Defining ‘Jaxury', the epitome of Japanese luxury

South China Morning Post

a day ago

In the soft glow of the hotel room, the tissue box doesn't immediately draw attention. Yet veteran journalist Kumiko Yoshioka urges me to look closer. She points out that it was crafted by Japanese artisans using traditional joinery techniques, entirely without metal hardware. Made from hinoki wood, it naturally resists mould and mildew, embodying both beauty and function.
The entrance to Wadakura, the kaiseki restaurant at the Palace Hotel Tokyo. Photo: courtesy Palace Hotel Tokyo
This design by artisanal housewares brand Azmaya is just one of several home-grown items, alongside a glass speaker from Sony, cushions upholstered in Hosoo textiles and lamps from Time & Style, that furnish the Jaxury suite at
the Palace Hotel Tokyo . Designed to immerse guests in the essence of Japanese luxury, the suite takes its name from the Jaxury initiative, founded in 2021 as an academic project led by the Authentic Luxury Lab at Keio University's Graduate School of System Design and Management. Backed by the Japanese government, it's perhaps the most visible attempt thus far to define the nation's identity on the global luxury stage.
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'The Western notion of luxury is about what's given to you – expensive, glamorous things,' Yoshioka explains later over lunch on the hotel's veranda, 'but Jaxury celebrates the sophistication of everyday items,' like
a well-crafted towel , slippers or eye masks.
A craftsman at work at the 337-year-old Kyoto textile house Hosoo. Photo: courtesy Hosoo
Jaxury's framework for defining Japanese luxury draws on five themes rooted in traditional aesthetics: an enduring imperfection that invites change; harmony (wa), a concept enshrined in one of Japan's earliest constitutions; reverence for the impermanence of life; purity of the senses; and tranquillity of the mind.
From these themes, Jaxury distils 10 perspectives on Japanese luxury. Brands recognised by Jaxury may embody one or more ideals, ranging from craftsmanship and sensitivity to respect, authenticity and altruism. This framework is then used by a 10-member consortium of experts from academia, media and Japan's luxury industries – among them are Osamu Shigematsu, a co-founder and honorary chairman of premium fashion retailer United Arrows, tea master Sokyu Nara from
Kyoto 's Urasenke Konnichian tea school and Takashi Maeno, the director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at Keio University – to annually select a cohort of Japanese brands to be featured in the Jaxury awards.
Hosoo specialises in textiles for high-end home furnishings. Photo: courtesy Hosoo
Among the 33 brands honoured in 2025 are Asahiyaki, a 425-year-old teaware maker from Uji, a city south of
Kyoto , which was selected in the 'enrichment of everyday life' category; the Shorin-an villa, which invites travellers to stay on the grounds of Kyoto's Ninna-ji Temple, embodying 'myths and legends'; and Lexus, representing 'blessings and good fortune' with its LS 500h sedan, featuring Nishijin brocade with metallic foil ornamentation in the cabin.