There are many craftsmen in Japan who make heartwarming containers. Gently connecting craftsmen and our lives is the container grocery store. In the Okazaki area of Kyoto, which is full of cultural facilities and tableware shops, the "essence kyoto" that opened in 2018 has attracted much attention. The shopkeepers, Mr. and Mrs. Araya, secretly told me about the recommended artisans.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > doing the work you can devote a lifetime to while exploring the things you care about</h1>
Cultural facilities such as the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art and the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art, as well as many utensil shops, are clustered in kyoto's Okazaki area, making it a land with a strong cultural atmosphere. In Okazaki, "Essence Kyoto", which opened in November 2018, is a shop that collects original tableware that breathes life into life.
The shopkeepers are Keiichi Araya and Mr. and Mrs. Riki. Kaiichi was fascinated by art and music in high school, and after graduating from college, he went to Nepal and studied Tibetan Buddhism for 7 years.
"Overall, I do have a certain feeling about art, and I'm really thinking about where that impression comes from. I never wanted to study art history or academic things, but I wanted to take it as something intrinsic. So I went to Nepal."
From the large windows, you can enjoy the beautiful greenery along the lake drainage.
The writers involved include popular writers such as Ito Kan and Kitayama Eita. The middle section is the work of Bizen writer Hitoshi Morimoto, using Bizen's soil and firing it gray with a kerosene kiln.
The large bowl in front of him is the work of leather writer Yoshimitsu Kamiji. If you use the leather of the overlapping cow and the thing that is hardened and formed with resin, I can perform interior decoration well if I put it in, etc.
Kaiichi later emigrated from Nepal to other countries, engaged in various business activities, and lived overseas for more than 20 years. After returning to China, the two took the opportunity of marriage to quit their previous jobs and open a container shop in Kyoto.
"When we started a new job in Japan, we wanted to explore our personal concerns and turn it into a job that we could devote our lives to. And, intuitively, I feel that what I think is important is around the container and the container. In this way, can the thinking about the touching art in my student years and in Nepal continue?"
In addition to utensils, the shop also sells single-source rare tea, black tea, roasted tea, kettle roasted tea, and other pesticide-free and pesticide-less teas produced in Japan. This has to do with Ms. Li Hui's work at a tea trading company, as she had a special affection for tea before that.
"I think tea is drunk in every country, a symbol of the existence of their respective cultures. Moreover, no matter in which country, anyone can enjoy the pleasure of drinking tea, and everyone is equal in the matter of drinking tea, which is why I like to drink tea. Because there is also a good tea in Japan, I have always thought that if I open a shop, I will introduce it to everyone. ”
There are about 10 kinds of teas processed. Li Hui said: "There is also a reason for using pesticides, although it is not necessarily pesticide-free, but considering the factors of producers and the environment, try to choose not to use pesticides."
It is said that in order to make it easier for guests from overseas to imagine when using it in their home country, the display platform and shelves are as simple as possible.
The shop is located on the 2nd floor of the building. At a monthly rate, a personal exhibition of craftsmen is held.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="19" > to gain a deeper understanding of what craftsmen think</h1>
Mr. and Mrs. Aratani introduced us to the work of a famous craftsman.
The first is the work of the carpenter Kazuto Yoshikawa.
The streamlined "water drop spoon", as its name suggests, is made to mimic the shape of a water droplet. The species of the tree is the mountain pear
"Mr. Yoshikawa is from Fukushima, there is a mountain behind the house, and he played in the forest as a child. I can see animals and insects building ecosystems around trees and repeating life and death. He said that trees cannot be regarded as ordinary materials, because trees are the center of forest activity, and his relics are in his own hands.
In addition, I want to use my works to express things like softness and brilliance that only things that have ever had a life can be. Yoshikawa's works are characterized by graceful and washed curves, inspired by the lines on the necks of animals, pebbles on river beaches, water droplets and other natural things. At first, the mass was uneven in weight and hardness, but due to the influence of gravity and surface tension, it eventually became a balanced shape. I think the balanced lines will be the most beautiful lines. That idea was reflected in the work.
There are insect moths, knotted trees, and they are also used as evidence of the tree's survival, and they are directly absorbed into the works, and such works are also very good. Yoshikawa's studio in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, is the main production site, and it also has a base in Ōdai-cho, Mie Prefecture, dedicated to projects that make effective use of forests while protecting them, as well as activities that connect people with forests. ”
The following is an instrument made by Mr. Masaki Kusada in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture.
"For a drop of water" glass. The sense of transparency like being inhaled captivated the person watching.
"Kusada's works have poetic titles such as 'The Glass of the Wind Man'' and 'Opposite the Dune', and I think this is because glass is a poetic presence for Kusada. Producing shapes from intricate glass that are transparent when solidified is Mr. Kusada's ideal.
It is made by flat spraying, taking the glass that has been heated and melted as a rod, inserting a needle in the glass, and using the power of water vapor to expand. After expansion, the rod is turned or tilted, and it is formed by gravity and centrifugal force alone, so that the transparency becomes higher. It is said that with tools and molds, transparency decreases.
It is not designed in the mind to create a work, but relies on the natural forces of centrifugal force and gravity, but the resulting beautiful shapes are fascinating. ”
Finally, it is the container of Mr. Tetsuhei Ono, who made pottery in the valley of Kochi Prefecture.
The "wood kiln mouth" baked in a wood kiln is characterized by the traces of a comb. The powerful and beautiful style supports your daily life
Tetsuhei made pottery in the mountains of the beautiful Kochi Prefecture on the terraces, and his wife was Yumi Hayakawa. Mr. Tetsuhira's work is familiar to hold in the hand, and the glaze of the cushion also has a unique texture and expression. I think there is a reason why I know Mr. Tetsuhira a lot, but I feel a deep spirituality in the work as a whole.
Mr. Tetsuhira often said that he wanted to transform his inner defiance and violence into beauty through the power of art and fire, and create something that would give courage to those who use it.
There are countless comb teeth on the surface of the "wood kiln mouth", because it will leave scars on the soft soil, so it is a kind of violent act at the production site. However, when it becomes a work, no one will feel that it is violent and become very beautiful.
There are also series of poking with a pin and scratching with a wire brush, transforming the negative things in your heart into positive things in any case, making it a work, showing a direct connection with your own heart. I very much agree with Tetsuhira's lifestyle and ideas, and for us, he is a writer with special feelings. ”
What did the Araiya couple do when choosing craftsmen?
"It was basically intuitive at first, actually. Both people think it's good. Because if a person chooses, they will become self-righteous no matter what (laughs). Then I contacted the craftsman and went to see him, and I valued the relationship with the writer more after the beginning of the relationship than the initial process of selection. Understand who it is, what they are thinking, what they want to do, and communicate it to their customers. ”
Interviews with craftsmen published on the official website show this attitude of the Araiya couple. It is said that they conducted their own solo exhibitions, and they were surprised by the profound content of the background of the creation of the work, such as being able to understand the ideas of the craftsmen very well.
In order to pursue the source of emotion, I went to Kaiichi in Nepal. Ms. Li Hui has always been attracted to the equality that exists in tea. Perhaps it is the accumulation of two people who have been exploring the original things, which attract craftsmen with the same feeling. Such a container of two choices seems to enrich life and heart.
Photography / Keiichi Araya Taken from / Text / Minige Bunna
essence kyoto essence
075-744-0680
11：00-18：00
Monthly holidays (irregular breaks)* Temporary holidays will be announced on SNS.
2 Lou, 36-1, Enshoji-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto City
Nearest station: 6-minute walk from Higashiyama Station on the Tozai Subway Line
https://essencekyoto.com/