Nagasawa’s workshop is built like a fortress on the side of a small hill in deep east Osaka. So deep its almost county side though as Japanese cities go on and on it’s hard to tell where countryside starts & the city ends. The façade of the workshop, like the workshops of most Japanese frame builders is nothing special. Just a small Nagasawa decal on the door hints to what goes on inside.
Nagasawa’s son greeted us. He led us through the office down winding metal stairs past half built motorbikes and broken disc wheels down to the ground floor workshop. If the building were not built on a hill this would be a basement. The workshop is far larger than the office above and larger than the workshop of any other Japanese frame builder I’ve seen. Every inch of the space is used. Nagasawa has after all been working from the same workshop for over thirty years.
When we enter, Nagasawa is deep in concentration with torch lit, cigarette in mouth, sitting over a chain stay. Perhaps the sight of myself entering baby in hand with a pram would be enough to break his concentration but it is not
We enter quietly and become his audience, we are not the only members of this audience, however. The President of the legendary local cycle brand Sugino is standing watching with a potential Keirin star by his side. He is visiting Nagasawa to request he build a series of frames for some big upcoming races. For me it’s a pretty surreal scene. After a few minutes Nagasawa breaks from his work and gives a warm round of handshakes and introductions, then straight to business with Sugino.
While they talk I have a chance to wonder round. Nagasawa’s son Takashi continues his work. Takashi has been working with his father for almost four years. First I watch him filling down chain stays preparing them for brazing then he moves onto the more interesting job of aligning tubing in a jig.
When Nagasawa is finished talking with Sugino he moves on to us. He pulls down a piece of paper from the chandelier of build sheets hanging above us and lays a build sheet down flat under some light. The build sheet was from one of our customers. He shows me the tubing he will use and the lugs and dropouts. He talks for a long time waving his hands descriptively and pausing every so often to allow my girlfriend Megumi to translate. As with all Japanese translations two minutes of chatter translates into a single sentence. I stand listening, my ears alert for anything recognizable, my Japanese, non-existent.
It is now around eight thirty in the evening. Nagasawa famously works through the night. He says he likes to stick to Italian time from his days in Italy working along side the great De Rosa.
We are invited for dinner, asked if I like Denny’s I say I would prefer something Japanese. We are taken to a local Korean barbeque restaurant. From talking to others who have made the homage, this restaurant is a regular haunt. This becomes even more clear when the waitress presents Nagasawa with his personal bottle of scotch, which he enjoys with coffee as he talks about the importance of British frame builders and the influence they had over Japanese builders. By the time we finish it is past midnight and Nagasawa sill has five hours of work ahead of him.
My evening with one of the world’s greatest frame builders was an unforgettable one. Nagasawa puts his heart and soul into his work and cares a great deal about every frame he works on. Each frame is a testament to his craft, experience and character.
