted to become a lawyer in Tokyo. However, he was forced to be drafted into the army due to World War II. After the war, my grandfather returned to Nagoya and began to help out at Takayama Picture Frame in Higashi-ku, where his older brother had taken over the business.

However, my grandfather decided to become independent because he could no longer rely on his older brother to take care of him. When he started out on his own, he was initially looking for a property on Hirokoji Street, but there was no one willing to lend it to a young man in his 20s.

The property found in such a situation was this place in Nayabashi. Takayama Picture Frame was born by renting a space of about 5 tsubo, which was originally a multi-tenant space. ”

With the changing times

A photo of founder Tsunetaka Takayama and the company at the time of its founding.

Takayama: "After the war, there were no supplies and many people did not even have houses, so they could not afford to display picture frames. However, many people had died, and frames were needed to honor those who had returned as the spirits of the dead. At that time, frames to dedicate to the spirits of the dead seemed to account for most of the demand.

After that, business got on track. In the 1960s, Japan entered a period of rapid economic growth, and a home boom began. People's lives became more relaxed, and buying paintings was also a symbol of peace of mind. At that time, most of the picture frames were for paintings displayed in the house. The craftsmen also improved their skills through friendly rivalry and led the picture frame production industry.

In the bubble era, paintings became an investment, and the production of picture frames moved overseas, and the craftsmen gradually went out of business. When the bubble bursts, the painting is like a piece of paper. At that time, the picture frame industry, which had not trained craftsmen, had no one to make them.

This company, too, was in no condition to continue running if you only look at the numbers when I inherited it from my grandfather. There was talk of quitting. However, as more and more of our competitors were going out of business, we received many requests from our customers to not quit.

The company had fallen that far, so we decided to start all over again from scratch and do a complete renovation to achieve a new form."

A picture frame shop that you won't find anywhere else in the world.

Takayama: "My goal was to create a picture frame shop that could not be found anywhere in the world. Until then, we were really an old-fashioned picture frame shop. I cleaned out everything that was covered in dust. We have made a 180-degree turnaround to a custom frame store that creates finished products out of unformed items.

I was really scolded by some of my old familiar customers. They said, "You are trying to break tradition," or "You are trying to start a revolution,” and they were right. But I wasn't afraid of anything anymore. I had worked with my grandfather, so I decided to do something I had never done before. I was going to learn from the ground up, and improve my skills at the same level as my clients. I was going to do everything I could, and if it didn't work, I was going to give up gracefully.

The store has an overwhelming number of frames.

Takayama: "I also created the company's website myself. It took me a year because I wanted to create something that I could be satisfied with. After about two years, I finally started getting responses.

Originally, most of the customers were in their 60s and 70s, but now people of all ages come to visit us. Also, more and more people come to Takayama Picture Frame with the hope that we will make it look great for them. ”

 The gallery that you want to try because it is this place.

The 2nd floor of Takayama Picture Frame Shop is an art gallery. We also asked about that.

Mr. Takayama: "I wanted to create a place where people can feel dreams and romance, even if just a little. I wanted to create such a gallery in Nayabashi. That's why when we created the gallery here, we made it a condition that the exhibitors be artists we liked and that they not leave it up to us to attract customers. People ask me, "How many customers do you get here?" but we don't know who they are, so we can't say anything half-hearted about them. If all you want is to attract customers, I don't think this is the place for you.

Our gallery has no rules. You can do whatever you want, and we don't take any margins. So the artists' effort will be profitable. Instead, we don't even help you with sales, but we will do our best to support you. Most of the people who come to see the frames are art lovers, so I also talk to people who come to buy. Recently, the number of artists who get along well with us has increased, and more and more people have said that they want to have exhibitions at this place. Art has a high threshold image, but I would like to make it a place where people can come casually. ”