Encountering Special Items with
Unique Sensibility at [module] in Naha City

[module] is a shop with a great selection of stationery and other miscellaneous goods that are charming and useful, and with each use, you’ll appreciate them even more. The merchandise offered here is well-designed, well-priced, highly functional, and are comfortably balanced.



Their first location opened in April of 2001, in Izumizaki, Naha City, and they relocated to Asahimachi in 2009. Finally, they moved again in April 2020, near the Yui Rail Omoromachi Station. Often, we see more younger women at these types of shops, but nowadays at [module], where they’ve just celebrated their 20^th anniversary, they’re seeing more and more male and older customers who frequent their business.






Items they offer include high-quality notebooks, ball-point pens, fountain pens, sticky notes, bags, wallets, business card holders, masking tape, postcards, eco-bags, tableware…




The shop is full of items that will excite you, and time just seems to fly by even if you’re just browsing through the items in the store.




Some of the recommended items include notebooks by Rollbahn, a line of notebooks that are very popular among stationary enthusiasts.



Besides the more familiar Rollbahn choices, they also offer those that are limited to the region from the same stationery brand, Delfonics. Shown above is a B6-sized notebook made in collaboration with [module] and Delfonics, a type that is available only in Okinawa. These notebooks have caught the attention of collectors, and their popularity has recently soared. Drawn on the cover are the Deigo (or Indian coral), the prefectural flower, the Sandanka (or Chinese ixora), the Ogocho (or peacock flower), one of the three great flowers of Okinawa, as well as Iju (a type of needlewood tree native to Okinawa), garden croton, and mugwort. These Okinawan plants are drawn in watercolors and give a gentle and elegant impression.



The director of [module], Yumi Neha, who planned these notebooks limited to Okinawa, says, “We wanted to make something that wasn’t your ‘typical Okinawa’ but something that you’d recognize the uniqueness of Okinawa only upon a closer look. We were inspired by the English designer, William Morris, and his view of the world, and hoped to make a cover that was like a stylish wallpaper. When we conveyed our vision to our designer, they came up with it at one go and it was exactly how we pictured it.”



The notebooks use high-quality paper for their pages, where the ink doesn’t bleed or transfer to the next sheet. The pages have 5mm grids, with rounded corners, and the cream-colored pages are gentle on the eyes. Each page has perforations at the edges so they can be torn off easily and neatly.




At the end of the notebook, by the back cover, are five clear pockets that are convenient to safely keep tickets, memos, stickers, and other things you don’t want to lose.



(Photo courtesy of metalsmith, Kanzeku Matsu)

Shown above are accessories available only at [module], made by Kanzeku Matsu, an Okinawan metalsmith who makes various crafts mainly using tin.



The earrings are inspired by the silver Mimi-Sakazuki sake cups that were used for the most prestigious ceremonies and rituals royal government of the Ryukyu Kingdom.



 

Tin is flexible and can easily be bent and shaped to however the maker wants. The earrings made by Kanzeku Matsu are very popular as gifts and come in four varying sizes for pierced and non-pierced ears.

Tin is a metal that doesn’t oxidize much, but when used over a long period, the shine settles and acquires an antique appearance. You can polish it to regain the shine, but items made with tin are great to enjoy the changes that come with time.




Having items that are of better quality and using stationery and goods that meet your tastes and needs certainly add a touch of excitement to your everyday. If you’re using stationery that “somehow isn’t satisfying,” then do visit [module]. The Rollbahn notebooks limited to Okinawa and the Mimi-Sakazuki-inspired earrings are also available through our online Okinawa CLIP Marche.


 

[module]
Address: 78-20 Daido, Naha City, Okinawa
Telephone: 098-988-0865
Hours: 10:30 to 19:30
Closed: Thursdays
Website: https://module-okinawa.com 




[moduleBEHOUSE]
Address: 2-2-2 Nishi, Naha City, Okinawa
Telephone: 098-963-9035
Hours: 10:00 to 19:00
Closed: Wednesdays




Okinawa CLIP photo writer, Sachiko Tachi