Tsuyoshi Ikenishi of “Fugengama” continues to make pottery based in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture. He reads and translates old pottery from the Nara and Heian periods to the early Edo period, edits it with his own sensibility, and expresses it. We came into contact with Mr. Ikenishi’s thoughts as he approaches pottery from his unique point of view and approaches its essence.

A chance encounter led him to pottery

Ikenishi first encountered pottery when he was 19 years old. He happened to pick up a book on pottery at the library and found a bowl in it. It was a Shino ware tea bowl named “Hagoromo. Mr. Ikenishi, who had never been involved with pottery in his life, was completely fascinated by this several hundred year old tea bowl.

At the time, he was living in Tokyo and passionate about his musical activities, but he found himself visiting antique stores. The first thing he acquired was a cracked pot from the Yi Dynasty (a Korean dynasty that lasted from 1392 to 1910). He picked up the jar and continued to look at it whenever he had time.

The more he looked at them, the more he wondered, “How did they get such textures and lines? The more he looked at them, the more he wondered, “Why do they have such textures and lines?” He asked around in antique shops and galleries, but could not find a satisfactory answer. Then one day, he thought, “If I try to make something by myself, I might be able to understand something,” and he began to touch the clay.

Learning through experience rather than technique

I believe that knowledge should never outweigh interest, so I sought out hands-on experience. Even now, there are many things I can learn from my work,” he said.

Ikenishi’s stance on pottery is based on actual experience, not theory.

He has traveled to various production centers, including Seto Mino, Tanba Bizen, and Korea, and has touched the clay, held the fire, and held the tools at kilns that maintain ancient techniques. He believes that the greatest lesson in pottery making is “what you can feel on site.

Eventually, there were people who wanted to see his work, and he was asked to hold a solo exhibition. It was not until he was 27 years old that he decided to get serious about pottery and make it his profession.

From Tokyo to Ehime, a place with deep connections

Ikenishi was born in Osaka and devoted himself to music in Tokyo, but as he continued to make pottery, he moved back to his roots in Ehime Prefecture, his parents’ hometown. He had spent his high school years in Saijo City, so moving to Ehime was not completely new to him.

The natural surroundings and quiet environment were perfect for immersing himself in manufacturing.

Since then, he has continued to produce pottery at his kiln in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture.

Human Activities Engraved on Pottery

For Ikenishi, pottery is a condensed form of human information.

He says, “Pottery is a hardened product of people’s hands. Everything is recorded, including the historical background, the environment in which it was used, and the thoughts of the creator. The more I try, the more I think that there is nothing else out there that has as much human information.

He is particularly interested in pottery from the Nara and Heian periods to the early Edo period. Although there is a lack of written materials from that period, he says that the fact that the objects have survived is what makes them meaningful.

Looking at works of art is a process of deciphering and extracting information. As long as you have the will to do so, pottery can provide you with any amount of information.

Pottery Making is Translation and Confirmation

Ikenishi looks at ancient pottery, translates what attracts him in his own way, and edits it with a modern sensibility. For Ikenishi, pottery making is a confirmation process.

If there is no need to show it to others, I can just read it and be satisfied with myself,” he says. But as long as you are presenting it to the public, you have to edit and translate it. Translation is the process of putting together what you feel into a form, rather than conveying it as it is. When people buy my work, I feel that I have to put it in the realm of what I think is good. I don’t mean to say that it is equal to or better than something else,” he says.

He did not set out to become a potter from the beginning, nor does he remember ever having done so.

The reason he describes himself as a “ceramic maker” is because his attitude has not changed since his first encounter with pottery.

In pottery, the material is everything. All we do is edit.

The quality of pottery depends on the materials. The choice of kiln, the way of filling, and the way of firing are all determined by the materials.

Making the most of the materials is the key to pottery making. With this in mind, Mr. Ikenishi is working to reevaluate each production area and material.

There are three types of kilns: anagama, climbing kiln, and small gas kiln. They use one kiln for each material and each type of pottery they want to express. The gas kilns are more difficult to use and require more delicate adjustments to fire the pieces as desired.

The kiln transformation that occurs during firing is truly the wonder of natural chemical reactions,” he says. People in the past made the most of what was there before they thought about it. People today try to look at it with modern techniques, which makes it difficult. I think that today, the balance is such that the decline of our animal abilities is balanced by the development of chemistry and other techniques,” he says.

