Kitayama logs, which come from the Kitayama cedar trees in Kyoto, are used for floor posts because of their smooth and beautiful surface. Kyoto Natural Factory will release "NENRIN," a Bluetooth stereo speaker with built-in amplifier that takes advantage of such beautiful wood surface, on July 19. The price is not cheap, at 90,000 yen (tax not included), but the beautiful appearance and the use of wood cone speakers that focus on sound should be enough to convince you.


Kitayama logs are a product of traditional craftsmanship in which the bark of Kitayama cedar is carefully peeled and polished by hand to produce beautiful bark and luster. Although they were mainly used as floor posts, the demand for these logs has drastically decreased due to the increase in the number of houses without tokonoma (alcove). Kyoto Natural Factory developed NENRIN to prevent the loss of this beautiful traditional craft in Kyoto. However, it was difficult to commercialize the product, and it took five years to complete.

The NENRIN lineup consists of the "NENRIN mini DESHIBO," which has a natural deshibo log body that brings the beauty of the natural wood surface to the forefront, and the "NENRIN mini JINSHIBO," which has an artificial shibo log body in which the "wrinkles" on the wood surface are created by craftsmen. The two types are "NENRIN mini DESHIBO" and "NENRIN mini JINSHIBO". Both are available in natural and dark colors.


Approximate dimensions are 32 cm (W) x 20 cm (H) x 13 cm (D), with two 8 cm full-range wood cone speakers. The built-in amplifier has an output of 15W x 2, and can be used for music playback by connecting MP3 players, smartphones, tablets, and PCs wirelessly via Bluetooth or via a cable connection via the 3.5mm stereo mini plug-compatible AUX jack.