Nippon no Arashi - Ohno (Part 2 of 3)
Riida's adventures in Aomori continue~! The rest of day 1 of the trip. The green text is like a separate page insert focusing on that person's story, there are a few of these throughout the book.
Realizing the strength of things that are passed down over time
After leaving the quiet residential area, they were pointed to the parking lot of Saishouin, a shrine famous for its five-story pagoda. Thinking “Eh? Where’s the café?” they looked closer and saw the café’s sign tucked away into the corner. But even so, where is it…?
“It’s back behind here.” Walking down a small path that was more like just the gap between the buildings, while glancing sideways at large icicles half their height, they indeed found the shop. Truly a hideaway.
The moment after cautiously opening the door, they let out a surprised gasp.
The walls and ceiling were completely white. Over which were loosely painted some arches, so that it seemed like the inside of an igloo. In that cute atmosphere, there were a few well-aged wooden tables and chairs coupled with the warmth from a stove to make one instantly feel like even their heart is getting warmed up. And, there was a lovely smell gently floating in the air. The café’s owner, Yamazaki Ayako-san (26 years-old), was in the kitchen already preparing lunch. The whole interview team were unable to leave Yamazaki-san alone to do everything herself, so they were helping to set the tables. During that, it seems that Ohno and Kosugi-san were excitedly talking about the “A to Z Memorial Dog” from earlier.
Ohno: I’m not sure why, but that was really fun. And really strange.
Kosugi: We clean it maybe twice a year too.
Ohno: Oh really?
Kosugi: We climb up on top of it and gently wipe it down with cloths.
Ohno: What year was it built?
Kosugi: The exhibition was in 2006, and it was built the next year.
Ohno: I see, I see.
Kosugi: So I guess it’s about 2 and a half years old (lol).
Ohno: Oh~ It’s really nice.
(Here the food arrives)
Ohno: Wow, it looks good~ Really good~ Oh man~ Itadakimasu! (TN: standard phrase said before meals; usually translated as “Thank you for the food” as it’s meant to show appreciation)
Kosugi: Even these bowls and stuff are from a local artist.
Ohno: Eh! Someone here makes them?
Kosugi: Yes.
Ohno: That’s great. Oh, the food is good. I’m in heaven.
Kosugi: That’s good (lol).
Ohno: Why did you come to work for Harappa, Kosugi-san?
Kosugi: I’m originally from Kushiro in Hokkaidou, but I came here for college and was working at a place that had absolutely nothing to do with art. Then during my first year in college, I worked as a staff member at one of Nara-san’s exhibits and before I realized it, entered this world. Once I saw that all kinds of things could be broken down through the perspective of art, I got more and more hooked.
Ohno: Oh~ that’s very interesting.
Kosugi: I didn’t study it as my major or anything like that, but it’s like this area forgives you for all that, like at its foundation it naturally expects it. The artists too, they create their works as an extension of their livelihood, like “I made this, what do you think?”
Ohno: That’s so great. Like art and craftsmanship are not so different from each other.
Kosugi: Yes. I get that feeling here too. If you think about what’s different, there actually isn’t a difference, so there’s no need to create boundaries between them. For example, people that embroider Tsugaru Kogin or carve wooden sculptures, they are all making these things as part of their livelihood. There are many tourists that visit from other prefectures, but some of those people actually decide to come settle down here too. The size of the town seems to be just right. There’s not much around, in a good way.
Ohno: It makes me want to live here. I’m jealous!
Kosugi: (lol)
(Here the owner Yamazaki-san came over after finishing serving the food)
Ohno: It’s really delicious. This rice is also really good.
Yamazaki: Thank you (lol). I use rice that was grown here in Hirosaki. The various grains are from Iwate though. The black soybeans are from Hirosaki, as well as the takana (mustard greens) on top, which I pickled myself.
Ohno: Oh~!
Yamazaki: The potatoes in the miso soup are also from Hirosaki. I really try to use as many local products as I can. Many of the vegetables I receive from local apple farmers that grow vegetables on the side for their own food, so they are all organic.
Ohno: Oh~ that’s great.
Yamazaki: Also, the carrots are rather famous around here, but they’re called “Fukaura Yuki” carrots, and are harvested in the winter. I use the ones that are particularly sweet. Things like the spinach and komatsuna (mustard spinach) can be grown with the “kanjime” technique, meaning if you grow them in the cold, their flavors become more concentrated and they become sweeter. Since such delicious vegetables can be grown in Aomori, I’m doing my best to use as many different types as I can to share them with everyone.