Working with galleries that share the same passion

At present, he has narrowed down the number of galleries that directly handle his works to two trusted ones, in addition to “Gallery Labo” in Saijo, Ehime Prefecture. He has been involved with a variety of galleries, but he feels that unless the relationship is balanced in terms of passion for pottery, it will not last for a long time.

The two sides, the maker and the seller, may be in different positions, but if they do not share the same passion for pottery, they cannot build a good relationship. It is a business, but it is also an exchange between human beings, so you need a partner who can resonate with you,” he said.

Even if you are not knowledgeable about the pottery, do you have the enthusiasm to convey that knowledge? The gallery, which stands between the viewer and the pottery, is also important to the creator.

I will never do the same thing twice. That is my rule.

Since the starting point of pottery making is “checking,” Ikenishi’s rule is that he will never do the same thing the same way twice.

When he is not working with clay, he thinks about how to match the materials, how to fire the pieces, and the details of the modeling. This is quite important, and I think it is more important than the actual work.

In a world where materials, tools, and techniques are all intertwined, Ikenishi approaches each pottery-making session as a one-time event.

Even kiln changes are inevitable, not accidental, and require skill and sensitivity to control. For this reason, he repeats the checking process of “looking, translating, and editing.

The more he does, the more he becomes interested in pottery that he had not been so interested in before, and he makes new discoveries. So I never get bored. However, although I don’t dislike making pottery, I have never found it particularly enjoyable. In fact, I like looking at and using pottery much more than making it,” he says.

Blissful days spent looking at and using pottery

Because I make pottery for a living, I am able to buy other pottery and acquire old pottery. People buy what I make. I use the money to buy pottery, get information from it, edit the information, and give it shape. Then people buy it again. The act of making and the act of acquiring are in a cycle,” he says.

The first time he uses a piece of pottery he has made in this way, he says, is the greatest joy of his life.

After the day’s work is done, when I drink sake, I think about which sake cup and sake cup I will choose today, and that is the most enjoyable part.

Ikenishi’s curiosity, which is a straight line between his personal and professional life, never seems to run out.

There are so many things I still have to do that there is no limit to what I can do. It is not a question of what to do in the future, but what not to do. Behind these words lies a passion that continues to burn quietly and an endless quest.

The post Challenging the old masterpieces. Never-ending interest in pottery “Fugengama” / Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Do you know “San-Pin Tea”? It is the most familiar tea for Okinawans, having been consumed on a daily basis since the days of the Kingdom of the Ryukyus. How did sanpin-cha come to be consumed in Okinawa about 500 years ago? And what is the secret behind the delicious taste of Okinawa Pokka Corporation’s “Ganso Okinawa Pokka Sanpin-cha”?

San-Pin Tea Culture Takes Root in Okinawa

How many people know what kind of tea it is when they hear the word “sanpin-cha”? From the main island to the outlying islands, sampincha is a familiar tea to Okinawans. In Okinawa, green tea is not a daily drink like in mainland Japan, and sampincha has been consumed in every household for a long time.

San-Pin” refers to jasmine, which grows in tropical and subtropical regions. Jasmine has pretty white flowers that grow in tropical and subtropical regions. The tea is richly fragrant, refreshing, and has a slightly bitter taste. In fact, many people are unaware that jasmine tea and sampincha are the same drink, only they have different names.

Okinawa was a country called Ryukyu Kingdom for about 450 years from 1429. It is said that San-Pin-Cha was brought back to the Ryukyu government by a company called Ryukyu Trading from China, where trade was thriving at that time, and that is how it became widespread in the Ryukyu Islands.

In China, jasmine has been widely cultivated from ancient times to the present, and is one of the most mass-produced teas in the country. In China, jasmine is also called matsurika, but it is more often referred to as xiangping, which is pronounced as “san-pin” in Ryukyu, and since then it has become popular as san-pin tea.

Okinawa Pokka Corporation is a wholesaler and distributor of beverages such as tea, coffee, juice, and instant foods. Okinawa Pokka Corporation, which was the first company to sell San-Pin Tea in cans, began in 1989 when a representative of Pokka Corporation (now Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage), headquartered in Nagoya, established an Okinawa sales office and one of its employees went there.

