June 2022

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Thank you very kindly for your shipment to my US address. I am highly pleased with all of my purchases and will shop again with you soon. What lovely ware to cherish and gift! It is a pleasure to handle and work with your wares. They are practical, high quality, beautifully finished and satisfying to the touch. I will continue to enjoy them for all of their long lifetime and am proud to gift them. They keep all promises and exceed expectations: [Okai Mafu Shoten] Linen Fukin towel dries so well and leaves glassware sparkly clean. [THE] Soy Sauce Cruet will not spill a single drop, however it is handled. [Daiya] Katsubako Brush cleans my fine coffee grinds, disregarding the highly static environment at 7000ft/2000m... and so on. Thank you again! The package arrived in under two weeks and in pristine shape. All items were wrapped with love and incredible attention to detail. The [Seiryugama] Sencha Cup came with a tiny, tiny chip, but that could not have happened in transit. All other items arrived in perfect condition. I have never yet received international shipments in such good shape here. Kudos to your team! I look forward to shopping again. All best to you and Shokunin enterprise.
C.L. from USA

Seiryugama's Bowl
https://www.shokunin.com/en/seiryu/hachi.html
THE's Soy Sauce Cruet
https://www.shokunin.com/en/the/
Daiya's Katsubako Brush
https://www.shokunin.com/en/daiya/
Rikucho Ogasawara's Nambu Wind Bell
https://www.shokunin.com/en/rikucho/furin.html

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Siwa's products are made of Naoron, a new type of paper produced by the Japanese paper-making process. Naoron has "Soft Naoron" and "Hard Naoron," and the two different materials are used for each product.

Soft Naoron is made from wood pulp and polyolefin fiber. The soft and supple nature of this material allows it to create more flexible shapes, and the rounded corners of wallets and briefcases make the most of Soft Naoron's characteristics.

Hard Naoron is made from polyester fiber. Of these, 60% are recycled from PET bottles, enabling both reduced environmental impact and superior durability. It is used for tote bags, pen cases, coin cases, etc.

It has passed a 5 to 10 kg load capacity test and can hold heavy objects, and unlike ordinary paper, it is water-resistant, so it is safe even on rainy days. It can be washed in water, and the more it is used, the softer it becomes and the better it looks, so you can enjoy using it as it changes over time.

The revolutionary properties and designs of Siwa's products, which are in tune with modern life, continue to expand the possibilities of washi.

Siwa
https://www.shokunin.com/en/siwa/ 

References
https://note.com/siwacollection/n/n2d28462982dd
https://note.com/siwacollection/n/n99aa4d67d78c

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The image of fast food in Japan is that of standing soba noodles, but in ancient times it was ochazuke.

The original ochazuke was simply hot or cold water poured over rice, called yuzuke or mizuzuke, and was a common way of eating rice among the upper classes by the Asuka period, according to the "Nihon Shoki."

In the summer, when appetite is low, the rice is soaked in hot water after being rinsed to prevent spoilage from the heat. In the winter, the cold rice is heated to re-pasteurize the starch and to replenish moisture for a tasty meal.

It was used as a diet food in the Heian period, a regular food for samurai from the Kamakura period to the Warring States period, and a fast food for the common people in the Genroku period.

It is said that chazuke first appeared in the middle of the Edo period, when bancha and sencha became popular tastes among the general public. Sencha contains a slight amount of monosodium glutamate, an umami ingredient, which makes it delicious along with the aroma of the tea.

In the days without rice cookers, cooked rice was stored in an ohitsu. When rice is kept warm for a long time in a modern rice cooker, it becomes less tasty because of the Maillard reaction, which causes the rice to turn yellow like roasted rice, and the Bacillus bacteria, which are naturally present in rice and do not die even at high temperatures, causing the rice to decay and produce an unpleasant odor. Ohitsu, on the other hand, removes rough heat and excess moisture from freshly cooked rice, making it taste better, and the sterilizing effect of the wood makes the rice less prone to damage. Ohitsu, filled with the wisdom of our ancestors, continues to be used today.

Another thing is that cold rice is said to be healthy these days. This is based on research that shows that hot rice is an easily digestible starch, but when it cools down, it turns into an indigestible starch called "resistant starch," which burns fat better due to its function in the intestines.

In Yamagata Prefecture, there is a local dish called "mizumama," which is made by pouring cold water over washed cold rice and eating it with preserved side dishes from the Tohoku region. Ochazuke may be incorporated into daily life as a modern fast food for healthy eating.

Kurikyu's Magewappa Ohitsu
https://www.shokunin.com/en/kurikyu/ohitsu.html 
Seiryugama's Rice Bowl
https://www.shokunin.com/en/seiryu/chawan.html 
Nambu Bunshudo's Iron Teapot
https://www.shokunin.com/en/bunshudo/kyusu.html 
Yamagata Casting's Cast Iron Pot Stand
https://www.shokunin.com/en/chushin/ 

References
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/茶漬け
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/湯漬け