Ohno: But with so many different types, isn’t it really labor intensive for you?
Yamazaki: No, not really… it’s not like crowds of people come all at once to a place so tucked away like this one. Well, every once in a while it happens… like today (lol). I try to make everything as carefully/properly as I can, even if it’s just me alone.
Ohno: The setup of this place is really something too.
Yamazaki: This place has been here as a café for over 30 years, and the name has never changed. The first owner ran this place for a long time, and even Nara Yoshitomo-san, who was a student at the nearby Hirosaki High School at the time, used to come here. So, I left this atmosphere and antique furniture just the way it was. A customer from back then is now my landlord. They didn’t want this place to disappear when the first owner decided to close it, so they bought it and have a system now where they rent it out to someone who likes it and will use it just the way it is. It’s been rented by many people, I think I’m now the 7th one.
Ohno: Eh~ amazing!
Yamazaki: The first owner ran this place for about 20 years, and now it’s been about 10 years with this system.
Ohno: That’s great.
Yamazaki: It winds up feeling like a café since I’m running it, but there are some people that used to come to the original café that are even now regular customers. So, the age range of my customers is very broad. I started here because I like this place too, so I want to continue to protect this place as best I can.
Ohno: That’d be great if you kept it going.
Kosugi: Actually, during the “A to Z” event, she was volunteering at this café, though she was working at a completely different job at the time.
Ohno: Oh really?
Kosugi: That was how she got involved here.
Ohno: That’s great. It’s all connected.
Kosugi: Everyone has been influenced by Nara-san.
Ohno: You can really feel just how influential Nara-san has been to this town.
Kosugi: It’s not openly/formally so, but deep down at the roots, it is.
I want to have this café here for a long time
Yamazaki Ayako-san (26 years-old)
It’s been 2 years since I started this café, but before then, it was repeatedly opening and closing. I’m the 7th owner after all (lol), there were quite a few people that only did this for a short time. Some not even for six months. The winters here are particularly difficult and it seems that was when a lot of people gave up on it. Because of that, it was probably about 2 years after I moved to Hirosaki from Sapporo that I learned about this place. After that, I occasionally used to come here for lunch, but then I’d see that it’d be closed down again. But back then, I never thought that I would be the one to continue on here. Around that time, my contracted time at my job finished, and I decided then to try running a café, which I had always wanted to do. So I started looking all over for places that I could train at, and asked my friends if they knew of anywhere. And by chance, the owner here was looking for someone at the time, so that was how I started.
I already knew the owner a little since I had come to this place before, so it was kind of a “well, want to give it a try?” feeling between us. Everything went so fast though, like January I decided to do it, in March I quit my job, and by the end of April the café was open (lol). But, since I had wanted to start up a café, I’d already thought about what sorts of coffee beans I’d use, or who I’d have design the store’s logo. I got a lot of help from everyone and started getting these things done.
I was very unsure at first, but thought that chances like this don’t happen often, and also really liked this place and didn’t want it to disappear. And most of all, the friends I made at the “A to Z” event were really supportive and helped me make the decision to do this.
I came to Hirosaki in 2005, right when Nara-san had his second exhibit at a brick warehouse, and I went to see it with my friends. I hadn’t heard of Nara-san before, but also didn’t have many opportunities to see art that close-up before, and instantly I became a fan. And, on the surveys they had there, at the bottom they had an announcement that they were planning another exhibit next year and were looking for volunteers. I thought that I wanted to do it, so I wrote my contact information. Looking back, I’m so glad I did that. Now, even Nara-san stops by the café whenever he comes back to the area.
The name of the café, “Yupanqui,” is named after the Argentinian guitarist Atahualpa Yupanqui. The name has stayed as Yupanqui through the years, so I have no intention of changing it. The first owner was an elderly lady, and I’ve sometimes been told by customers who knew her that I have a similar aura to hers. That might be partly why I won’t change the name (lol).