In order to develop Pokka Corporation’s products in Okinawa Prefecture, a factory was set up in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa, where canned coffee and other beverages, one of Pokka Corporation’s main products, would be manufactured. However, they wondered if they could create something unique to Okinawa. He decided to sell the canned San-Pin-Cha, saying, “Okinawa has San-Pin-Cha,” and he decided to sell it as a canned product.

At the time, sampin-cha leaves imported from China were widely available in the prefecture, and each household and workplace brewed sampin-cha in a teapot and drank it. The culture of taking a kettle full of boiled sampin-cha tea with you when you went out to work in the fields was deeply rooted in the local culture.

San-Pin Tea in a can, which many people advised not to sell.

Would they go to the trouble of putting it in a can, cooling it down, and then paying money to buy it? Most of the local people responded, “No one would buy that” or “It won’t sell. As expected, however, it did not sell at all at first, and the product gradually spread through tastings held at various places.

They even handed it out free of charge to cab drivers waiting for customers at Naha Airport to have them drink it. Thanks to such steady promotional activities, the product was recognized for its taste and convenience, and the number of people who picked it up gradually increased. It was not until five years after its launch in 1993 that the product really began to sell well.

In 1994, TV commercials began airing, accelerating its popularity. Following the canned product, a PET-bottled version of San-Pin Tea was also created.

Even today, sampin-cha leaves are sold in supermarkets in Okinawa Prefecture, but it is thought that the number of households that brew sampin-cha in a kyusu (Japanese teapot) and drink it in a cup is quite small.

Special-grade tea leaves produced by a traditional Chinese process

The base of San-Pin-Cha is made from green tea leaves. The fermentation of the tea leaves is stopped halfway through the fermentation process, and the tea leaves are then flavored with jasmine flowers to create sampincha. Like oolong tea, it is classified as a semi-fermented tea.

In the traditional Chinese method of making San-Pin tea leaves, fresh jasmine flowers are mixed with semi-fermented green tea leaves to transfer the aroma. Once the flowers are removed, new flowers are added to the tea to add fragrance. The more times this process is repeated, the more fragrant the sanbin tea leaves become.

As Toshinori Otake, manager of the sales section of the sales department, says, “A strong astringency is the key to Pokka’s san-pin tea,” the key to san-pin tea’s deliciousness is the aroma of jasmine and a slight bitterness. It is not only refreshing, but also has a deep flavor with bitterness.

Yoshihiro Kitamura, president and representative director (at the time of the interview), says, “We will not sell at a discount, but will firmly maintain the taste that has been loved by the people of the prefecture for many years.

Although many companies are selling San-Pin Tea as a product, no one has registered it as a trademark. When Okinawa Pokka Corporation first started selling canned sanpin-cha, there was some discussion about whether or not to register it, but they decided not to because sanpin-cha is a common noun, just like green tea and oolong tea.

Later, a mainland company applied for and received a trademark registration under the name San-Pin-Cha, but in an effort to protect the dignity of Okinawa’s history and culture, Okinawa Prefecture and the Okinawa Prefecture Tea Association filed an objection with the Patent Office and had the registration canceled.

Okinawa Pokka Corporation will continue to sell its products only in Okinawa Prefecture.

Okinawa Pokka Corporation does not sell San-Pin Tea outside of Okinawa Prefecture. And they have no plans to expand outside of Okinawa in the future.

The image of “San-Pin Tea = Okinawa” has become somewhat common throughout the country, and the number of people picking up San-Pin Tea as a souvenir has increased, but the percentage of purchases by Okinawans is overwhelmingly high.

If this is the case, the idea is to focus on pursuing a taste loved by Okinawans, rather than forcibly expanding sales channels.

In addition, there are still some places in Okinawa, such as small remote islands, where the product is not yet being delivered, so the current goal is to increase the number of sales outlets to reach all parts of the prefecture.

Okinawa Pokka Corporation’s San-Pin Tea, which has enjoyed unwavering support in Okinawa for a long time, will continue to maintain its beloved taste and continue to be a tea that will be familiar to the people of Okinawa for years to come.

In today’s world, where new products are being created one after another, San-Pin-Cha has remained true to its timeless style. It is because it is universal that it is accepted by the Okinawans and has become a natural part of their daily lives.

