Monthly Memo From Doi's Culinary Philosophy
Original text by Doi Yoshiharu
Translated by Yoshiko Fukuda
September- Nagatsuki
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●In Japanese cuisine the rapport between food and its serving dish is considered very important. As we say "to dress up" a meal, the relation between food and its container is just like people wearing clothes in order to better present themselves. Similarly, when serving a meal, one must always be attentive to factors like time, place and occasion, and also, determine whether the food matches the dish in its presentation of color. There are insensible people who say that "the taste is what matters and the containers really does not influence it". However, when one feels that a certain dish looks delicious and would like to eat it, the effect, is at least partly produced partly by the serving dish.
●Japanese serving dish continued to refine, not in ways of its flexibility in purpose but for the aesthetics in its appearance. By appreciating such factors in a dish, like the texture it leaves when touches by the hand or lips, and the non-symmetrical and singular appearance, the Japanese enjoy their meals. In addition they sometimes employ more than ten different serving dishes in only one menu. The Japanese, in another words, have prioritized the aesthetic appearance of dishes and how it contributes to the enjoyment of eating. When seasons change, the food will "dress" themselves differently just like the people. Therefore just like clothes, the serving dishes will gain more in number since each is distinct. That is why it was not unusual to have a storage space saved just for dishes. But nowadays that sort of luxury is not easily afforded.
●Even though there are disappointing news that the summer heat will not take its leave for a little while longer, they turn into a not-so bad news for beer lovers.
I have heard a very delightful reputation that the beer at Ajiichii is exceptionally delicious. Actually, the secret to its flavor is, because of its popurality, the beer continues to get stocked so it is always very fresh. But the main attraction lies in its beer jug or ceramic cup. Made not too thick yet not too delicate, the ceramic beer cup with some remnants of hand operated pottery wheel and patterns of wheat straw. It is a pottery done by a 21 year old, Mr. Kei Akachi, the son of Mr. Ken Akachi. Mr. Ken Akachi is a well-known ceramic artist, who is known for his unique designs and useful pottery works. At Ajiichii, we use his soy sauce dispenser and a container to store soy sauce. The first work that his son created after he became a professional ceramist was the beer cup used at Ajiichii. This was also the creation that his father accepted as good enough quality to be sold. Kei Akachi was lucky enough to grow up in an environment that was extremely suited for future ceramists. His works are unmistakably unique to the hands of a 21 year old.
●All of the serving dishes at Ajiichii are specially ordered to be made by several differnt ceramists. We choose the ceramists' specialty that fulfill what Ajiichii is in need for. But also, the collection should be aesthetic as a whole. One ceramists' character should not be too prominent that it crashes the heterogeneous mix made up of many artists' works. Therefore, we give out very strict and specified orders as to the size and other measurements of the dishes. Likewise, the dish should not lose its original shape and pattern that existed in the sample. Hand made pottery, of course, never turns out exactly the same as the previous ones. From even a little alteration in the temperature of the kiln, the pottery's finishing color is changed subtly, and in extreme cases the size would differ also. Furthermore, when the ceramist get used to making a new kind of pottery, the original taste in the new work is lost. Although ceramists pride themselves in the creations that have gained new depths, for restaurant usage each one should not be different and if they are, they will sometimes be useless. There are artists who like to make things as they like, and dislike making things that are specifically ordered since it takes away individuality and their imagination. Therefore it is harder for us to put out an order since we cannot force the ceramist to make something he cannot reproduce, nor force him to create some things he does not like. So in order for there to be no mistakes in the transaction, the ceramist and I have to understand each other very well. Between the creator and the one who orders his work, there should exist a mutual understanding or otherwise things will not work out smoothly. Even in that kind of ideal situation, all the finished pottery can go to waste if they do not come out exactly as both sides wished. Even from overlooking one factor, like the temperature of the kiln, it can lead to failures and completely diminishing the ceramist's profit.
●The palette plates that are used in the "Okazugonomi" and the "Mukouhassun" in the Ajiichii menu are actually a result of much effort and failure. By baking the pottery longer, the dish is strengthened but at the same time it becomes liable to deformity. When I visited the ceramist responsible for making the palette plates, his workshop was filled with warped palette plates stacked up in great numbers. I saw this and was very sorry for not understanding what kind of effort when into making these dishes. The palette plate used for "Okazugonomi" is an earthenware that has a unique gray glaze; it is especially ordered from Mr. Dohei Tsuboshima. Mr. Tsuboshima, who was discovered by Mr. Handeishi Kawakita, (who went in to ceramics after succeeding as a businessman and made enormous amount of free style teacups and bowls) and succeeded Mr. Kawakita's workshop that has the famous Hirosue kiln in Ootsu, making pottery that is worth more than a couple hundrend thousand yen. With the same technique, he creates the dishes used at Ajiichii. Some of Mr. Tsuboshima's work include, the bowl used for sashimi in "Wansashi" and the set of coffee cups. All of Dohei's work is marked with the name "Hirosue".
●The serving dishes that especially brighten the table at Ajiichii are the work done by Mr. Ryuuhei Hakozaki. His brush skills in putting color and pattern on the 19cm shallow plate is my favorite. Usually grilled foods are placed in this plate because the colors add to the food's pleasant presentation. In "Mikouhassun" the porcelin palette plate, elliptical plate are other creations by Mr. Hakozaki. One can point out his works because of the letter R that is always written somewhere in the pattern of the dish. However, his works are easily distinguished even without recognizing the letter R.
Japan produces some of the best pottery in the world. It is probably only in Japan that one can choose his favorite out of an unequalled and vast amount of pottery works. But from that divers a selection, if one can recognize one particular artist's work then his style is obviously evaluated very highly and widely known. And of course it is very unique to the creator. Pottery works have come so far as to have adopted individual "faces" that people can identify in them.
I wonder how many cooking has a "face" attributed to one specific chef, that is recognized throughout the world.
A generation ago, it was common to encounter numerous faces in cooking. Yet, because of mass communication, individual cooking has lost its singularity and became bland and alike. That is why at Ajiichii, one of the goal is to have a particular atmosphere unique to the restaurant. I hope that even in Japan, people will appreciate real individuality.
I was fortunate to have the support from many pottery artists who stayed with us even after the difficult demands. I would like to thank all who helped to create Ajiichii as a whole.◎Just the other day, I went to a pottery exhibition in Paris. There, many distinctive French pottery were laid out and the whole presentation seemed to exemplify the strength of a meat-eating culture. The image that they conveyed were of the rich colors in oil painting. Japanese pottery would have given a certain serenity similar to an ink painting.
At one of the booth, because the ones that I picked up and examined seemed to sell well, the artist asked me to stay a little longer. It probably is because the French respects the Japanese eye in judging pottery workmanship.
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