The Ideas Residing in Vessels - A Dialogue Between Kitaoji Rosanjin and WABISUKE

The Ideas Residing in Vessels: A Dialogue Between Kitaoji Rosanjin and WABISUKE

Beauty is not just what meets the eye.
It is something that touches your hands, puts in your mouth, and touches your heart.

Kitaoji Rosanjin - a solitary artist who freely moved between all realms of beauty, including pottery, calligraphy, cooking, seal carving, and painting. His tableware was not just a space for serving food, but also contained his "philosophy of life."

Rosanjin once said, "The quality of food is determined by the tableware."
These words resonate deeply with the worldview that WABISUKE aims for. The vessels, fabrics, colors, and words that we handle are not just "things to fill a space" but "things to give meaning to a space." Vessels are not just tools, but a medium for ideas and a catalyst for sensibility.

His life was full of ups and downs. He moved from one foster home to another many times during his childhood, and in his loneliness he found salvation in beauty. The first time he saw a scene of crimson azaleas in full bloom, it remained a "primal landscape of beauty" to him throughout his life.
This formative experience overlaps with the "colors of memory" that WABISUKE values. Color is not just visual information; it is the key to awakening emotions and memories that lie deep within the heart. The colors we choose, the fabrics we dye, and the lines we draw have the power to evoke someone's memories.

At the members-only restaurant "Hoshigaoka Saryo" that he founded, Rosanjin himself cooked the food, made the tableware, and designed the space. All of this was a "synthesis of beauty" and "the art of life."
A dish is completed not only by the ingredients, but also by the tableware, the space, and the heart of the person who cooks it - this idea overlaps with the "philosophy of life" that WABISUKE aims for. We hope to deliver an experience in which the ideas contained within speak quietly to you every time you touch the tableware or wear the fabric.

Rosanjin turned his back on honors and titles.
He twice declined the offer to become a Living National Treasure, stating that "artists should have nothing to do with ranks or decorations."
This attitude is consistent with WABISUKE's values ​​of "anonymous beauty" and "value beyond a name." Something that has the power to speak even without a name. Something that moves the heart even without a title.
The tableware and fabrics we handle are also completed by the sensibility of the person who uses them, not by the fame of others. Beauty is not in names, but in the hearts that resonate with each other.

His vessel was sometimes rough and sometimes delicate.
This fluctuation is the essence of humanity and the law of nature. Rather than pursuing perfection, beauty lies in fluctuation - this philosophy is alive in WABISUKE products.
We are not afraid of "white space" or "unfinished." Rather, we want to leave room for the user's sensibilities to come through. Both tableware and fabric should be beauty that grows together, not a finished product.

There is a saying by Rosanjin that goes like this:
"Gourmet food is born when tableware, food, space, and the heart of the person come together."
These words perfectly describe the "moment of resonance" that WABISUKE aims for. When vessels, fabrics, words, and space come together in harmony and resonate with the heart of the user, "beauty" is born for the first time.
We create and communicate every day in order to weave together these moments.

Beauty doesn't have to be solitary.
It quietly lives in our daily lives.
The breakfast table, seasonal fabrics, the words accompanying a letter—all of these are vessels of beauty and vehicles of thought.
When we touch Rosanjin's pottery, we are in dialogue with his ideas. WABISUKE will continue this dialogue into the future.

Beauty is something that evokes someone's memories.
Beauty is something that depends on the sensibilities of the user.
Beauty transcends names, transcends time, and remains in the heart.

The ideas of Kitaoji Rosanjin still live on quietly today.
WABISUKE continues to carry on that spirit and bring a margin of beauty to modern life.