~Woodworking born in snowy Niigata

Oguni Town in Nagaoka City, located in the south-central part of Niigata Prefecture, has abundant natural forests and deep snow in winter. Although the scenery is beautiful in all four seasons, the town is buried in snow until early spring, making it impossible to make a living unless the town’s residents are diligent in snow removal.

Mr. Tomii spent his childhood in Ojiya City, also in Niigata Prefecture, and studied abroad at a high school in Oregon, U.S.A., when he was a student at a technical college. In that land of abundant nature, he came into contact with a lifestyle that lived with trees. After attending a university in Japan and working on surface physics research at a graduate school, he was lured by the allure of wood into the world of woodworking.

He learned basic woodworking techniques at a workshop in Gifu Prefecture that trains woodworkers, and in 2008 he set up his own business in Kyoto. Then, in 2015, he put down roots in this snowy town. His reason for returning to his hometown of Niigata is simple. I want to make my work where there is snow.

~Unraveling the roots of his work

Tomii’s works are mainly tableware for daily use, such as plates and stacked boxes. The friendly and gentle expression of wood and the elegant and delicate appearance of his work have won him many fans. The reason for making his tableware is also simple.

Mr. Tomii has always loved to eat. When he lived alone as a student, he got hooked on cooking and began collecting cooking utensils for professional cooks. Eventually, he became particular about the dishes on which he served his food, and began collecting pottery made by artists. He likes the smooth surfaces of Scandinavian pottery, as well as heavy earthenware. He also likes wooden works from long ago, and he is a true lover of tableware, he says.

Tomii says that his interest in making things naturally led him to pottery making. The concept that forms the basis of his work is “to make things that become beautiful through continuous use” and “to make things that I want to use. I think the ideal relationship between the three elements of ‘material,’ ‘artist,’ and ‘user’ comes closer together as the user continues to use the vessel, and then they are condensed into a single piece, and that is beauty. I think that is beauty. When working with his hands, he is conscious of the “beautiful changes over time” that occur with daily use.

～The more you use it, the more it tastes good. Wooden vessels that blend in with everyday life.

Flat plates are especially popular among his works. They are easy to use and easy to serve food on. He often uses chestnut wood to make his dishes, which have a beautiful harmony of wood and lacquer. Considering actual use in daily life, plain wood has more flavor and charm when used. He likes the moderate feeling of chestnut wood. Indeed, chestnut wood is said to be popular among forest insects. He often finds insect bites on the wood, and he uses them as a part of the flavor of his works.

On the other hand, lacquer on the surface of a vessel has a characteristic that it does not change easily. The lacquer on the surface of the vessel can be colored to accentuate the tabletop. Wood itself is very beautiful,” he says. Of course, you can also enjoy playing with colors with colored lacquerware. I would like to convey the charm of such wooden vessels to people. I want to convey that kind of charm to people.

～I want to master beauty rather than efficiency.

At first glance, Mr. Tomii’s workshop looks like a furniture workshop. Mr. Tomii smiles, saying that it is a remnant of the time when he learned the basics of woodworking. Every piece is carefully made by hand. Instead of using a machine to make a large number of products at one time, he devotes himself to the steady, physical creation of his pieces and cherishes the products that result. This is Tomii’s way. He says, “If you adopt an efficient method, you may be able to finish your work quickly and beautifully, but I don’t think you should seek efficiency or beauty when you are doing this kind of work. Even if it takes longer, if I want the joy and happiness of making something, I’ll take that.”

～Individuality born of beauty guided by theory

Mr. Tomii’s creations have a unique worldview. When I was in graduate school, I was a physics major who studied the surfaces of materials. The beauty of the microscopic world he saw through a microscope at the time was indescribable. In my atelier, using a carving knife, I sometimes think about such a microscopic world, the arrangement of atoms, diversity, and various ideological worlds while carving detailed patterns on stacked boxes all day long. Perhaps it is in the process of immersing oneself in these worlds that the “individuality” that attracts people, which we call authorship, resides in the work.

Mr. Tomii aims to create products that become more beautiful when they are used with love and care. The touch of wood, the modesty that accompanies daily life, and the delicate and gentle appearance. We hope you will take a look and feel the splendor of his works, which are born from the rich natural environment and his unique world of contemplation.

