Wender·Vista
Fuchū
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileJapan
on the Musashino plain, about twenty kilometres west of central Tokyo

Fuchū

— a forest avenue older than the road that found it.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A western Tokyo city built around Ōkunitama Shrine and the long zelkova avenue that approaches it. The trees are said to have been planted by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi in the eleventh century. Each May the Kurayami Matsuri, the Darkness Festival, draws the great drum carts down the avenue after sundown. South of the shrine, the Tama River runs slow past the racecourse.

from the studio
Fuchū
— bring it home

Fuchū, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Fuchū

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Fuchū is a city in western Tokyo Metropolis, on the alluvial Musashino plain about 20 kilometres west of Shinjuku, with a population of roughly 263,000. From the 7th century to the 19th, it served as the provincial capital of Musashi Province; the name fuchū literally means 'provincial seat.' Ōkunitama Shrine, founded by tradition in 111 CE under Emperor Keikō, anchors the old town centre, and the Kōshū Kaidō, the Edo-period highway from Nihonbashi to Kōfu, still runs through it.

— the year

Each year from April 30 to May 6 the Kurayami Matsuri, the Darkness Festival, works through the streets around Ōkunitama Shrine. Eight great taiko drums and six mikoshi carts move down the zelkova avenue after sundown on the evening of the fifth, the night the festival's name preserves. Until 1959 the procession moved in complete darkness, with all street lights extinguished. The festival has run in some form since the Heian period, more than a thousand years.

— the air

The keyaki-namiki, the zelkova avenue, runs about 500 metres north from Ōkunitama Shrine. Tradition holds that the trees were planted by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi in 1062 in thanks for victory in the Former Nine Years' War. The present trees are mostly later replantings, with a few said to be original. The avenue is designated a National Natural Monument. South of the city, the Tama River broadens past the Tokyo Racecourse and the JRA's training facilities at the Bajikōen equestrian park.

— informed by Wikipedia: Fuchū, Tokyo
— where
Japan · Tokyo Metropolis
— elevation
45 m · 148 ft
— position
35.6694° N · 139.4779° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
2 km S
Tokyo Racecourse
horse racing track
6 km E
Jindai Botanical Gardens
botanical garden
2 km S
Tama River
river
N
Fuchū
Tokyo Racecourse
Jindai Botanical Gardens
Tama River
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Fuchū — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Darkness Festival, held from April 30 to May 6 each year around Ōkunitama Shrine. Eight taiko drums and six mikoshi process down the zelkova avenue after sundown on May 5. The festival has run in some form since the Heian period.

Tradition places its founding in 111 CE under Emperor Keikō. It served as the chief shrine of Musashi Province through the medieval period and is one of the principal shrines of the wider Tokyo region today.

The historical province whose capital was Fuchū, covering most of present-day Tokyo, Saitama, and eastern Kanagawa. The provincial government office sat near today's Ōkunitama Shrine from the 7th century until the Meiji prefectural reform of 1871.

Keiō Line trains from Shinjuku reach Fuchū Station in about 25 minutes. The JR Nambu and Musashino lines also serve the city, connecting through Tachikawa and Kawasaki respectively.

A 500-metre avenue of zelkova trees leading north from Ōkunitama Shrine, designated a National Natural Monument. Tradition credits Minamoto no Yoriyoshi with planting the original trees in 1062 after victory in the Former Nine Years' War.

Yes. The Japan Racing Association's main course sits about two kilometres south of Ōkunitama Shrine. It hosts the Japan Cup each November and the Tōkyō Yūshun, the Japanese Derby, each May.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers who grew up in the Tama region or who remember the Kurayami Matsuri. Fuchū holds a particular civic memory. A Keepsake or Small with a studio note posts well to Japan.

The zelkova-green and lantern-warm palette sits well in Japandi interiors, in quieter Minimalist Asian rooms, and in tea-room palettes built around tatami, washi, and dark cedar.

It reads with the Japandi current and the wider interest in shrine architecture as a quiet wall anchor. The Small works as a single piece above a low console or in a tokonoma-style alcove.

A single Large reads at arm's length above a sofa. The 4-tile Mural carries the avenue composition fully; the 9-tile Mural gives the keyaki trees something close to their walking scale.

Yes. Order it in the Dura Satin or Matte finish for vertical wet-area installations. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam. The Glossy finish is best kept out of direct shower spray.

A microfibre cloth and water handle ordinary dust. Avoid solvents and abrasive cleaners; the colour lives in the ceramic surface and never needs polish or wax.

Yes. The Fuchū painting was made in our studio by Reid Wender. We do not license outside imagery. Every WenderVista tile is hand-finished in-house in Knoxville, Tennessee.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.