Tea leaf shop pursuing the possibilities of Japanese tea [ GEN GEN AN phantom ]
With professionals of various genres gathering around it Tea experiment discussion " NEW TEA LAB ". The 6th time is from the " Kaikado Gengenan Loopwiller " event held at Kaikado Cafe in Kyoto on Saturday, March 20, 2021. > "Mr. Suzuki," Kaikado "Mr. Yagi," GEN GEN AN Phantom "Maruwaka's talk. The "commuting tea canister", "tea can bag", and "craftsman hoodie" were created through the joint development of the three companies. About the inheritance of "craftsmanship" and "culture" unique to Japan, which are common to making tea canisters, making hanging knitted sweatshirts, and making tea.
Culture of "commuting cans"
One of the new products created in collaboration with "Kaikado," "Gen Gen An Gen," and "Loop Willer," "Tsukicha Tsutsumi" and "Tea Can Bag," has been a culture for a long time."Until my grandfather's generation, there was a culture of" going cans "to bring tea cans to tea shops. Take your own tea cans and have them put in tea leaves. That culture is It was the starting point for this product. "(Mr. Yagi)
" I wanted a case where I could carry Kaikado's tea cans for a long time. I would be happy if this could be achieved. "(Maruwaka)
Mr. Suzuki and Maruwaka said they had an unexpected encounter on the first day of the first year of Reiwa. I knew the existence through a common acquaintance, but that was the first time I met him. Then, in July of the same year, Mr. Yagi and Mr. Suzuki met. Mr. Suzuki laughs, "Recently, I've been scented by the scent of green tea and tea incense ovens." "I didn't expect to work with Mr. Yagi, but I soon became closer because I had a common hobby. I'm a little older, so I feel like a younger brother." (Mr. Suzuki)
It took a year and a half since this encounter, and as a result of the three people facing each other, the "commuting tea canister" and "tea can bag" were born. "I was able to finish something with a high degree of perfection so that I could immediately tell that it wasn't just cute." (Maruwaka) "It feels comfortable the moment you put it in. I was very happy that the tea canisters were put in the bag in the same way. I was glad that it was completed. "(Mr. Yagi)
" The factory that makes T-shirts It was quite difficult to put a line of products with completely different shapes on the line, and I refused all such work, but when I heard this story from the two of you, I was probably struck by tea. (Laughs) I thought I had to do it. Also, when I heard from Mr. Yagi that I wanted to inherit the culture of "commuting cans", I really sympathized with it. I didn't know the culture itself, but it was a culture. I wish I could inherit and convey the traditional activities. We have been making sweatshirts for 20 years to create and spread the culture of "hanging knitting". "(Mr. Suzuki)
Continue to make things that nurture "richness" in everyday life
"Returning tea canister" and "tea can bag". In making these two, another collaboration was born. That is "craftsman hoodie" as "modern Samue".Mr. Yagi says that he wanted to create a new concept that was inevitable.
" "Modern work clothes that I wear on a daily basis." I was very happy that Hoody said that it was good. Mr. Yagi and Mr. Maruwaka managed to make the request that they wanted to do, like this. "(Mr. Suzuki)
Especially the development The seal, which is the brand mark of the temple, is a fairly fine embroidery, so it seems that it was exciting until it was completed, but thanks to the skill of a craftsman who has been with Mr. Suzuki for over 30 years, a delicately finished emblem can be made. It's a particular piece of clothing.