Right now I’m not planning at all to go anywhere else. By starting up at this place, I’ve been able to connect with so many people. I’ve been able to meet hard-working people from many rural places, like Morioka or Akita. I’ve learned that location (of the store) doesn’t matter at all. If you have something good, people will go wherever you are to get it. I myself also travel out to Morioka because I want to go to specific restaurants, and I think it’s great if that sort of thing becomes more common. That’s why I want to keep this café up here in this place. Also, Hirosaki really has a wonderful charm to it, like it’s just the right size right now. When we have events, people from all different genres come together. I really like this seemingly small place that is actually very wide. That might be one of the great things about the countryside.
Making spoons, and a night of Nebuta
After filling their stomachs and hearts, the group parted ways with Yamazaki-san and Kosugi-san. They got back in the car to head out to a furniture store called “Easy Living,” in Aomori City. Only, not to the store where the furniture is sold, but the studio where the furniture is made. Actually, they also learned of this place at harappa. According to Kosugi-san, lately at this studio, run by Kasai Yasuhito-san, a woodworker who, like Yamazaki-san, quit his office job to start the studio, they’ve been doing a fun “spoon café” event, where visitors can make their own wooden spoons while enjoying some tea.
It was the perfect setting to experience creating an item used so much in the daily lives of those in Aomori. For Ohno Satoshi, who is as good with his hands as he is with dancing, this was an experience not to be missed! So, they went to Easy Living.
Standing in the snowy environment, Easy Living, with its small workshop environment, the smell of wood when the door was opened, and the greeting from the plain and honest Kasai-san, was a place that clearly made reliable furniture. Kasai-san worked as an engineer until the age of 30, when he started this studio. Ohno had a huge reaction to that with a “Until you were 30? I’ll be 30 this year~” (lol). Then Kasai-san’s reply of “I thought that I wouldn’t be able to change my path so easily after I passed 30” in his unique way of talking seemed to make Ohno think a bit, since he said “That’s true, 30 feels like a juncture of some sort…” Even so, Ohno, who by nature loves making things, seemed eager to start working, so they got started on the spoon making.
Kasai-san had gathered materials for everyone on the staff to be able to work, since they had come all this way. So, everyone started making spoons together. Well, that’s what they wanted to do, but would they really be able to make their own spoon just like that? They were pretty worried. Due to time constraints, they had the pieces already started to some extent ahead of time, but in comparing their pieces of wood to the finished example spoon, everyone lost their confidence (lol). But Kasai-san reassured them with a smile saying, “You can do it. You can. It’s not as difficult as you might think.” Believing those words, everyone got started.
The first step was picking the wood. From the pieces already cut, they chose based on the size, grain/texture, and color of the wood. Ohno was unsure at first, but picked a smaller, darker piece of wood. Looking at the chisels that were passed out, Ohno made an unexpected confession. “A chisel huh. It’s been a long time since I’ve used something like this or a knife. I’ve always been terrible with them~” But as expected, once he started working, his miraculous concentration while silently carving was impressive to see. This time the staff was also participating, so everyone was serious.
Kasai-san said, “When I’m doing the spoon café, I try to get people to relax and work while having tea, but everyone works so hard they sometimes get blisters, so they’re not relaxing at all (lol). Depening on the person, it takes some people two days to finish, and others can do it in two hours. It’s not about being good or bad at it, it’s just fun to see everyone’s personalities and uniqueness be expressed like this.” The wood pieces used for this are the leftovers from the furniture making. Things like this give glimpses of Kasai-san’s thoughts and feelings. Incidentally, eating cake after finishing at the spoon café is a custom, and everyone finishes it off like they’re having a beer at the end of a workday, and leaves looking refreshed.
Seeing the piece of wood gradually take on the shape of a spoon, everyone’s feelings of uneasiness went away, which made the work go by faster. All of the staff making spoons together had the same serious expression. While being silently engrossed in the work, everyone felt like they started slowly understanding what Kasai-san wanted to tell them through the spoon making.
Ohno, who as expected was getting used to the work, even began carving out an original design on the handle. And, this is what the finished work looks like.
(TN: Riida's is 4th from the right, in the darker wood)
In the space of about two hours, everyone’s spoons were complete. Ohno was able to make a spoon he was happy with, and with a bright smile said, “It’d be great to eat some ice cream with this.” After thanking Kasai-san for the spoon making experience, they left the studio to see that it was already night. It was time for the long-waited-for dinner.
They headed to a restaurant known for serving local seafood and delicious local traditional dishes. They ordered mostly things they could only eat in this area, like ginger miso oden, Aomori fried garlic, and tuna from Oma, located on the Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture. While eating this delicious dinner, they relaxed and reflected on today.
