Simple Luxury, Forged into a Plate

CENTURY has continued its journey of inheritance and evolution, leading Japan’s chauffeur-driven automobiles. In creating the scuff plate, the master artisans were driven by a strong conviction: they, too, must continue to evolve.

For sheet-metal artisans who shaped the bodies of prototype vehicles, hammer marks were traditionally hidden from view. Yet the master artisans chose a different path. They transformed a technique once used only in the development stage into masame, creating something to be admired rather than concealed.

To elevate inherited sheet-metal craftsmanship into art. It was proof of their resolve to step onto a demanding stage and pursue Japanese beauty.

Beautiful masame does not come easily. At just 0.5 mm thick, the metal can warp with a single strike. The master artisans’ answer was to judge each point of impact in an instant, striking along a V-shaped path to disperse distortion.

Yet no fixed rhythm can solve everything. Each plate bears its own characteristics, shaped by the stresses created during cutting. Reading those subtle differences, the artisans adjust the force and angle of every strike, maintaining complete control over each hammer blow. This is why they say, “Materials are living things.”

A dialogue carried out through more than 9,000 hammer strikes. Only those living marks can bring forth a masame pattern with true character—one worthy of being One of One.

To create yuragi—the subtle fluctuations found in natural wood—and the imperfect beauty embodied in the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, the master artisans deliberately vary their grip, force, and technique with each hammer strike. Yet as a vehicle component, it cannot simply be left to inconsistency or distortion.

The responsibility for discerning that boundary rests with the master artisan of quality control. Only a fine line separates the beautiful yuragi intended by the artisan from distortion that falls outside the standard. Comparing each piece against reference standards, the quality master artisan identifies that subtle distinction with remarkable precision.

“Eventually, you can tell who shaped a plate simply by looking at it.” The quality master artisan says this with a quiet smile. Knowing the unique character of each artisan and working side by side with the sheet-metal masters, the quality master artisan plays an equally vital role. Only when these two forms of pride intersect does a piece of metal earn its place on a CENTURY.

In an age of digitalization, automation, and mass production, much of a master artisan’s work relies on adaptability and complex judgment, making it difficult to pass on through manuals alone.

That is why they never cease their daily conversations. To learn from one another and continue growing, day after day. Because they believe that such growth is the foundation of true hospitality. Through dialogue, they share knowledge that cannot be quantified. Such evolution remains uniquely human.

Skill alone cannot carry the spirit forward. Passion alone cannot give it form. Today, senior and junior artisans stand shoulder to shoulder, hammer in hand. The sound of their craft continues to ring out toward the future.