rom a workshop installed in what used to be a bedroom, garage and restroom in Masahiro Kikuno’s home in the city of Matsudo in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, the 40-year-old watchmaker creates Haute Horlogerie with unique complications. In these efficiently used square metres, Mr. Kikuno manufactures nearly all components and external parts (only hairsprings, mainsprings, jewels, sapphire crystals, and straps are bought from suppliers), before personally carrying out all the decoration, quality control and assembly.

Mr. Kikuno proved his talent when he made a perpetual calendar tourbillon in his final year of watchmaking school, George Daniel’s book on the theme being his only guiding light. When he launched his eponymous brand in 2011, he decided to make a watch with a uniquely Japanese complication: The Temporal Hours Watch, which has the function of built-in temporal hours, also known as wadokei. Temporal hours is a different way of counting time that was used in Japan during the later Edo period (1603-1868), until a new government in 1873 decided to join the Western-dominated linear 24-hour system.

Masahiro Kikuno

The Wadokei is based on daytime and nighttime being of different lengths, continually changing over the year. To reflect the changing times of sunrise and sunset, temporal hours are manifested by a 24-hour dial with 12 mobile indexes. These indexes are connected to a cam which continually changes its position over a full year, sliding the indexes to and fro. Thus, the spaces between the daytime indexes, as well as the total space occupied by daytime, will be longer in the summer and the opposite scenario in winter. This system is adjustable to a given latitude.

“In an age when the value of human existence is being questioned due to the development of machines and artificial intelligence, we are creating art that maximises human abilities and fuses Japanese history and culture with science and philosophy at a high level,” said Mr. Kikuno. The Wadokei, which also has a western time indication with regular hour and minute hands, has been updated with filigree dials. Other creations to emerge from the space-efficient workshop include a repeater, a tourbillon and a moon phase.

Between 2012 and 2024, Mr. Kikuno produced and sold 20 watches with prices ranging from JPY 5,000,000 to JPY 18,000,000 (USD 32,000 to 115,000 at June 8, 2024). With a current output of one watch per year, the order books are closed at the moment. “I am very sorry. There is no chance to purchase my watches at this time. All my watches are sold on order. I will be taking orders next year. Please check my Instagram and website,” apologised the watchmaker, who delivers each timepiece to the customer with a photobook documenting its creation.

Mr. Kikuno has no plans to increase production. Instead, he will emphasise the artistic aspects of his work – which was recognised by none other than Philippe Dufour in the early 2010s. “He recommended me to join AHCI, of which I became a candidate in 2011 and a full member in 2013. It was a great honour to become a member of the most diverse and unique group of watchmakers in the world. I think it was the first step to have the world recognise Japanese watches made by individuals rather than watches made by large corporations.”

The Wadokei Revision Gyousyou