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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.