Sensory Journeys
Tableware Series
Akihiro Nikaido Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture
Of the many elements that make UKA a unique dining experience, tableware is key. UKA’s chefs have curated the tableware to spotlight ceramics made by some of Japan’s leading artisans and traditional producers to make each meal a treat for all senses.
One featured creator is Akihiro Nikaido, part of the next generation wave of ceramicists who are not only putting a fresh spin on tradition, but also finding ways to strengthen communal knowledge and support for the future of Japanese ceramics. Born and raised in Sapporo, Nikaido studied ceramics at Bunka Gakuin College of Arts, then spent 14 years in Mashiko, Tochigi prefecture, before moving in Chiba, and finally settling in Izu, Shizuoka prefecture. Early on, he attracted domestic and international attention with his subtle forms that draw on traditional craft techniques, as well as boldly monochrome colors and surprising textures. His work is often influenced by the principles of Yūgen, a Japanese aesthetic philosophy that is associated with poets like Fujiwara no Shunzei and prizes mystery and nuance, and he has collaborated with tea masters on special tea ceremony events featuring his pieces. In 2010, he realized the challenges that younger generation ceramic artists face in Japan today, and so established a collective support network called “Tou-ISM”. His creations have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, helping reveal this medium as a fine art as well as craft, but are also still accessible items for everyday use – including as a canvas for the kaiseki experience at UKA.
Hissan Pottery Koka, Shiga Prefecture
One of Japan’s most beloved forms of pottery is Shigaraki-ware (Shigaraki-yaki), a stoneware ceramic produced in Shiga prefecture and one of the country’s “six ancient kilns” (the others being Bizen, Tamba, Echizen, Seto, Tokoname). Though ceramics existed in various forms in Japan since the Jomon period (8000–5000 BCE), the craft began to truly blossom in the 12th century with the rise of new production techniques, consumers, and roles in culture. Kilns were first established in Shiga when the Emperor Shomu built a new capital there in 744 following a rebellion and needed ceramic tiles created for his palace in Shigaraki. From then on, Shiga became a major ceramics production hub due to the many skilled artisans who settled there, as well as the reddish clay from the banks of local Lake Biwa that allowed distinctive forms and styles.
Hissan Pottery is such a heritage company, founded in 1870 in the town of Koga in Shiga as a manufacturer of many items from tea utensils to flower vases. After the current fifth-generation owner took over his family company, he decided to focus on exquisite tableware for restaurants and home chefs domestically and abroad. UKA restaurant at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles features Hissan’s products as a “canvas” for the art of modern kaiseki. UKA guests can experience a spectrum of Hissan’s signature styles, from delicate off-white plates to metallic-black serving platters and iridescent chopstick-rests.
Homeland Tokyo Prefecture
Of the many elements that make UKA a unique dining experience, tableware is key. UKA’s team have curated the tableware to spotlight ceramics made by some of Japan’s leading artisans and makers to ensure each meal is a treat for all senses. One featured maker is Homeland, which blends innovation with heritage craftsmanship in their Shigaraki-yaki pottery and other items, often working with the legendary Matsusho kilns which date back to the 8th century. From rice cooking pots imbued with the rich, scarlet hue of Lake Biwa’s soil, to lacquer chopsticks and ion water bottles, Homeland’s products are made in Tokyo and environs with painstaking prototyping and re-invention of the classics.
Kutani Bitoen Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture
Among the many diverse types of Japanese pottery, Kutani-ware (Kutani-yaki) is one of the most renowned for its bold colors and vibrant aesthetic spirit. Despite the complex history of these wares, it is now closely associated with Ishikawa prefecture, which was formerly Kaga province. Read on to discover the history of this craft and its home in Kaga, the contemporary Kutani-ware producer Kutani Bitoen, as well as the culture and landscape of Ishikawa Prefecture where this art came to life.
The most traditional type of Kutani-ware is recognizable by its distinctive overglaze color palette called “Kutani gosai” (the five Kutani colors) – red, yellow, green, purple, and blue. As artisans continued to advance the craft by experimentation, they developed multiple techniques and styles that became part of the Kutani stylistic repertoire, ranging from overglaze enamels, gold leaf application, and intricate painting methods.
Diners at UKA can be treated to a taste of Kutani-ware brilliance and the richness of Kaga culture through the carefully curated selection of Kutani Bitouen ceramics used here to enhance the fine kaiseki dishes. With a single meal, appreciating the subtle luster of Kutani-ware in cups and other tableware, diners might find inspiration for their next dream destination.
Studio Yamahon Iga, Mie Prefecture
Even among the wildly diverse styles of Japanese ceramics, the traditional pottery style known as Iga ware (Igayaki) tends to stand out from the crowd. As early as the 8th century CE, potters in Iga, a city in what is now Mie Prefecture, found that the local clay of the region was surprisingly robust and well-suited to make hardy earthenware pots and cookware. Over a thousand years later, artisans (like the UKA-featured Studio Yamahon) still create Iga ware for everyday use as well as fine art objects, exporting them worldwide. The craft heritage of Iga ware is also a notable tradition for travelers to discover when they visit this gorgeous coastal region.
Studio Yamahon’s “Houhin” – a traditional type of teapot but without a handle – serves the classic purpose of steeping tea with exceptional refinement. The teapot has a modern flair, with its hyper-minimalist white matte glaze, a smooth texture, and silky comfort in the hand, but because it is handle-less, boiling water must be cooled before pouring in. Luckily, even if a trip to Iga and surrounding Mie is not yet on the calendar, a visit to UKA and pouring tea from a Studio Yamahon “Houhin” allows diners to experience Iga ware as it was meant to be experienced: as a craft that elevates natural clay to an art form, and a vessel to let food and beverage shine.
Yoshihisa Tanaka Ibi-gun, Gifu Prefecture
Of the many elements that make UKA a unique dining experience, tableware is key. UKA’s chefs have curated the tableware to spotlight ceramics made by some of Japan’s leading artisans and traditional producers and to make each meal a treat for all the senses. One featured maker is Yoshihisa Tanaka, a metal artist based in Ibigun, Gifu Prefecture who draws on long traditions of metal craft in Japan to infuse contemporary objects with ancient technique. As in other regions of Japan, Gifu has been a hub for sword and blade-making for hundreds of years – but artists like Tanaka have adapted iron, brass, copper and stainless steel for use in everyday objects and vessels for food and drink. In his philosophy of metalwork, he explains that ever since ancient people extracted and worked metal using fire, “metals are also a gift from nature that changes and evolves with time”. Guests dining at UKA can experience this through Tanaka’s rimmed copper plates which he created through forging, a centuries-old method of shaping metal by hammering. Each piece is truly one-of-a-kind and balances delicacy and strength, a quality that makes metalcraft so beautiful.