The creator of this bespoke, hand-made bike is Japanese student Enji. Enji is studying at the Tokyo College of Cycle Design ( I know ..right!! A whole school for studying bicycle design!!) and this working bike was his final graduating project.
Enji wanted to restyling the old traditional handicraft of Kitsuregoshi (lattice work) into the bike build.
The handcrafted bicycle has been carefully thought-out from concept to finish, with the saddle, handlebars, tires and frame all designed to complement the star of the creation that sits in the middle of the piece: the lattice panel.
Lattice work like this is known as kitsuregoshi in Japan. This centuries-old woodworking craft can be seen in sliding door panels in traditional Japanese rooms, and on walls beneath the roofs of shrine buildings.
Enji has taken inspiration from the word kitsuregoshi, naming his bicycle Kitsure, the “Traditional Japan Bicycle.”
The lattice panel can be popped out like a shoji sliding door, so it’s possible for a different design to be mounted in its place in future.
And it’s not just the lattice section that’s impressive, as the entire frame of the bicycle was also made from scratch and melded together to make his vision a reality.
When Enji shared his bike on via Twitter @enjiblossomlily, it went viral with over 13,000 retweets and more than 73,000 likes in just one day.
Enji’s bicycle was part of his graduating cohort display at Tokyo College of Cycle Design. This college is a vocational school located in the Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward where students study the design, maintenance and building of bicycles.
With Japan recently championing innovative designs like the Walking Bicycle Club, we can only hope to see more bikes like Enji’s Kiture make their way onto streets of Tokyo and beyond.
Content sourced from Sora News 24 and Japan Today.