Sep 08,2016
Wherever you go in Japan, you’ll find pieces of tableware with a character all their own. They reflect the country’s cultural diversity and the vision of the artists who made them. Their presence enriches our daily lives.
Here, courtesy of Eto Aya, proprietor of the gallery Natsutsubaki, we talk with artist Oyabu Miyo and chef Ojima Keiji.
As the cicadas chirred, we arrived at the gallery Natsutsubaki after weaving our way through the shade to avoid the scorching sun. On opening the sliding door, we were greeted by the cool, refreshing sight of glassware.
“The Japanese summer is hot,” explained Natsutsubaki’s Eto Aya, “so we often hold a special exhibition of glassware at this time of year. It’s a way to feel a bit cooler.”
We’d been told that there was going to be a meal featuring tableware made by Oyabu Miyo and cuisine prepared by Ojima Keiji. Oyabu Miyo is a glass artist whose workshop is in the village of Yomitan, Okinawa. Ojima Keiji is a touring chef also based in Okinawa who travels all over Japan. The collaboration between the two has even resulted in some new tableware.
“Some people may think of glass dishes as only being useful for certain foods like soba noodles or salad,” says Aya. “But if there’s a glass dish you like, try being a bit flexible about how you use it instead of earmarking it for a particular purpose. You may discover something surprising. Glass is a material worth incorporating into your table setting, especially in the hot summer months. This collaboration, I feel, shows how to have fun with glassware by using it however you like.”
First, we talked to Ojima Keiji of Namae no Nai Ryoriten (“Restaurant without a Name”). What does tableware mean to a chef?
“A restaurant isn’t just about food. It’s an assemblage of various elements. The place itself, the furnishings, the tableware, the music, the people gathered there: all play a vital role in making a restaurant what it is. Tableware is especially important in creating the right ambience, because the patrons pick it up with their own hands and put it to their lips.”
This occasion featured a pairing of food with glassware. Glassware tends to bring to mind cold dishes suited to summer. But that’s not all you can use it for, Keiji points out.
“Items of glassware each have their own distinct personality. They vary in shape, use of color, the pattern of air bubbles, and other regards. That’s why I try to use each piece in a way suited to it. The glass plates by Oyabu-san being used for today’s meal are quite thick, and the light plays on them beautifully. They don’t strike you as cold. A hot serving of meat doesn’t look out of place on them. They nicely set off the sauce, creating an attractive-looking dish. You wouldn’t use a thin, transparent, delicate-looking glass plate that way.”
To be sure, the glass plates matched the food remarkably well. It was quite an eye-opener. Just as ceramics and porcelain have their own character depending on the kiln and the potter, glassware dishes too are each attractive in different ways. Each can be used in a manner that brings out its distinctive charm.
“Oyabu-san’s tableware goes particularly well with fare that showcases the character and personality of the ingredients. It’s suitable for foods where the ingredients jump out at you. Think of something eaten with a sauce made of juice from some boldly chopped fruit, say, or a rough-and-ready meat dish. I don’t think her dishes would look that interesting with a tidy portion of vegetables neatly cut to the same length.”
Oyabu Miyo’s glassware and Ojima Keiji’s cuisine brought out the best in each other.
“It was Oyabu-san’s idea to take a large plate and put what looks like a lid on it. I therefore decided to serve hot meat on the plate and a piece of fish on the lid, the latter to be eaten with sauce. I think that results in a really neat dish. As you eat the fish, you can almost see what comes next — but not quite. You’ve got something to look forward to.”
“Tableware has its own personality, all the more so when it’s made by an artist. So when I serve something, I make a point of bringing out the tableware’s character to some extent. I’m careful to ensure the food doesn’t conceal the dish entirely. But by the same token, I don’t let the dish steal the show.”
When serving food, Keiji says you should ask yourself what you like about the tableware you’re using. “Avoid masking what appeals to you about the tableware’s shape and color. You can even play it up just a little. That makes thinking about cuisine and tableware more fun.”
▲A cold dessert served in what is called the “Starry Night Bowl” — a design inspired by the nighttime sky of Okinawa. Half the vessel contains air bubbles, which create a beautifully cool effect.
Listening to Keiji made me even more curious about the kinds of wares Oyabu Miyo produced. I was accordingly eager to talk to her as well.
I started by asking her how she first became interested in glass. Her answer was surprising.
“Actually, I studied fashion in my student days. I guess I loved making things. I enjoyed the world of fashion. But when it finally came time to find a job, I stopped dead in my tracks. Fashion is about constantly keeping up with the latest trends, and I had to wonder whether pursuing a fashion career was the right call. Instead, I worked part-time jobs while trying to figure out what to do with my future. Then I had my fateful encounter with glass. I was mesmerized by the magical way light passes through it. I spent a year studying glassmaking at a school on the island of Notojima in Ishikawa Prefecture. Then, after a stint at a glassmaking company in Osaka, I moved to Okinawa. I worked at a studio in Okinawa before striking out on my own.”
