©CANAME
Among our range of services, new construction and renovation of temples and shrines in our temple construction division make up over half of our sales. We have worked in over 4,000 projects all over the country.
Home ＞ User’s voice ＞ ｜ Masahiro Yoshihara
CANAME Co., Ltd. President
Mr. Masahiro Yoshihara
Titanium tiles are optimal for religious buildings that are cherished for generations
CANAME Co., Ltd.
President
Mr. Masahiro Yoshihara
CANAME Co., Ltd.
A metal roofing manufacturer that specializes in traditional construction
This company was the first in the industry to develop and release titanium roof tiling
(using customized TranTixxii). The company has received much attention in the media after
using these tiles for a major project: Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa.
About the company
Among our range of services, new construction and renovation of temples and shrines in our temple construction division make up over half of our sales. We have worked in over 4,000 projects all over the country.
History of development in titanium roof tiling
Titanium has a characteristic where it constantly works to regain its original form (spring-back), so this can result in damage to the material if people are careless when working with it. It was not an easy feat to process this material into complex shapes, even when using a wide variety of molding techniques. However, our belief that "companies exist to respond to consumer needs" pushed us in continuing our research and development.
We decided that it was not possible to apply conventional metal roofing methods with titanium, and finally made the decision to change the method of construction. It took six years of trial-and-error before we had something that was satisfactory. With this, the world's first titanium-molded roofing tile was born.
Our love for traditional construction and focus on titanium
The reason for using titanium roofing in these structures was to ensure the safety of visitors to the temple. Over thirty million visitors come to Asakusa Senso-ji Temple every year. There is a risk of severe injury if roofing tiles fall during an earthquake. People can now visit the temple without such worries, as titanium roofing does not fall in these circumstances.
Furthermore, as titanium is lightweight, this material also improves earthquake resistance in any structure that uses it. These titanium tiles are approximately 20% of the weight of conventional tiles in the Main Hall, and 12.5% in the Hozo-mon Gate, thereby significantly reducing the stress on these structures.
Future outlook
We believe that titanium is optimal for religious structures that are to stand for many generations, as titanium needs almost no maintenance. More and more cultural properties buildings have been incorporating titanium into buildings with the aim of long-term preservation.
Furthermore, titanium allows for broader expression in design. As a matter of fact, there are three colors of titanium roof tiles scattered throughout the Senso-ji Temple Main Hall and the Five-Storied Pagoda so as to recreate the varied colors of the smoked roofing tiles. A professional tile maker recently visited Asakusa Senso-ji Temple and wanted to know which structure uses titanium as he stood right in front of a building with titanium tiling. This indicates how faithful these titanium tiles reproduce the characteristics of traditional roof tiling.
Titanium offers many benefits, as it can reproduce the texture of smoked tiles, and it offers elegant green-blue colors and subdued mottle colors to suit any design.
Recently, we have been seeing many more people seeking to improve earthquake resistance in their houses, so we will continue to send out the message about the durability and safety of titanium roof tiling.
