Shigeki Fujishiro, 2025
OBJECT
FUJ #1 (Doorstopper) by Aji Project is a doorstop made from Aji stone, a dense, fine-grained granite quarried exclusively from Mount Goken in Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture.
Used in Japan for over a thousand years, this material is gaining renewed international visibility through the work of AJI PROJECT, a Japanese company reconnecting Aji stone to daily life through contemporary design.
Designed by Shigeki Fujishiro, FUJ #1 presents a pared-back form: a pierced cylinder threaded with a cord. The piece gestures toward Japanese tradition while introducing a contemporary sensibility. Aji stone’s distinctly Japanese aesthetic is offset by a subtle color detail, softening its conventional associations. The result is an object that fits naturally into both Eastern and Western interiors, engaging with a range of materials and styles.
Compact and moderately weighted, the doorstop is designed for everyday use. It is understated yet intentional, foregrounding the quality of the material and the quiet precision of a process that connects past and present.
AJI PROJECT
AJI PROJECT was founded with a clear purpose: to reintroduce Aji stone into contemporary life. Through three collections that bring together design, craftsmanship, and sustainability, the initiative presents this ancient material in a language attuned to the present.
The STANDARD line includes objects designed for everyday use, starting with the recognizable ROCK END. It unfolds across three main series: ROCK, which highlights the stone’s natural texture; CYLINDER and SQUARE, which draw on the fundamentals of stonework through clean cuts and primary geometries.
OMORI takes one of the stone’s essential qualities—its weight—and reimagines it as an expressive element. Designers with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, including Canadian designer Philippe Malouin of Bilboquet, reinterpret Aji stone through the Japanese concept of mitate, creating objects that challenge conventional notions of mass and materiality.
The READYMADE collection explores the potential of offcuts, repurposing fragments originally intended for construction materials or gravestones. Their imperfections become part of the design, giving rise to autonomous objects—vases, umbrella stands, or hybrid forms—that invite interpretation and imagination.
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DETAILS
AJI PROJECT
The object is available online on the website of Japanese producer AJI PROJECT >
Larghezza : 130 mm
Diametro: 140 mm
Altezza: 80 mm
Peso: 3.2kg
Pietra Aji, corda