The post Okinawa Pokka Corporation, which develops “San-Pin Tea” loved by Okinawans / Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Yoshio Sakai, who runs a workshop called “Rokurosha” in the Kawada district of Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, the birthplace of the traditional craft of Echizen lacquerware, has been devising and commercializing minimalist designs that take advantage of the beauty of wood grain, which only a woodworker can appreciate.

The Shrinking Work of the Woodworker

The Kawada area in the mountains east of Sabae City, located in the center of Fukui Prefecture, has been producing Echizen lacquerware for more than 1,500 years. Lacquerware production is based on a division of labor, and even today, craftsmen skilled in such specialized techniques as woodworking, undercoating, intermediate coating, overcoating, and decoration have set up their own workshops and are self-supporting.

Among these, the woodworker is also called a “jijiya” (woodworker) or “rokuro-shi” (turner), because he or she turns a potter’s wheel and applies the blade to the wood to hollow out bowls, trays, and other objects. In Fukui Prefecture, too, the name “Rokuroshi” still remains in Echizen-cho, Niugun, relatively close to the nationally known Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum (Katsuyama City), indicating that woodworkers were active in the area.

Today, however, the number of woodworkers has been shrinking due to the spread of inexpensive materials such as plastic that can be cut out of molds, and only a few bowl makers remain in Kawawada. It was 15 years ago that Mr. Sakai, a native of Otaru, Hokkaido, jumped into the “declining sun” of the woodworking industry.

Using the beauty of wood grain in bowls, which only a woodworker knows how to do.

The “BASE” series of vessels, which Mr. Sakai invented and commercialized himself, features a sturdy, vertical design with a beautiful grain of wood and a ceramic-like base. The “wuki-urushi” technique, in which raw or black lacquer is repeatedly applied and wiped off with a cloth, is used to finish the product, so the original wood grain and warmth of the underlying surface can be enjoyed, and the more it is used, the more luster it acquires. The materials used include mizume-zakura, zelkova, tochi, and sen. “I wanted the users to see the charm of the grain that I felt when I was making the wooden base,” says Sakai. By applying lacquer, which is not mixed with pigments or other colors, the fine grains of the wood give it a sense of weight and a modern feel.

Hints of the unique form come from the bowls of the table

The roots of the rugged yet sophisticated shape can be found in old bowls, which Mr. Sakai likes to use. He was inspired by the bowls of the medieval times, when people ate by arranging dishes on the floor or on a table, and took inspiration from Goshika bowls, Yi Dynasty vessels, and ritual vessels made in Noto Town, Ishikawa Prefecture. The bowls are tall, easy to lift, and stable. The bowls are also suitable for serving soups, soups and rice. When used at the table, it does not stand out too much, but when placed on a shelf with other tableware, its linear form gains presence, and the longer it stays with you, the more you will be charmed by its expression that changes over time.

Receiving an order for tableware during a consultation

Another of Mr. Sakai’s representative products is the “Only Bowl. Using a “rokurosha,” a wagon that has been converted to allow work on it, he visits stores and events throughout Japan to give demonstrations and create original bowls by semi-custom order, combining shapes and lacquers. The material is zelkova, and there are five shapes, including kihon, hazori (edge warp), and tsubomi. The shapes of the bowls are also incorporated into the bowls, such as “Imoni Bowl” for Yamagata Prefecture, “Sara Udon Dish” for Nagasaki Prefecture, and so on, which are familiar to the locales and climates of the regions they have visited. Seven types of lacquering are available, including clear, wipe lacquer, and shin-nuri. The shape of the bowl is determined by counseling the customer face to face, asking them what shape, size, and purpose they need. He also provides detailed instructions on how to care for them.

A young man who wanted to be free became a craftsman.

Mr. Sakai, who is tackling new challenges one after another, says of himself, “I always want to be free, and I don’t have any goals or plans. I am the type of person who goes his own way,” he analyzes. In his youth, he attended design school, went abroad, and wandered around the country until he was 25 years old, He decided to learn the techniques as a trainee at the Echizen Lacquer Ware Cooperative Association.

Questions about the position of the wood craftsman in the production area

After three years of training, he established his own business, Rokurosha, in 2014 at the age of 34. At the same time, he got married, but opportunities for subcontract work did not present themselves for a craftsman with little experience. My wife’s parents are also craftsmen, so they were worried that I would have to bow down to the wholesalers or join the union,” he said. However, Mr. Sakai saw the decline of the production area while continuing to do things the old-fashioned way, and he had his doubts.

