Lacquered tableware feels like human skin

All around Japan, artisans are hard at work keeping traditional crafts alive, carrying on centuries of history inherited from their forefathers.

For Wajima Kirimoto, a Japanese company founded in the late Edo period (1603-1868), their specialty has always been Wajima lacquerware, a revered and well-known local craft from Ishikawa Prefecture.

That doesn’t mean their goods have to be staid and boring, though, as the business is currently breaking out from the mould with a new contemporary range of goods that’s got everyone’s attention.

Kohei Kirimoto, the 25-year-old son of the current owner, and eighth-generation heir of the business, is the brand director of the new collection, which is simply called “Iki“. As a word that can be used in a number of different contexts to mean things like “breath“, “stylishness“, and “freshness“, the products in the range encapsulate these motifs by taking inspiration from a rather unusual source: human skin.

According to the company, Japanese cuisine involves more bowl-to-mouth contact than many Western cuisines, and this proved to be the impetus for the sensual new five-piece range.

Billed as lacquerware that feels “similar to human skin”, the accompanying promotional materials are also grabbing attention, with items like the “Closest to Human Skin Cup” and the “Closest to Human Skin Bowl” strategically placed alongside images of a naked female body.

The gentle curves on the skin-like lacquerware add some extra excitement to the experience of drinking and eating, as your hands and lips continually come into contact with the designs.

If you’d like to feel the range for yourself, head on over to Shinjuku’s Isetan department store between 7-13 March, where the full collection will be on display.

The Iki range, which unfortunately comes in only one color at the moment, can also be purchased at the Isetan department store in Shinjuku during the display period, with prices ranging from 17,280 yen for the small dish, and up to 47,520 yen for the large bowl.

Source, images: PR Times

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