Japanese Heritage Takes Form in Kiwame Tokyo's Architecturally-inspired Mune Watches

Kiwame Tokyo, a relatively new name in the luxury watch industry, has quickly soared to critical acclaim. In less than a year, the brand, founded by watch industry veteran Masami Watanabe, has gathered a significant following, thanks to its elegantly crafted, reasonably priced timepieces that pay homage to Japanese cultural heritage.

Their new offering, Kiwame Tokyo Mune, continues to imbue distinctive Japanese elements into its design. The Mune series draws inspiration from classical Japanese architecture, specifically the iconic roofs that manifest the country’s aesthetic ethos. The visual vocabulary of the Mune watches is a testament to subtlety and nuance, with each model ingeniously relating to its Japanese roots.

Taking observers into a unique journey into Japanese culture is the dial. The 12 o’clock marker is replaced with an emblem shaped like a ‘mune’, the roof ridge seen on historical Japanese structures. To elevate this connection, the end of the seconds hand is modelled after the enormous roof of the revered Kaminarimon Gate in Asakusa, where Kiwame Tokyo is based. The dial comes in two flavors, ivory or black, with each shade tastefully chosen from a traditional Japanese colour palette.

While the Mune watches bear the heart of Kiwame’s earlier creations, they differ with a sportier feel, a new handset, and revised minute and second scales. With the introduction of the Mune series watches, Kiwame Tokyo brilliantly embodies traditional Japanese aesthetics in the language of horology.