The vessels worked on by subcontractors simply go through the process of making lacquerware and then into distribution. They have no opportunity to communicate the quality of their products to the outside world, and they do not know how much they are priced. Mr. Sakai felt that if he could communicate the high quality of the bowls made in Kawada, they would reach the people who use them.

Plant planter born as an original project

If I can’t get work, I’ll make it myself,” he thought. He began planning an original product to be exhibited at trade shows and directly communicate the quality of his products to users.

He decided that there was no need to stick only to eating utensils in the first place. He changed his point of view and created a planter for plants using thinned cedar wood from Fukui Prefecture. Under the concept of “redefining value,” the planter was made of a material that would return to the soil in the end, and was designed with the idea of enjoying the fun of the process of cracking, splitting, and decay as it is used.

A path pioneered by a woodworker who cannot be pigeonholed into the conventional wisdom

The “TIMBER POT” was carved from a cedar log that had withstood the wind and snow of deep snow in Fukui, and designed without painting to bring the individuality of the grain expression to the fore. The product was exhibited at Interior Lifestyle 2015, an international trade fair for interior and lifestyle product design held at Tokyo’s Big Sight, where it received the “Young Designer Award” for the best designer.

A big breakthrough for “TIMBER POT.”

The extra prize was an invitation to ” Ambiente ” in Germany, the world’s largest interior trade fair. It was a great stimulus to be in a place where designers and buyers from all over the world gathered. In addition, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry selected the company for “The WONDER500,” a project to promote local products to overseas markets. The concept and design of the “TIMBER POT” became the talk of the town, and was covered by many media outlets.

Only one year after becoming independent. As his name became well known, the number of subcontracting jobs increased, but then the business gradually slowed down. In the process, Sakai began to realize the immaturity of his own skills as a wood craftsman.

The response he got from the “RENEW” event in the production area

He felt that he could not compete on the same playing field as a woodworker who had been grinding on a full-fledged wheel. At that time, a trade fair ” RENEW ” was held in which traditional craftsmen in the Kawada district and other areas cooperated with each other. It was a large-scale event for traditional crafts, attracting about 37,000 visitors over three days (in 2022), including many studio tours and talk events.

Among them, Mr. Sakai’s only bowl was well received by the younger generation who visited. There are definitely people who are interested in and cherish tradition, and they go to great lengths to visit the countryside,” said Mr. Sakai. We hope we can deliver our approach to craftsmanship and our commitment to quality to these people,” he said.

He would make samples of each process, including shape, paint, and process, and explain them directly to customers face-to-face. Seeing a breakthrough in this area, Sakai decided to travel throughout Japan himself, relying on acquaintances with whom he had been maintaining close ties through social networking services and other means.

Winning Patterns” in Human Connections

As he traveled to nationally known boutiques and small local general merchandise stores to take orders for bowls, “I began to see a winning pattern,” he said. Orders are paid for in advance, but delivery takes six months, and the price is a hefty 10,000 to 20,000 yen. Even so, he has found that the motivation to purchase Mr. Sakai’s bowls is not the location or brand, but trust in the person. In other words, going to a place where people (shopkeepers) are accompanied by people (customers), and then carefully conveying one’s thoughts and feelings to foster trust in the product is what moves customers.

The Challenge of Crowdfunding

Next, Mr. Sakai came up with the outlandish idea of moving the workshop itself and having customers watch him work at various destinations. He believed that responding to customers’ detailed requests on the spot and allowing them to experience the manufacturing process itself would lead to the greatest trust and interest in his products. Local wood could also be used as a material.

Thus, in June 2020, Sakai launched a crowdfunding campaign for the production of a mobile workshop “rokurosha,” and thanks to widespread enthusiasm expressed through social networking and talk events, the project was a success with much support from the younger generation, mainly from urban areas. The project raised approximately 3.3 million yen, nearly twice the target amount. The completed “rokurosha” has now visited 20 stores in 15 prefectures.

Thinking about the lacquerware industry as a craftsman who lives in the production area

Currently, Mr. Sakai is actively planning original products. He is actively involved in the planning of original products. He also undertakes product planning in collaboration with interior design stores and other companies, and shares the work he creates with local craftspeople. He says, “I hope I can be of some help in making the production area as prosperous as possible and helping it to survive.

