The post you see in this room is an elm tree trunk and it acts as a functional and decorative element of the space. It is known as the Mother post. In the construction of the room, this post was designed by the architect to be a plain steel column. Through consultation with the project’s engineers, Mira Nakashima changed it to this wood post which came from the Nakashima property. The post took about a week to clean up, which included sanding and filling the cracks in the trunk. Indicated by the name, the post could also be considered a symbol of a mother’s role as the support of the household. This post, although functional, creates a focal point in the design of the room.