"First of all, I was happy that all the craftsmen were pleased. I feel like trying to make something that is competitive with this." (Mr. Yagi)
"I think Mr. Yagi is practicing the richness of the tea canister, and Mr. Maruwaka is practicing to make people feel good with tea. What they have in common is the creator. I feel that I have a heart and continue to make things that raise the feelings of the person who picks them up. "(Mr. Suzuki)
" I started using new ones and gradually became my own. " I feel happy when I come here. I feel that the fun is very luxurious. Both the tea canisters of Kaikado and the sweatshirts of Loopwiller have the common denominator of the pleasure of raising them. "(Maruwaka)
Inheritance of craftsmanship
Let's go back to the "commuting tea canister". About the newly born "commuting tea canister". The material of the beautiful small size tea canister is tin. Where is the particularity of the specially made tea canister?"All Kaikado tea canisters change color over time and use. Copper tea canisters are relatively quick, change in 1 to 3 years, and brass is the next 5 It will change in about 8 years. Brass is made by mixing copper and zinc, so it will be yellowish or pinkish, and the texture will change one by one. It takes the longest time for tin. It takes about 40 years for the color change to appear. In fact, I have a strong commitment to the material of brass. Inheriting the method of making brass that was imported from England to Japan at the beginning of the Meiji era. There is only one company left in Nagoya. We use the materials that we asked the company to make. The brass flow is made by the method from the Meiji era (brass pickled in copper). There is a timing when you can see it on the way. The color of tin is already visible on the surface. As it ages, the flow of tin peculiar to copper pickled in copper, which does not appear by electroplating, comes out. I'm looking forward to using it.The tin tea canister is the origin of Kaikado, and I personally have a great deal of attention to it, and since it is my favorite material, I proposed to use tin this time. "
Also, when it was closed. This is the first time that the ratio of the lid to the main body is half and half.
"Usually, the" lid: body "that is calm to look at is often made with a balance of" 4: 6 ", but simply, a middle reliever can with a lid line in the middle. It looks a little big at first glance, but it looks the same even if you turn it over. I hope you enjoy using it. I made it compact considering that it can be put in a bag.
Kaikado, which was founded in the 8th year of the Meiji era, is the 6th generation of Mr. Yagi. With a history of 146 years, 100-year-old ones will be returned for repair. If you turn it over, it may come back to repair 100 years from now. Kaikado continues to make one thing called "tea tub", thinking that it can respond to that time. "Tea tube" that continues to be made with the same technology. Even if we say "the same thing" in one word, the reality is that we are making things that meet the needs of each time by repeating subtle changes according to the trends of the world.
"The trunk does not change, the branches and leaves change," says Yagi's father, Seiji Yagi, the fifth generation.
"A craftsman can't understand unless he fails. If he doesn't have a problem, he won't improve. Even if he takes his limbs and teaches, he's not better than a teacher. Forget what he taught. On the contrary, I don't forget what I got by thinking about it. Because craftsmen feel it with their bodies. If you listen to one sound, you can tell if they are facing each other properly. "(Mr. Seiji)
"For the first five years,'see and remember'. That was all," says Yagi. He does trial and error himself, and when he is told "a little", he just thinks about that "a little". Seiji, the fifth generation, literally taught Mr. Yagi, who chose the path to succeed Kaikado, because he learned that there are people who use Kaikado's tea canisters overseas on a daily basis. "Life is only once, so you can do whatever you want. I thought I was going to do it, but I came back without permission (laughs). I should experience various things and stretch the branches and leaves." Watch over the activities of.
Japanese technique that cannot be either FORMULA or MANUAL
Listening to the conversation between Mr. Yagi and Mr. Seiji, the fifth generation, Mr. Suzuki says: "I don't think that the craftsmanship of" seeing and remembering "should be lost in Japanese property. I was thinking about how to keep the sweatshirts that were spilled. When I worked in the United States, I thought that this Japanese craftsmanship, which cannot be left in the form of FORMULA (official) or manual, is absolutely second to none in the world. How do you leave the technology that cannot be made into a manual? It is a common job for all three people to increase the number of fans by making the technology that "don't lose" into a concrete material that makes you feel "good". I'm thinking about what to do with the landing (laughs), but I think the two are still in their 40s and it's time to do their best from now on. "
From person to person, body instead of words A technique to learn using all five senses. It is the same for "tea cylinder", "tea" and "sweat".While thinking that "manufacturing itself is a process of life" (Maruwaka), the products created by facing manufacturing that is not a small craftsman have a special feeling and were created to play a part in the succession of culture
" "Tea cans", "tea cans", and "craftsman hoody", which is a modern Samue. Products spun by the techniques and perspectives of the three parties are the knot between the culture that should be inherited and the culture that is newly created from here.
Edit & Text: Kana Takeyama ( PARK 365 )
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