The Innovation of the Old: Shaker-Style Food Boxes From Kobayashi Katsuhisa

Wood Kobayashi Katsuhisa

Woodwork by Kobayashi Katsuhisa in our shop ->

There is a saying that lightning never strikes twice in the same place, but that is not true when it comes to the craftsmanship of Kobayashi Katsuhisa. When I first came across his Shaker-style tea boxes at a craft show in Himeji in 2012, the first lightning bolt struck me. I had seen Shaker-style boxes in the past, but his extraordinary ability to create a traditional Japanese functional item in the mode of a Shaker box was electrifying.

Shaker-style tea boxes on carved tray by Kobayashi Katsuhisa
Shaker-style tea boxes on carved tray by Kobayashi Katsuhisa

The second time was when I saw his rendition of a Kiridame or a nesting box, with Shaker-style oval boxes. I was literally blown away by the exquisite design. Studio Kotokoto is honored to have the privilege of premiering Kobayashi-san’s kiridame for the first time in the U.S.

Shaker-style Kiridame & Jubako
Shaker-style nesting box and stacking box by Kobayashi Katsuhisa

Kiridame is an old Japanese kitchen utensil that is used in food preparation. It is a set of rectangular wooden trays used to store cut vegetables and other foods. Traditional kiridame came in sets of three, five, or seven trays. The ingenuity of kiridame is that the set of trays and lids are designed to nest in each other to save storage space when not in use.

Kiridame drawing
Ai’s attempt at drawing traditional Japanese kiridame or food preparation boxes

Kobayashi-san’s kiridame is comprised of 6 Shaker-style boxes. Each box can also be flipped over and used as a lid of a smaller size box, and they can all be nested together when not in use.

Kiridame 3 boxes
The box can be flipped to become a lid for the smaller sized box.

Jubako is a stacking box used to serve food. A conventional jubako is square and comes in stacks of two, three, or five. They are large enough to carry food for 4-6 people, so are ideal for families.

The top box of jubako has a groove on bottom to lock the box in place.
The top box of jubako has a groove on the bottom to lock the box into place.

Kobayashi-san’s Shaker-style jubako is smaller and perfectly suited for carrying food for one or two people such as for a picnic. Both kiridame and jubako are made of Japanese oak, with iron mordant base and wiped lacquer finish, which makes them watertight and food-safe.

These food boxes by Kobayashi-san are of classic design and solid functionality. If you are looking for something truly original to present food, these will be for you. There is nothing else comparable.

Furoshiki and the Elegance of Simplicity

Textiles Saratetsu

Furoshiki by Saratetsu in our shop ->

Japanese love to puzzle about how to make simple things elegant. Everyone knows about Origami, but there is also wrapping cloth or Furoshiki, which can be described as the textile version of Origami.

I have been exploring creative ways of using these square pieces of fabric over the past few weeks.

Butterfly pattern furoshiki draped over sofa back
Butterfly pattern furoshiki draped over sofa

This beautiful furoshiki was hand-dyed onto linen by Saratetsu in Tokyo using a stencil with a vintage butterfly motif. I have previously blogged and posted on Youtube about the story of furoshiki stencil-dyeing, but I want to explain in this blog about its history, tradition, and uses.

A butterfly furoshiki bag hanging on a peach tree.
A butterfly furoshiki bag hanging on a peach tree.

Wrapping cloth known as Tsutsumi have been mentioned in writings from as far back as the 8th Century AD. One reference is to a cloth wrapped around an imperial costume stored in the Todaiji Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara. So the practice of wrapping things for storage has been taking place in Japan for more than 1300 years.

And it was not that long ago that these simple but versatile cloths were part of everyday Japanese life. They were used to carry or store away practically anything. Even children wrapped their books in furoshiki to go to school.

Hon-tsutsumi, or the ‘two books carry wrap’
Hon-tsutsumi, or the ‘two books carry wrap’

Using furoshiki for carrying personal items fell out of fashion in post-World War II Japan when owning a Western-style bag became fashionable. At around the same time, Japanese department stores started giving paper bags to customers to carry their purchases. I remember when I was a young girl enjoying the status symbol feeling of carrying a paper bag from a major department store such as Isetan.

Despite the waxing and waning of fashion fads, if furoshiki did not efficiently serve its purpose, how could it have survived for more than a millennium? As I explored and experimented in different ways to using a furoshiki, I discovered many advantages of using this benign piece of square cloth.

Three same size furoshiki they only become as big as the items you are carrying
Three same size furoshiki. They only become as big as the items you are carrying.

First, they are flexible. They only become as big as what you carry in it. Secondly, they are easy to clean. If you’re coming home from the beach carrying a sandy towel, all you have to do is to dust it off.  Moreover, if you are giving away or returning the content, you can fold it away after use. This is especially useful when you are taking a bottle of wine to a dinner or returning a library book. This adaptable and continuous use of furoshiki makes them economical and environmentally friendly.

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment has a wonderful site where they have diagrams of different ways of using a furoshiki. For all you book worms, the hon-tsutsumi, or the ‘two books carry wrap’ is especially intriguing and my favorite. Next time you go on a picnic, maybe you’ll be inspired to take your lunch or favorite books in a furoshiki. Now that would be a fashion statement for the ages.

Reflecting on Girl’s Day in Japan

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Sunday March 3rd was Ohinamatsuri, or Girl’s Day, in Japan when we celebrate the health and well being of young girls. In a country where so many seasonal celebrations are male focused, it is a refreshing change and a special day to recognize the contributions made by women in Japanese society. It is also a day to enjoy the wonder of Girl Power, Japan-style.

Girl’s day celebration with a traditional display of dolls at the Kanazawa household in Singapore circa 30 years ago

In thinking about the place of women in Japan, I looked into the relationship between women and craft. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2012 Global Gender Gap Report, Japan ranked a disappointingly low but not surprising 101st of 135 countries in the gender gap index (*The updated 2017 Global Gender Gap report ranked Japan 113rd of 144 countries). It is embarrassing to see my home country hovering so far down in the rankings and well behind other major developed states. The U.S., for example, stood in 22nd place while Nordic countries dominated the top 10 (*the U.S ranked 49th in the 2017 report).

In the old and rigid world of Japanese traditional craft, it seems that we continue to be bound by male-dominated hierarchies. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry designates traditional craft products and certifies master craftsmen in their effort to promote and preserve traditional Japanese crafts. As of 2011, there were approximately 4500 certified master craftsmen, of which less than 600 or 13% were women.

Despite these grim statistics, in the more globalized and populist contemporary craft community that Studio KotoKoto is a part of, we have come across many successful and vibrant female artists in Japan as well as the U.S.

Talented and successful Japanese nerikomi ceramic artist Sakai Mika showing her work at a show in 2012. Mika’s work can often be seen at department stores and galleries across Japan.

My visits to several craft shows in Japan over the past year offer a simple insight into how successful and influential Japanese women artists have become. In all of these high quality juried shows, roughly half of the participating artists were women. I also found that a large majority of visitors to these shows were women and they also were the biggest supporters of these artists. Many women travel around the country to visit artists and purchase their work.

A majority of visitors to craft shows are women, and they are the biggest supporters of craft artists

Moreover, while many Japanese male artists are quiet and rather insular, I have found that Japanese women artists are very open and willing to work with us in California.

So on Ohinamastsuri, I salute all of the fearless Japanese women artists that have made Studio KotoKoto such a wonderful and fulfilling experience. At least in the world of contemporary Japanese craft, girl power is a phenomenon to be reckoned with.