Facing the world anew as a craftsman

Even now that his manufacturing business is on track, Mr. Sakai feels that “in the end, what I have been doing is not the high road as a craftsman.

What I devote most of my time to now is facing the process of making. He spends more time in the workshop to further develop his skills and knowledge. He is also interested in researching the history of wood-working and the Ainu lacquerware culture of his native Hokkaido.

He says, “I had never studied craft, design, art, or business properly, so I had to research and learn each time. But before I knew it, it had become part of my blood.

His own projects have led to an increase in business, and the production area has become more prosperous. In this way, he has felt the joy of working on projects with the help of “everyone. Now, however, he thinks it is more important to improve his own skills as a craftsman and hone his techniques. I feel that communicating this to the public will add something new to the craftsmanship of the production area.

How will the vessels that Mr. Sakai creates in the future change? The future of the wood craftsman may be one of the patterns that emerge.

The post Beautiful vessels with an appearance made by a wood craftsman of Echizen lacquerware who is not bound by the region of production Rokurosha, Yoshio Sakai / Sabae, Fukui, Japan first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Art Village Created in an Environment Rich in Nature

Nakagawa Village in Kamiina-gun, Nagano Prefecture, overlooking the Japanese Alps. It is a village rich in nature with a pristine landscape that has been called the most beautiful village in Japan. However, it is not widely known that Nakagawa Village also has another aspect as an art village. Various artists, including painters, woodworkers, art framers, and glassworkers, live and have their studios here. In addition to the government’s active promotion of the affinity with art, such as by introducing artists’ activities, the rich natural environment may have stimulated creativity, resulting in the establishment of a culture in which the community and art coexist. The activities of a diverse range of artists also motivate people who are considering moving to the area from a cultural perspective, such as art and production, and this has directly led to an increase in the number of young people moving to the area.

Roots in glass as hippie artwork

Mr. and Mrs. Taira, who have “STUDIO PREPA,” a studio that makes tableware, vases, and other household items using air-blown glass, are another couple who fell in love with the atmosphere of Nakagawa Village and moved to the area. The scenery, which changes its expression at sunrise, sunset, and different times of the day, is extremely beautiful. They decided to move to the area because they felt at home in such an original landscape. However, contrary to the scenery, when you step into the workshop, it looks like an American garage with piles of American-made daily necessities.

That is as it should be. The roots of the Taira couple’s work lie in the hippie culture of the 1970s. The glass works of Mr. and Mrs. Taira, which follow the technique of air-blowing that was popularized as hippie artwork, have a warmth and stylish outline that is distinctly different from the old Japanese-made glass. In addition to being handled mainly by major select stores such as Ron Herman and Margaret Howell, they have received many inquiries from popular restaurants in Japan and abroad. They also participate in craft fairs in the U.S. so as not to neglect their studies to update their ideal style. Based in Yosemite National Park, they stay there for several weeks, sometimes more than a month, to experience the local atmosphere firsthand, which leads to inspiration for their work.

Home Decor in the U.S.A.

Did you know that the U.S. is a leader in glass crafts? From windows and cups to smartphones, glassware is so much a part of people’s lives that it would be difficult to live without touching it. In Japan, there are traditional glass crafts such as faceted glass and beadlocks, and if you look around the world, you will find that glassware is widely used in all regions, from traditional crafts such as Venetian glass and Turkish lamps to famous glassworks such as Galle, Baccarat, and Swarovski. Although the United States does not seem to be a leader in glassware, it is the leader in the field of home décor, he says.

Aiming for warmth expressed through glass

Home décor refers to tableware, vases for arranging flowers, and other products that add color to daily life. The Taira’s workshop also makes tableware and glassware, as well as vases, lampshades, and other glassware designed for use in daily life. The glassware made by Mr. and Mrs. Taira is particular about its thickness. They once received a wooden glass from a friend, and when they drank water from it, they were astonished at how delicious it tasted. She then tried drinking water from a glass cup she had around her in the same way. However, the water was somewhat spiky. I wondered why, since the water came from the same faucet, but the cause seemed to be the shape of the drinking cup. The thin, dignified glass was beautiful to look at, but it did not make the usual drink taste even better, like a wooden cup. After realizing this, I began to think that I wanted to make glassware that expressed the warmth of wood.