“I really enjoyed myself today~. This started because of Nara-san, and in the end he was at the heart of everything today. Nara-san’s works really got me excited each time I saw them today. I mean, we saw his dog statue right after we left the gallery. It was exciting to see. I think the snow was an important point. I’m sure Nara-san’s dog statue would look and feel completely different if there wasn’t any snow. Snow… it’s not Tokyo, after all. The snow is so nice. We don’t see it very often.”
While looking back on the full day like this, a local band was coincidentally eating dinner in the next room and suddenly performed the Nebuta Festival music for everyone! The Nebuta Festival is a famous festival in Aomori. There are surely many of you who have seen footage of the festival, with giant paper lanterns being carrying down the streets. Ohno was very excited to be able to hear the music from such a great festival live. With instruments including flutes and taiko drums, the band started playing, it was just like being at the Nebuta Festival. Ohno was unable to stay still watching the impressive live performance, and was soon jumping and yelling the “Rassera, rassera!” shout unique to the Nebuta Festival. Ohno was even encouraged by the band to play the taiko drums, and fully enjoyed the Nebuta! For ending the first day in Aomori, it was a very lively night.
The Nebuta Festival is a summer event in Aomori. Ohno never thought he would be able to experience it in the middle of winter. “That was amazing~” he excitedly said as everyone returned to the hotel.
I want to create and eat in my home region
Easy Living
Kasai Yasuhito-san (36 years-old)
Right now, I’m involved in a project where we use the school forests in Aomori City to make the furniture for the schools. The other day, we used the cedar trees taken from the school forest to make furniture for the library as the 6th graders’ graduation project. I’ve always thought it would be great to teach children about how furniture is made, so I was very happy about this. I think it is very important that the children understand that furniture is something that has to be made. The idea that things they buy had to be made by someone, while obvious, is something they often don’t realize while going about their daily routines. That’s already true even for their parents’ generation as well. That’s why when I tell students that everything, even their shoes, the shoelaces, and the rubber of the soles, all of it was made by someone somewhere, they are always surprised. I’m doing the spoon café to have everyone to experience how a spoon can be made. But it’s not like “Ok, we’re making spoons! Everyone think about it!” Rather, I want them to just think about it in their free time from other things. Realizing that behind every product, someone is there making it.
In the past, I did a workshop called “Mono Mono Gatari.” One of the goals was to have everyone bring something they were planning on throwing out and using that to make a vase. And then, in the process of working on that, I had them imagine the last 10 people who engaged with that item. And they were to write a 10-page paper about those 10 people. For example, let’s say I bought this ballpoint pen at a convenience store. That convenience store has a manager, and if we follow the thread of the manager, he has a family, and in that family is his father, who works as a delivery man, and the motocycle he uses was made by someone… and we keep going back like that. Everyone goes through each story of those 10 people to make those 10 pages. And in the end, the item that was going to be trash becomes a new vase. I wanted to use this workshop to have everyone think about the people that are behind the things they use. But, that was a bit too serious, so I wanted to have a more fun way of having people feel the same thing, and that’s why I started the spoon café.
I’m not sure why, but I’ve always planned on staying in my home region. I’ve never thought about moving out of the prefecture. It may be because I was not very confident that I would be able to accomplish much if I left to another prefecture. Earning a living making furniture in my hometown, I’m content with that. Local people ask local carpenters to build them a house. They buy miso from the neighborhood miso store. I want to be content with that. You can’t make furniture if you’re too far from your customers. It’s difficult to go out to help with maintenance if you’re too far, and I wanted to have this closeness in my work. I think that’s where my starting point was.
Now we have the idea of “local production for local consumption,” don’t we? Something is made locally and then used locally. But the important thing with that idea is that the local people need to buy the local items. If we say “consume” it sounds all around like a great thing, but once you change that to “buy” it all of a sudden becomes very heavy. For instance, something you can get at a supermarket for 100 yen would cost you 200 yen at a local place, then the act of buying becomes much more difficult. But, to make a living, the items need to be bought, so it’d be nice to make that connection. I always wonder how to have people buy the local items even if they are a bit more expensive. No matter what, people go for the most convenient things. I mean, I do too. It’s a difficult problem.