The post Wooden tableware by Takashi Tomii from snow country that becomes more beautiful with continued use / Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Kasei Farm’s Challenge to Breed “Gandhi Cattle

In the Wajima area northwest of Nagaoka City, an area of lush greenery known as the home of Ryokan, a Buddhist monk born in the late Edo period and beloved by the common people, there is a ranch that raises ” Gandhi breed ” dairy cattle, which are rare in Japan. The Gandhi breed, or Gandhi cow, is a rare breed with fewer than 200 cows in Japan, and is currently raised only in Niigata, Tochigi, and Oita prefectures. Imported to Japan at the end of the Meiji period (1868-1912), Gandhi cows are characterized by their higher overall nutritional value compared to ordinary milk (Holstein breed).

I started my dairy farm 50 years ago and began raising Gandhi cows 20 years ago. I was ridiculed at the time, but now I can do it with confidence,” said Tsutomu Kasei, president of Kasei Farm. While in high school at an agricultural high school, he received training from a dairy farmer in Hokkaido, which made him yearn to live on a ranch, and in 1972, he began raising a single Holstein calf. In 1995, he expanded the size of his dairy farm to 60 cows, but the work only became more demanding in proportion to the number of cows, and he began to feel the limits of his physical strength. He therefore switched to a policy of producing high quality milk with high added value in order to reduce his workload and maintain his income. What he came across was Gandhi milk.

Currently, Holstein and Jersey breeds account for most of the dairy cows in Japan. The number of Gandhi cows, which originate from Cansey Island (England) in the English Channel, is decreasing every year. In addition to the small number of Gandhi cows, the amount of milk that can be milked per day is only about half that of the common Holstein breed. However, “Gandhi milk is richer and richer than any other type of milk, and it is very refreshing and easy to drink,” was Kasei’s impression when he first drank Gandhi milk. Because of its nutritional value, taste, and rarity, Gandhi milk has been called “golden milk” or “aristocrat’s milk” in Europe and the United States. Its high fat content makes it suitable for making gelato and ice cream.

Delivering Delicious Milk

It was 1997 when the first Kanjie cow finally arrived at Kasei-san’s dairy farm after he asked a number of dairies across Japan to sell their cows to him. She was a one-month-old cow. He carefully raised her and now has many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren living on his ranch. The cows are fed with a blend of grass rich in fiber, sugar, and protein. When milking, the cows are carefully massaged with a towel wetted with warm water before being disinfected and milked twice a day. Depending on the cow’s physical condition, sometimes it is easy to milk the cow and sometimes it is difficult. The rare breed of cows also presented some difficulties. There are only a few dairy farmers keeping cows in the first place, so there is no data on cow rearing methods or diseases, and there is no system for sharing data. Even if you consulted a veterinarian, he or she would tell you that they don’t know what to do with these cows.” Still, he says, there is an attraction to raising Gandhi cows. The product that consumers get is priced higher than regular milk. Still, there is certainly a demand for “good tasting milk.

As a producer, I am most pleased when people recognize the taste of our milk, ” says Kasei. In order to make the sweetness, richness, and refreshing drinkability of Gandhi milk known to more people, we would like to increase the number of Gandhi cow fans by shortening the distance between consumers and producers and creating mechanisms to convey our message as producers in an easy-to-understand manner, such as our own commitment and the experiences we can have because we come to the area. We would like to increase the number of Gandhi beef fans by creating mechanisms to convey our message as producers in an easy-to-understand manner. Incidentally, because the fat content is higher in winter than in summer, Gandhi milk ice cream has a refreshing taste in summer and becomes even more delicious in winter. Visitors can enjoy gelato and soft-serve ice cream at Kasei Ranch – Washima Honten, a directly managed store located a short distance away from the ranch. The shop also sells a variety of cakes and baked goods. We hope that you will visit the ranch and taste the difference in taste while experiencing the producer’s thoughts and feelings.

The post Delivering Delicious Dairy Products Kasei Farm, which raises a rare breed of “Gandhi Cows” / Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.