Completed when it is filled, that is our policy.

The products made based on this policy are completed when the contents are added. The glassware must be at least 20% empty when it is just a container, otherwise it will be too hot when the contents are added, whether water or flowers,” says Mr. and Mrs. Taira. Mr. and Mrs. Taira.

Since the dishes are used in daily life, they are not meaningful only as vessels. They believe that glassware that brings out the best of the materials is what they should make.

Another thing that Mr. and Mrs. Taira are committed to is to stick to a style that can only be achieved by air-blowing, and to products that can only be made by air-blowing. They sometimes use cold work such as mosaic or fusing to express colors (cold work is made of hardened glass, as opposed to hot work made of molten hot glass such as air-blown glass), but they do this only to add value to their creativity, and they do not stray far from that category. I try not to stray too far from that category. Although we have been doing nothing but air-blowing for nearly 20 years now, there is still a lot that we don’t know about manufacturing and its characteristics. But that is what makes it interesting for them, according to Mr. and Mrs. Taira. The world of glass is so deep that even the two of them, whose products are recognized for their excellence not only in Japan but also around the world, have not yet fully grasped it. The inquisitive minds of Mr. and Mrs. Taira, who want to learn all they can about this world, will continue to produce even more wonderful products.

The post STUDIO PREPA, a glass studio with fans around the world for its space-blowing that follows North American culture / Ina City, Nagano Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

What is a winery that wine lovers are interested in?

Sakaki-machi, Hanishina-gun, Nagano Prefecture, is dotted with the headquarters of many industrial product manufacturers that have a global market share. Although the town is famous for its industry, it does not have the industrial landscape of an urban industrial area. Located in the northeastern part of Nagano Prefecture and surrounded by mountains, the town is a small town of about 15,000 people rich in nature with the Chikuma River, a first-class river, flowing through the middle of the town. In a corner of this peaceful town, there is a winery that has attracted the attention of wine lovers.

The winery, Sakaki Budoshu Brewery, was established in 2018 by Atsuto Narisawa, who was born and raised in this area. Mr. Narisawa was a manager at a major restaurant company in the prefecture and became a certified sommelier while working there. As he learned about the marriage of wine and food and its depth, he became interested in brewing. Later, while working independently and operating several restaurants in Nagano Prefecture, he cultivated a vineyard for wine grapes in Sakaki-machi and opened a brewery.

Sandy gravel soil, a rarity in Nagano Prefecture

Mr. Narisawa’s decision to cultivate vineyards in Sakaki is not only due to his love of his hometown. The most important reason is that this land has sand and gravel soil that is very suitable for wine grape cultivation. The soil is said to be similar to that of Bordeaux, France, and pebbles can be found when a hoe is lowered. The soil drains very well and is resistant to root rot, which allows the roots to grow deep, and the characteristics of the terroir appear in the grapes. The plan worked, and within a few years of cultivating the land, the region began to produce wine grapes with potential that exceeded expectations. The soil is also the source of unique products not found in other regions, such as “Nezumi Daikon,” a traditional Shinshu vegetable with a strong pungent flavor that is a specialty of the region. Mr. Narisawa continues his daily efforts to produce grapes that fully express the unique characteristics of the region.

One of the highest rates of sunny days and temperature differences between day and night in Japan

There are other advantages to growing grapes in this region. These are the sunny weather rate and the temperature difference between day and night. Sakaki Town has a central highland inland basin climate with low precipitation throughout the year and one of the clearest weather rates in Japan. Low rainfall during the growing season reduces disease damage to wine grapes. The temperature difference between day and night averages more than 10°C per month. This temperature difference increases sugar and acid levels, which are important factors that enhance wine quality, such as depth of flavor and alcohol content.

Mr. Narisawa sensed the high potential of these excellent growing conditions, and he continued to communicate that “Sakaki Town is a good place to grow grapes for wine. This has been a major factor in the “Sakaki Winery Formation Project” being promoted by the town of Sakaki. In this project, the town has applied for a special zone to relax the minimum amount of vinification, establish a winery, allow local companies and individuals to participate in the project, and expand the area under cultivation. In the Chikuma Wine Valley in the Chikuma River basin in eastern Nagano Prefecture, which is said to be suitable for the cultivation of high-quality wine grapes, efforts are underway to make the town a particularly outstanding wine-producing region.

