August 2024

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[Futagami's Stationery Tray]

Your favorite pen that you use every day on your desk or counter. Do you ever lose track of it when you are busy, or do you find it tumbles around and falls off? Futagami's Stationery Tray L, with its soft gold color and unique material texture, has the functionality and appearance of a "pen's place." The luxurious feel that complements your favorite pens and stationery and the beautiful luster that changes over time make you want to look at it occasionally.

The Stationery Tray comes in three sizes. The first is the L size, perfect for pens and pencils, which is especially popular as a pen tray or money tray, and receives many orders from hotels and restaurants. The second is the M size, which is sure to catch the eye when used to hold business cards or store cards, and the S size can be used as a tray to hold accessories or keys at the front door.

We use the Stationery Tray Kuromura L as a money tray in our Sanjo Showroom in Kyoto and the Stationery Tray L in our Wakamatsu Showroom in Kitakyushu. When you visit our showroom, please take a look at the actual products and the beautiful changes they undergo over time.

Futagami, a cast metal manufacturer, is supported by the technology of Takaoka copperware, a traditional craft that has been handed down for 400 years. The company's lifestyle products, which utilize the same casting techniques used to make Buddhist altarware, are currently exported and sold in 25 countries around the world.

Futagami's Stationery Tray
https://www.shokunin.com/en/futagami/bungu.html
Showroom Information
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/

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[Elegant Things: Shaved Ice]

Fluffy, finely shaved white ice topped with sparkling, brightly colored syrup. Have you ever found yourself craving shaved ice on a hot day, under the blazing sun?

In the 42nd paragraph of "The Pillow Book," an essay written during the Heian period (794-1185) by Sei Shonagon, it reads, "Elegant things. A kazami, a white garment worn over light-colored undergarments. A temporary robe. Shaved ice with amazura (sweet kudzu syrup) served in a new kanamari (metal bowl). Crystal beads. Wisteria flowers. Snow falling on plum blossoms. A very cute child eating strawberries, and so on." The term "elegant things" refers to things that are noble, refined, and graceful in modern terms. In this passage, Sei Shonagon lists several noble and charming things she encountered in her daily life.

Among them, the description of shaved ice served in a new kanamari is particularly striking. At that time, ice was naturally frozen by the cold winter air in ponds made of snowmelt water. The ice was stored in caves called "ice houses" or in pits dug into the ground, covered with huts made of thatch or other materials to protect it from the outside air. In an era without ice-making or cold storage technology, ice preserved throughout the seasons was brought to the nobility in summer. Amazura was a sweetener in the Heian period, made by boiling down ivy sap. Sweet foods themselves were rare in those days, of course. Imagine this elegant dish: precious ice stored until summer, served in a flawless metal bowl, and topped with golden amazura. The bowl, chilled by the ice, would be covered with a faint white condensation, adding to its beauty.

Otera Kohachiro Shoten's Kanamari was named after this 42nd paragraph. Each piece is handcrafted by hammering a tin plate into a mold, giving it a moderately heavy feel. The bowl's cool surface reflects light beautifully. Since the bowl itself also cools down, it pairs wonderfully with chilled foods. Why not try using a Kanamari bowl during the hot summer and enjoy a taste of elegance?

Otera Kohachiro Shoten's Kanamari
https://www.shokunin.com/en/otera/kanamari.html

References
http://kakigoori.or.jp/amadura
https://www.toraya-group.co.jp/corporate/bunko/historical-personage/bunko-historical-personage-007
https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/氷室

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[Ine Funaya]

I visited Ine Town, a floating town on the sea, for the first time during the Bon Festival. It is often likened to the "Venice of Japan," and it is unforgettable once you see it at first sight. I still have lingering memories of the town's scenery and atmosphere.

Ine Town is a small town facing Ine Bay on the eastern tip of the Tango Peninsula in Kyoto Prefecture. The coast of Ine Bay is lined with about 230 private houses, called "funaya" in Ine Town. In the past, the first floor was used to store boats, and the second floor was used as a place to dry nets and store fishing equipment. After visiting Amanohashidate, about two hours north of Kyoto City, we drove an additional 30 minutes further north to reach Ine Town. The emerald green color of the sea and the shimmering surface of the water under the midsummer sun made for a beautiful sight. The funaya have been carefully preserved in their old state, and walking around Ine-cho, you can feel the original landscape of Japan.

The best way to spend a visit to Ine Town is to walk around and enjoy funaya and the sea, but there are a few places to stop by. First, stop at Mukai Sake Brewery to buy a bottle of Ine Town's sake, Ine Mankai, as a souvenir. The sake has a rosé wine-like color and a sweet and sour taste, and is made from ancient rice (purple-black rice) that has been cultivated in Ine. I bought one for myself and one for a friend of mine, and they were very pleased. I also bought sakekasu ice cream to go with the Ine Mankai. It is gentle and sweet with a hint of sakekasu. The sweetness of the ice cream was delicious with a hint of the richness and depth of sake.

Another store I would like to recommend is 靑竈 (Chinzao), a Taiwanese tea shop just a short walk from the Mukai Sake Brewery. It looks like a private house, with a faded wooden signboard next to the door that reads, "Taiwanese tea available at the boathouse." I opened the door of the boathouse and went inside, and as I walked through the dimly lit store, the dazzling emerald green color jumped out at me. Thanks to the minimal lighting of bare bulbs, the color of the sea was as vivid as if it were the only place in the world with such color. The inside of the funaya was quiet, and the soft sound of the waves was soothing to the ears. I felt that I could stay here forever while looking at the sea and the funaya.

Since it was a hot day, we were served two kinds of Taiwanese teas, "Dongfang Meiren" and "Wenshan Baozhong Tea," both brewed with cold water, along with tea snacks. The colors were beautiful, and the aroma and taste were exquisite and refreshing. As a Taiwanese tea specialty shop, you can enjoy authentic and delicious Taiwanese tea in this space. By the time I finished the tea, my heart was as full as the tide. I left the store feeling like I was floating on the sea, free from all memories of the real world for the time I spent there. It was a place where I could spend a magical time as if I were just floating on the sea.

After that, we took a marine cab, in which local boatmen guided us around Ine Bay to the boathouses, which are hard to reach on foot, and we enjoyed a very interesting, breezy, and pleasant tour. It was very interesting and the wind was very nice. The town of Ine is not so crowded, and the time we spent leisurely walking around the town and looking at the scenery from the boat were both wonderful. I will never forget the color of the sea I saw from the quiet funaya.

Ine Funaya
https://www.ine-kankou.jp/funaya
Mukai Sake Brewery
https://maps.app.goo.gl/NGDzLHRtrWrNULHj7
Taiwanese Tea Shop 靑竈 (Chinzao)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/hvEZenvaA2m1HFDZ8

References
https://www.uminokyoto.jp/spot/detail.php?sid=33
https://www.uminokyoto.jp/city/detail.php?area_id=6
https://www.ine-kankou.jp/view/seataxi
https://www.kuramoto-mukai.jp/