Each room at Rakudoan is equipped with a spacious wooden deck. The deck chairs, designed by Danish furniture designer Børge Mogensen, are carefully arranged to offer a comfortable view of the changing landscape of the Sankyoson scattered village, which varies both by season and throughout the day.

Børge Mogensen (1914-1972)
Known as the “people’s designer,” Børge Mogensen’s reputation is rooted not only in his sociable character but also in his mission to create high-quality furniture at prices affordable to the general public.

Mogensen’s designs are characterized by simple, beautiful forms with an emphasis on durability and functionality in both materials and structure. Throughout his career, he was particularly committed to using wood such as oak, pine, and beech, and was also known for his extensive use of leather.

For Mogensen, decoration unrelated to function was unnecessary. His clear and straightforward design approach was deeply influenced by designer Kaare Klint, who had a significant impact on the design world at the time. Under Klint at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Mogensen embraced design principles based on human proportions, which he found deeply compelling. Both shared the belief that completed furniture should have a subtle beauty and express a purely functionalist philosophy. However, while Klint designed furniture for grand, official spaces, Mogensen focused on creating furniture for the general public and designs that were well-suited to mass production.

After completing his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker in 1934, Mogensen studied furniture design at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts (1936-1938) and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1938-1942). At the same time, he worked in the design studios of Kaare Klint and Mogens Koch. In 1942, he was appointed chief designer for the furniture department of Denmark’s cooperative FDB, a role he held until the end of his career. At FDB, he introduced high-quality designer furniture aimed at the general public and helped shape a new wave of modern furniture.

His designs were characterized by simple forms, yet they incorporated influences from foreign cultures, international modernism, ethnic art, ukiyo-e, and traditional furniture styles like Shaker furniture. Although his life was relatively short, Mogensen established a firm position in the design world with his distinctive style. He was prolific, producing a wide variety of furniture and upholstery over his 35-year career, and many of his works are now regarded as masterpieces.