Ok, next part will be the start of the second day, where Riida will go back to the gallery and then explore some of the history of the area. That's over here.
Part 1 is here.
Masterpost here.
Realizing the strength of things that are passed down over time
After leaving the quiet residential area, they were pointed to the parking lot of Saishouin, a shrine famous for its five-story pagoda. Thinking “Eh? Where’s the café?” they looked closer and saw the café’s sign tucked away into the corner. But even so, where is it…?
“It’s back behind here.” Walking down a small path that was more like just the gap between the buildings, while glancing sideways at large icicles half their height, they indeed found the shop. Truly a hideaway.
The moment after cautiously opening the door, they let out a surprised gasp.
The walls and ceiling were completely white. Over which were loosely painted some arches, so that it seemed like the inside of an igloo. In that cute atmosphere, there were a few well-aged wooden tables and chairs coupled with the warmth from a stove to make one instantly feel like even their heart is getting warmed up. And, there was a lovely smell gently floating in the air. The café’s owner, Yamazaki Ayako-san (26 years-old), was in the kitchen already preparing lunch. The whole interview team were unable to leave Yamazaki-san alone to do everything herself, so they were helping to set the tables. During that, it seems that Ohno and Kosugi-san were excitedly talking about the “A to Z Memorial Dog” from earlier.
Ohno: I’m not sure why, but that was really fun. And really strange.
Kosugi: We clean it maybe twice a year too.
Ohno: Oh really?
Kosugi: We climb up on top of it and gently wipe it down with cloths.
Ohno: What year was it built?
Kosugi: The exhibition was in 2006, and it was built the next year.
Ohno: I see, I see.
Kosugi: So I guess it’s about 2 and a half years old (lol).
Ohno: Oh~ It’s really nice.
(Here the food arrives)
Ohno: Wow, it looks good~ Really good~ Oh man~ Itadakimasu! (TN: standard phrase said before meals; usually translated as “Thank you for the food” as it’s meant to show appreciation)
Kosugi: Even these bowls and stuff are from a local artist.
Ohno: Eh! Someone here makes them?
Kosugi: Yes.
Ohno: That’s great. Oh, the food is good. I’m in heaven.
Kosugi: That’s good (lol).
Ohno: Why did you come to work for Harappa, Kosugi-san?
Kosugi: I’m originally from Kushiro in Hokkaidou, but I came here for college and was working at a place that had absolutely nothing to do with art. Then during my first year in college, I worked as a staff member at one of Nara-san’s exhibits and before I realized it, entered this world. Once I saw that all kinds of things could be broken down through the perspective of art, I got more and more hooked.
Ohno: Oh~ that’s very interesting.
Kosugi: I didn’t study it as my major or anything like that, but it’s like this area forgives you for all that, like at its foundation it naturally expects it. The artists too, they create their works as an extension of their livelihood, like “I made this, what do you think?”
Ohno: That’s so great. Like art and craftsmanship are not so different from each other.
Kosugi: Yes. I get that feeling here too. If you think about what’s different, there actually isn’t a difference, so there’s no need to create boundaries between them. For example, people that embroider Tsugaru Kogin or carve wooden sculptures, they are all making these things as part of their livelihood. There are many tourists that visit from other prefectures, but some of those people actually decide to come settle down here too. The size of the town seems to be just right. There’s not much around, in a good way.
Ohno: It makes me want to live here. I’m jealous!
Kosugi: (lol)
(Here the owner Yamazaki-san came over after finishing serving the food)
Ohno: It’s really delicious. This rice is also really good.
Yamazaki: Thank you (lol). I use rice that was grown here in Hirosaki. The various grains are from Iwate though. The black soybeans are from Hirosaki, as well as the takana (mustard greens) on top, which I pickled myself.
Ohno: Oh~!
Yamazaki: The potatoes in the miso soup are also from Hirosaki. I really try to use as many local products as I can. Many of the vegetables I receive from local apple farmers that grow vegetables on the side for their own food, so they are all organic.
Ohno: Oh~ that’s great.
Yamazaki: Also, the carrots are rather famous around here, but they’re called “Fukaura Yuki” carrots, and are harvested in the winter. I use the ones that are particularly sweet. Things like the spinach and komatsuna (mustard spinach) can be grown with the “kanjime” technique, meaning if you grow them in the cold, their flavors become more concentrated and they become sweeter. Since such delicious vegetables can be grown in Aomori, I’m doing my best to use as many different types as I can to share them with everyone.
