# 【番外編＃148】効率重視か？ロマンか？こだわりの仕事道具に宿るスピリット

- Show: 歴史を面白く学ぶコテンラジオ （COTEN RADIO）
- Published: 2026-10-26
- Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1450522865_cbd347e1e609.html
- Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/8c2088c/podcast/play/125030113/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-8-1%2F35387ed5-301d-f1d0-d858-d061d98eb343.mp3
- Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary.

While Fukai (深井) stepped away from the desk mid-recording of the Rome history series, Higuchi (樋口) and a fellow member known as Yanyan (ヤンヤン) filled the time by comparing their tool philosophies—split keyboards, wired Apple peripherals, and a single Fender Telesonic guitar held for nearly 20 years. What started as peripheral chat opened into a deeper conversation about how the tools people choose reveal the way they choose to live.

## What this episode answers

### What are the reasons for using a split keyboard, and what are its specific benefits?

Split keyboards let each half sit independently, keeping the hands at their natural 45–60-degree angle instead of being forced inward; they also allow posture to be adjusted throughout the day based on how the body feels.

### What is the real reason Higuchi keeps insisting on Apple's own devices?

The primary criterion is whether the same product will still be on sale in three to five years—Apple's own lineup is far less likely to be discontinued than third-party alternatives, and Higuchi applies the identical standard to clothing, standardizing on Uniqlo.

### Why does Higuchi stick with a single Fender Telesonic guitar?

The Telesonic sits between the bright cut of a Telecaster and the power of a Les Paul, giving it enough versatility for a 'one sword' philosophy; the ongoing challenge of discovering how far a single instrument can go aligns exactly with his belief in minimizing hardware.

### How does the 'Japanese approach' to tools differ from the 'American approach'?

American efficiency dedicates an optimized space to each function and has people conform to it; Japanese efficiency uses one space or tool for many purposes through human ingenuity—Higuchi explicitly chooses the Japanese model.

### How did Higuchi's relationship with tools change after getting a 3D printer?

The ability to fabricate almost anything paradoxically deepened his appreciation for single-purpose tools like a tape measure or a screw, a feeling he connects directly to the respect he has for traditional craftspeople who devote a lifetime to one technique.

## Article

## The Tool Talk That Started While Fukai Was Away

During a recording session for the ongoing Rome history series, Fukai stepped out. Rather than let the time go to waste, Higuchi seized the moment: "Let's talk while he's gone." The topic he chose was tools—specifically, the personal philosophies embedded in how people choose them. From computer peripherals to cookware to stationery, Higuchi opened with the premise that the way someone picks their tools is a window into how they live.

## The Split Keyboard Choice: Ergonomics That Follow the Body

Yanyan uses a split keyboard. His setup: laptop raised to eye level, with the split keyboard connected via Bluetooth on the desk below. With a conventional one-piece keyboard, both hands converge at the center, pulling the elbows inward and rolling the shoulders forward—an unnatural posture that accumulates fatigue over long sessions. A split keyboard lets the two halves sit independently, so the hands can rest at their natural angle of roughly 45 to 60 degrees. It also allows micro-adjustments based on how the body feels that day—wanting to stretch the left arm out a little further is a real option. Yanyan described it as "a flexible interface connecting my body to the computer."

Two products were specifically named: CORNIX (C-O-R-N-I-X) and the Conductor, built by Horiguchi-san (堀口さん) of the YouTube channel Monograph (モノグラフ). Kensuu (けんすう) is also a vocal advocate. The conversation also touched on pairing a built-in trackball and voice input with a split keyboard to move toward a workflow that touches the keyboard as little as possible.

## Higuchi's First-Party Orthodoxy: "Will It Still Be on Sale in Three Years?"

Higuchi's desk runs on an Apple wired keyboard and a Magic Mouse—both first-party. The wired choice is straightforward: he already plugs into an Anker USB hub, so wireless offers no advantage and eliminates battery management entirely.

The deeper reason for sticking with Apple's own products, however, is not feel or functionality—it is discontinuation risk. Third-party products disappear with trends; Apple's own lineup has a far higher probability of still being available three to five years from now. Higuchi applies the same filter to clothing: he has locked in on Uniqlo stretch jeans with Heattech and a T-shirt for exactly the same reason.

He also places strong trust in human habituation. Feeling that a new device is "hard to use" right after switching is not a product flaw—it is simply unfamiliarity. Avoiding unnecessary adaptation periods is therefore a rational argument for staying first-party. The same logic governs his use of 3D CG software: he keeps every application's shortcuts at their defaults because "the developers thought through those settings far more deeply than I ever will—accept them first, then customize if you must." After trying trackball mice including Logicool's M575 and ERGO, he came full circle and reaffirmed the Magic Mouse, particularly the inertia-scroll that keeps rolling after a flick of the finger.

## One Guitar, and the Philosophy of "Minimum Hardware, Maximum Human"

Higuchi has been involved in music for nearly 20 years—around 10 in music production, the rest including his band years. His main guitar throughout has been a single Fender Telesonic he bought as a student and has never sold.

The Telesonic is not as bright and cutting as a Telecaster, nor as powerful as a Les Paul or a Paul Reed Smith. But it covers a wide tonal range in between, giving it a versatility that suits a "one sword" mentality. His ongoing challenge is to keep discovering how much he can express from that single instrument.

This is where he introduced the contrast between what he called "American efficiency" and "Japanese efficiency." American homes allocate a dedicated space optimized for each function—kitchen for cooking, bedroom for sleeping—and people adapt to those spaces. A Japanese washitsu (和室) uses sliding shoji screens to become a reception room, a play space, or a bedroom as needed: one environment shaped by human ingenuity. Higuchi clearly prefers the latter. His summary: "Minimize and optimize the hardware, then see how far software and human skill can take you." He extended the analogy to chopsticks—one utensil that grips, cuts, and scoops—and a single wok that handles both soup and stir-fry.

## The "Beauty of Single-Purpose Tools" That Grew From Owning a 3D Printer

Owning a 3D printer paradoxically deepened Higuchi's appreciation for tools that do exactly one thing. In an age when almost anything can be fabricated, a tape measure that only measures, or a screw that only fastens by turning, has become somehow more affecting.

Even screws come in countersunk, round-head, Phillips, flat-head, and hex varieties—each suited to a specific situation. A gear exists in precisely the right material and shape for one function and nothing else. That feeling, Higuchi said, connects directly to the respect he has for traditional craftspeople who dedicate a lifetime to a single technique—lacquerware benders, Noh mask carvers.

The sharpest line of the episode arrived here: "Lyrics often say 'I don't want to be a cog in society's machine'—but don't underestimate gears. Gears are incredible. I want to be a cog in society's machine." The romance of a toolbox where every implement has its designated place arrived, he noted, only after encountering a tool—the 3D printer—that can in theory make anything.

## Takeaways

- Higuchi's 'first-party orthodoxy'—choosing devices and clothes by whether they will still be available in three to five years—stems from a consistent philosophy that prioritizes continuity and trust in human habituation over novelty.
- The 'Japanese efficiency' mindset of minimizing hardware and relying on human skill runs through all of Higuchi's choices: one guitar, Apple defaults, and unchanged application shortcuts.
- In an era when a 3D printer can make almost anything, single-purpose tools and lifetime-specialist craftspeople have become, paradoxically, more romantic—not less.