Mention glass in the context of Okinawa, and people generally think of traditional Ryukyu glassware. Miyo’s glassware, however, reflects her entire life journey to date, not just her experiences in Okinawa.
“I was born into a family of traditional Japanese restaurateurs in Kyoto, so I was brought up surrounded by cuisine and tableware. I watched my parents preparing and serving food, and that has greatly influenced my work as an artist. Studying fashion was also of great significance for me. When I’m making a piece, I’ll try to attain the exact quality of white, say, that I see in my mind’s eye. After all, white comes in infinite varieties. That’s an approach I learned from studying fashion. Similarly, if I hadn’t subsequently lived in Notojima or spent time in Osaka, my present works wouldn’t exist. In that sense, they’re a reflection of the person those experiences have made me today.”
Changes in living arrangements also affect her work, Miyo says.
“We recently moved, and we chose to furnish the new place with antique furniture. Now when I’m working on a piece, I find myself trying to achieve hues and textures that blend in naturally with the surrounding space, rather than making it look shiny and new.”
For Miyo, it’s important to make the kinds of things she’d want to use herself.
“There are lots of things I notice in the course of my own daily routine. How big should a dish be to act as a good foil to the food? When setting the dining table, it’s more convenient to have oval plates as well as round plates. Jugs are easier to store when they don’t have handles. Dishes take too much space when they can’t be stacked easily. While using stuff myself, I try to come up with ideas for simple, easily storable glassware that looks good on the dining table.”
When making something, Miyo also takes care to leave room for maneuver, as it were.
“I try to make tableware that is only 100 percent complete once food is served on it. If I didn’t constantly remind myself that once I’d finished a piece, it was going to be used for pouring wine or juice in or serving various food on, I’d want to make it complete in itself. I’d be tempted to give it an extra twist or add more color. But if I’m ever unsure, I tell myself to hold back. I figure my glassware looks better for it when it’s laid on the table.”
I asked Miyo about the glassware she had made for her collaboration with Ojima Keiji.
“The first thing that crossed my mind was where the meal was to be served. A gallery wasn’t the same as a restaurant. Given the limited space available for serving the meal, humongous plates wouldn’t do, I reckoned. Still, it would be nice for the guests to enjoy a variety of cuisine. Then I hit on the idea of having a plate topped with what looked like a lid and serving food on both. Making the lid of a material the color of white opal created a sense of anticipation and excitement. It let you almost but not quite see what was on the plate beneath. I left it up to Ojima-san to decide what to serve. As a result, I guess we succeeded in creating a pairing of dishes and food that let people experience the translucent quality that makes glassware so special.”
Finally, I asked Miyo about the advantages of glassware dishes.
“One of the advantages of glassware is that, unlike pottery or wood, it doesn’t grow mold or retain odors. Plus the same dish can serve many different purposes. If it has a single spout, for example, it can be used for pouring sake, for putting dressings and sauces in, or as an ikebana vase. So enjoy capitalizing on the aesthetic appeal of glassware in whatever way works best for you.”
▲Start simple by, say, replacing your ceramic or porcelain chopstick rests or the vase on your table with glass versions. You may hit on new ideas for using glassware in your table settings.
“Tableware sometimes mirrors the personality of the artist who made it,” says Aya. “Oyabu-san’s glassware blends femininity with strength. There’s something laid-back about it. Oyabu-san has a big heart and a delicate touch. She’s indulgent as only a mother can be. These qualities are apparent in her work. Different glassware dishes create very different impressions. So why not enjoy mixing and matching glassware as you would clothes, without worrying about conventions? Experiment with various ways of using glassware depending on the season and the mood you’re in that day. Ask yourself what type of cuisine would go well with a particular glass dish.”
OYABU Miyo
Glass artist Oyabu Miyo was born in Kyoto. After graduating from fashion school, she studied glassmaking in Notojima, Ishikawa Prefecture, then joined a glassmaking company in Osaka. She later moved to Okinawa. She established her own workshop in Yomitan, Okinawa, in 2003. She has exhibited her works in Japan and abroad ever since.
http://www.hizuki.org/index.html
OJIMA Keiji
Chef Ojima Keiji, a native of Miyagi Prefecture, apprenticed in Tokyo, Paris, and Marseilles. He then moved to Okinawa, where he worked as a hotel and restaurant chef. He opened Namae no Nai Ryoriten (“Restaurant without a Name”) in 2009.
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