Ohno: But with so many different types, isn’t it really labor intensive for you?
Yamazaki: No, not really… it’s not like crowds of people come all at once to a place so tucked away like this one. Well, every once in a while it happens… like today (lol). I try to make everything as carefully/properly as I can, even if it’s just me alone.
Ohno: The setup of this place is really something too.
Yamazaki: This place has been here as a café for over 30 years, and the name has never changed. The first owner ran this place for a long time, and even Nara Yoshitomo-san, who was a student at the nearby Hirosaki High School at the time, used to come here. So, I left this atmosphere and antique furniture just the way it was. A customer from back then is now my landlord. They didn’t want this place to disappear when the first owner decided to close it, so they bought it and have a system now where they rent it out to someone who likes it and will use it just the way it is. It’s been rented by many people, I think I’m now the 7th one.
Ohno: Eh~ amazing!
Yamazaki: The first owner ran this place for about 20 years, and now it’s been about 10 years with this system.
Ohno: That’s great.
Yamazaki: It winds up feeling like a café since I’m running it, but there are some people that used to come to the original café that are even now regular customers. So, the age range of my customers is very broad. I started here because I like this place too, so I want to continue to protect this place as best I can.
Ohno: That’d be great if you kept it going.
Kosugi: Actually, during the “A to Z” event, she was volunteering at this café, though she was working at a completely different job at the time.
Ohno: Oh really?
Kosugi: That was how she got involved here.
Ohno: That’s great. It’s all connected.
Kosugi: Everyone has been influenced by Nara-san.
Ohno: You can really feel just how influential Nara-san has been to this town.
Kosugi: It’s not openly/formally so, but deep down at the roots, it is.
I want to have this café here for a long time
Yamazaki Ayako-san (26 years-old)
It’s been 2 years since I started this café, but before then, it was repeatedly opening and closing. I’m the 7th owner after all (lol), there were quite a few people that only did this for a short time. Some not even for six months. The winters here are particularly difficult and it seems that was when a lot of people gave up on it. Because of that, it was probably about 2 years after I moved to Hirosaki from Sapporo that I learned about this place. After that, I occasionally used to come here for lunch, but then I’d see that it’d be closed down again. But back then, I never thought that I would be the one to continue on here. Around that time, my contracted time at my job finished, and I decided then to try running a café, which I had always wanted to do. So I started looking all over for places that I could train at, and asked my friends if they knew of anywhere. And by chance, the owner here was looking for someone at the time, so that was how I started.
I already knew the owner a little since I had come to this place before, so it was kind of a “well, want to give it a try?” feeling between us. Everything went so fast though, like January I decided to do it, in March I quit my job, and by the end of April the café was open (lol). But, since I had wanted to start up a café, I’d already thought about what sorts of coffee beans I’d use, or who I’d have design the store’s logo. I got a lot of help from everyone and started getting these things done.
I was very unsure at first, but thought that chances like this don’t happen often, and also really liked this place and didn’t want it to disappear. And most of all, the friends I made at the “A to Z” event were really supportive and helped me make the decision to do this.
I came to Hirosaki in 2005, right when Nara-san had his second exhibit at a brick warehouse, and I went to see it with my friends. I hadn’t heard of Nara-san before, but also didn’t have many opportunities to see art that close-up before, and instantly I became a fan. And, on the surveys they had there, at the bottom they had an announcement that they were planning another exhibit next year and were looking for volunteers. I thought that I wanted to do it, so I wrote my contact information. Looking back, I’m so glad I did that. Now, even Nara-san stops by the café whenever he comes back to the area.
The name of the café, “Yupanqui,” is named after the Argentinian guitarist Atahualpa Yupanqui. The name has stayed as Yupanqui through the years, so I have no intention of changing it. The first owner was an elderly lady, and I’ve sometimes been told by customers who knew her that I have a similar aura to hers. That might be partly why I won’t change the name (lol).
Right now I’m not planning at all to go anywhere else. By starting up at this place, I’ve been able to connect with so many people. I’ve been able to meet hard-working people from many rural places, like Morioka or Akita. I’ve learned that location (of the store) doesn’t matter at all. If you have something good, people will go wherever you are to get it. I myself also travel out to Morioka because I want to go to specific restaurants, and I think it’s great if that sort of thing becomes more common. That’s why I want to keep this café up here in this place. Also, Hirosaki really has a wonderful charm to it, like it’s just the right size right now. When we have events, people from all different genres come together. I really like this seemingly small place that is actually very wide. That might be one of the great things about the countryside.