Taste of Wine in Reverse

Mr. Narisawa’s wine is made from Sakaki-machi grapes, which he considers to have all the right conditions. He says that his image of the taste he was aiming for was “backward calculation. Mr. Narisawa is now the representative of a winery, but his roots are in restaurant management. That is why he has always worked backwards from the food to make wines that go with it. The pursuit of taste that accompanies the meal, rather than the individuality of the wine itself. Because he has been involved in the restaurant business all his life, Mr. Narisawa takes pride in knowing more than most people about the necessity of wine to color the mealtime experience. Kaori Howard, who studied winemaking techniques for 12 years at Benziger Family Winery in Sonoma, California, has joined Sakaki Budoshu Brewery as the winemaker in charge of winemaking. She is one of those who, like Narisawa, is fascinated by the individuality of the wine grapes produced here and wants to develop her own wines so as not to waste their potential. With an emphasis on Sakaki Budoshu Brewery’s unique style, they aim for consistent quality and quantity, and their wines, which transcend logic and taste delicious, have received high acclaim, including a three-star rating at the Japan Winery Awards.

In particular, Sakaki Budoshu Brewery’s best “Vino della Gatta” is a wine worthy of being called a top cuvée. The number of bottles brewed is limited to about 100 a year, so it is not sold wholesale at all, and only one bottle per person can be purchased at the Sakaki Budoshu Brewery’s winery store. Of course, the taste is well worth it. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot harvested from the company’s own vineyards are blended according to the quality of the fruit, and the wine, which fully brings out the characteristics of the terroir, is as powerful as the best wines in the world. The wines have a firm body, yet the sharp, dry mouthfeel and rich fruitiness attract many people, many of whom travel from far and wide to taste this top cuvée.

Cats and their love for the region bring people together.

The wines produced at this winery have another trick to make people smile. It is the etiquet with a cat on it. The top cuvée is Mie Komatsu, a contemporary artist who has held many solo exhibitions in Japan and abroad and is highly acclaimed around the world since she attracted attention as a “too beautiful copperplate artist,” and the second cuvée is RONIN -GLOBUS The second cuvette will be created by OZ-Ogashira-Yamaguchi Keisuke, a painter and artist who has won the top prize at the “RONIN -GLOBUS – ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM” held in New York. Both artists are from Nagano Prefecture, and in the case of Mr. Komatsu, he is based in Sakaki Town, where his winery is located. Because they are artists who know the local area well, they were able to convey the appeal of the wines produced here and create an original etiquette that leaves a lasting impression on those who see it. In addition, Mr. Narisawa has given cat-inspired names to almost everything related to his business, including his own restaurants Nekono Wine, LA GATTA, and Koumonoya Kitten, as well as his own vineyards named Tama, Kuro, and Tora. Of course, it all started with Mr. Narisawa’s love of cats, but his unique ideas happened to resonate with a wide range of generations and spread to cat lovers nationwide. The company’s image as a restaurant business had preceded it, but it quickly gained recognition as a winery.

Although not directly related to the taste of the wine, Mr. Narisawa hopes that such trivial details as the cat-painted etiquettes and the vineyard named after a cat will trigger an increase in interest in and visits to Sakaki Town, even if just a little. Although it was in Nagano City, the capital of Nagano Prefecture, that Mr. Narisawa opened his first restaurant after becoming independent, he has always been concerned about the lack of tourism resources in his hometown, Sakaki Town, and wished he could take action to help attract tourists to the area. In that sense, we aimed to create a place where people would come from outside, using a cat familiar to Japanese people as the image of the winery.

Starting in 2019, the winery is also organizing wine events in Sakaki Town in order to make wine permeate the town as a new culture and to establish fans of Sakaki wine. Step by step, Mr. Narisawa is actively taking action to enliven his beloved hometown with his beloved wine. I want to make Sakaki a major wine-producing area when I have grandchildren, and I want the people living in the area to be proud of that. We can’t leave anything out now to make that happen.” In his eyes, we can see such a scene several decades from now, when many people visit the matured vineyards and enjoy a meal with wine made from grapes harvested in the vineyards.

The post Boosting our beloved hometown with wine. The big challenge of Sakaki Budoshu Brewery, a small winery in Sakaki-machi, Nagano Prefecture. /Sakajo Town, Nagano Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.