Making spoons, and a night of Nebuta
After filling their stomachs and hearts, the group parted ways with Yamazaki-san and Kosugi-san. They got back in the car to head out to a furniture store called “Easy Living,” in Aomori City. Only, not to the store where the furniture is sold, but the studio where the furniture is made. Actually, they also learned of this place at harappa. According to Kosugi-san, lately at this studio, run by Kasai Yasuhito-san, a woodworker who, like Yamazaki-san, quit his office job to start the studio, they’ve been doing a fun “spoon café” event, where visitors can make their own wooden spoons while enjoying some tea.
It was the perfect setting to experience creating an item used so much in the daily lives of those in Aomori. For Ohno Satoshi, who is as good with his hands as he is with dancing, this was an experience not to be missed! So, they went to Easy Living.
Standing in the snowy environment, Easy Living, with its small workshop environment, the smell of wood when the door was opened, and the greeting from the plain and honest Kasai-san, was a place that clearly made reliable furniture. Kasai-san worked as an engineer until the age of 30, when he started this studio. Ohno had a huge reaction to that with a “Until you were 30? I’ll be 30 this year~” (lol). Then Kasai-san’s reply of “I thought that I wouldn’t be able to change my path so easily after I passed 30” in his unique way of talking seemed to make Ohno think a bit, since he said “That’s true, 30 feels like a juncture of some sort…” Even so, Ohno, who by nature loves making things, seemed eager to start working, so they got started on the spoon making.
Kasai-san had gathered materials for everyone on the staff to be able to work, since they had come all this way. So, everyone started making spoons together. Well, that’s what they wanted to do, but would they really be able to make their own spoon just like that? They were pretty worried. Due to time constraints, they had the pieces already started to some extent ahead of time, but in comparing their pieces of wood to the finished example spoon, everyone lost their confidence (lol). But Kasai-san reassured them with a smile saying, “You can do it. You can. It’s not as difficult as you might think.” Believing those words, everyone got started.
The first step was picking the wood. From the pieces already cut, they chose based on the size, grain/texture, and color of the wood. Ohno was unsure at first, but picked a smaller, darker piece of wood. Looking at the chisels that were passed out, Ohno made an unexpected confession. “A chisel huh. It’s been a long time since I’ve used something like this or a knife. I’ve always been terrible with them~” But as expected, once he started working, his miraculous concentration while silently carving was impressive to see. This time the staff was also participating, so everyone was serious.
Kasai-san said, “When I’m doing the spoon café, I try to get people to relax and work while having tea, but everyone works so hard they sometimes get blisters, so they’re not relaxing at all (lol). Depening on the person, it takes some people two days to finish, and others can do it in two hours. It’s not about being good or bad at it, it’s just fun to see everyone’s personalities and uniqueness be expressed like this.” The wood pieces used for this are the leftovers from the furniture making. Things like this give glimpses of Kasai-san’s thoughts and feelings. Incidentally, eating cake after finishing at the spoon café is a custom, and everyone finishes it off like they’re having a beer at the end of a workday, and leaves looking refreshed.
Seeing the piece of wood gradually take on the shape of a spoon, everyone’s feelings of uneasiness went away, which made the work go by faster. All of the staff making spoons together had the same serious expression. While being silently engrossed in the work, everyone felt like they started slowly understanding what Kasai-san wanted to tell them through the spoon making.
Ohno, who as expected was getting used to the work, even began carving out an original design on the handle. And, this is what the finished work looks like.
(TN: Riida's is 4th from the right, in the darker wood)
In the space of about two hours, everyone’s spoons were complete. Ohno was able to make a spoon he was happy with, and with a bright smile said, “It’d be great to eat some ice cream with this.” After thanking Kasai-san for the spoon making experience, they left the studio to see that it was already night. It was time for the long-waited-for dinner.
They headed to a restaurant known for serving local seafood and delicious local traditional dishes. They ordered mostly things they could only eat in this area, like ginger miso oden, Aomori fried garlic, and tuna from Oma, located on the Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture. While eating this delicious dinner, they relaxed and reflected on today.
“I really enjoyed myself today~. This started because of Nara-san, and in the end he was at the heart of everything today. Nara-san’s works really got me excited each time I saw them today. I mean, we saw his dog statue right after we left the gallery. It was exciting to see. I think the snow was an important point. I’m sure Nara-san’s dog statue would look and feel completely different if there wasn’t any snow. Snow… it’s not Tokyo, after all. The snow is so nice. We don’t see it very often.”
While looking back on the full day like this, a local band was coincidentally eating dinner in the next room and suddenly performed the Nebuta Festival music for everyone! The Nebuta Festival is a famous festival in Aomori. There are surely many of you who have seen footage of the festival, with giant paper lanterns being carrying down the streets. Ohno was very excited to be able to hear the music from such a great festival live. With instruments including flutes and taiko drums, the band started playing, it was just like being at the Nebuta Festival. Ohno was unable to stay still watching the impressive live performance, and was soon jumping and yelling the “Rassera, rassera!” shout unique to the Nebuta Festival. Ohno was even encouraged by the band to play the taiko drums, and fully enjoyed the Nebuta! For ending the first day in Aomori, it was a very lively night.
The Nebuta Festival is a summer event in Aomori. Ohno never thought he would be able to experience it in the middle of winter. “That was amazing~” he excitedly said as everyone returned to the hotel.
I want to create and eat in my home region
Easy Living
Kasai Yasuhito-san (36 years-old)
Right now, I’m involved in a project where we use the school forests in Aomori City to make the furniture for the schools. The other day, we used the cedar trees taken from the school forest to make furniture for the library as the 6th graders’ graduation project. I’ve always thought it would be great to teach children about how furniture is made, so I was very happy about this. I think it is very important that the children understand that furniture is something that has to be made. The idea that things they buy had to be made by someone, while obvious, is something they often don’t realize while going about their daily routines. That’s already true even for their parents’ generation as well. That’s why when I tell students that everything, even their shoes, the shoelaces, and the rubber of the soles, all of it was made by someone somewhere, they are always surprised. I’m doing the spoon café to have everyone to experience how a spoon can be made. But it’s not like “Ok, we’re making spoons! Everyone think about it!” Rather, I want them to just think about it in their free time from other things. Realizing that behind every product, someone is there making it.
In the past, I did a workshop called “Mono Mono Gatari.” One of the goals was to have everyone bring something they were planning on throwing out and using that to make a vase. And then, in the process of working on that, I had them imagine the last 10 people who engaged with that item. And they were to write a 10-page paper about those 10 people. For example, let’s say I bought this ballpoint pen at a convenience store. That convenience store has a manager, and if we follow the thread of the manager, he has a family, and in that family is his father, who works as a delivery man, and the motocycle he uses was made by someone… and we keep going back like that. Everyone goes through each story of those 10 people to make those 10 pages. And in the end, the item that was going to be trash becomes a new vase. I wanted to use this workshop to have everyone think about the people that are behind the things they use. But, that was a bit too serious, so I wanted to have a more fun way of having people feel the same thing, and that’s why I started the spoon café.
I’m not sure why, but I’ve always planned on staying in my home region. I’ve never thought about moving out of the prefecture. It may be because I was not very confident that I would be able to accomplish much if I left to another prefecture. Earning a living making furniture in my hometown, I’m content with that. Local people ask local carpenters to build them a house. They buy miso from the neighborhood miso store. I want to be content with that. You can’t make furniture if you’re too far from your customers. It’s difficult to go out to help with maintenance if you’re too far, and I wanted to have this closeness in my work. I think that’s where my starting point was.
Now we have the idea of “local production for local consumption,” don’t we? Something is made locally and then used locally. But the important thing with that idea is that the local people need to buy the local items. If we say “consume” it sounds all around like a great thing, but once you change that to “buy” it all of a sudden becomes very heavy. For instance, something you can get at a supermarket for 100 yen would cost you 200 yen at a local place, then the act of buying becomes much more difficult. But, to make a living, the items need to be bought, so it’d be nice to make that connection. I always wonder how to have people buy the local items even if they are a bit more expensive. No matter what, people go for the most convenient things. I mean, I do too. It’s a difficult problem.
Ok, next part will be the start of the second day, where Riida will go back to the gallery and then explore some of the history of the area. That's over here.
Part 1 is here.
Masterpost here.