Kaikado, a long-established Kyoto shop, celebrates its 140th anniversary of crafting handmade tea canisters. The company's origins date back to the Meiji era, when the founder began crafting tea canisters using tin imported from England. At the Kamogawa River-side store, various sizes of tin, copper, and brass tea canisters quietly stand. On the day of our interview, customers from Japan and abroad were visiting the store.

We spoke with Takahiro Yagi, the sixth-generation owner, in the workshop behind the store. Two years ago, when the company began participating in the "GO ON" project, a long-established Kyoto shop, he was approached by Thomas Lykke, a designer with the Danish design unit OeO.

"Kaikado excels at the cylindrical shape of the lid of tea canisters. Why not make pitchers or trays that utilize this feature?" At that time, Yagi wavered, wondering whether he could start crafting products other than tea canisters. It was Olivier Krug, the sixth generation of the Champagne house Krug, who helped him resolve his concerns. Olivier, who is also the sixth generation of the family, said, "If you have any questions, ask the founder," and his worries were finally resolved. The founder began making tea canisters using tin imported from the UK. Following his example, Yagi embarked on a new interpretation of this material, creating a water pitcher based on a design that stretches the lid of a tea canister vertically, and a tray based on a horizontally expanded design. "I always think about items that return to the tea canister, Kaikado's standard. Now, I'm developing tabletop items that utilize tea canister techniques," he says. Yagi then took out two hammers. One had been used so long that its metal portion had worn down to about half its original size. "This was inherited from my grandfather. I practiced using his hammer until I was able to figure out what kind of hammer felt right in my hand," he says with a laugh. While it's rare for father and son to work in the same profession these days, "No matter who makes it, it has to be a Kaikado tea canister. So I went through a lot of trial and error, trying to figure out just how firm my father meant by 'a little bit stiff.' Perhaps it's because we've lived together for so many years that we were able to pick up on the tone of his words," he said, reflecting on the time when he first began making tea canisters. 2015 marks Kaikado's 140th anniversary. While Kaikado has continued to make tea canisters of the exact same size since its founding, Yagi has some thoughts. "I want to consider whether this tea canister is really the standard for people today. I think that when you try something completely out of the ordinary, the reaction is like a pendulum swinging back to basics," he said, expressing his determination to take on new challenges. He also has his sights set on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. "I think many people will visit Kyoto, the capital of the west, as the opposite of Tokyo, the capital of the east. When they do, what kind of hospitality can the city of Kyoto offer them? We would like to welcome them while conveying our roots."

In 2014, Kaikado's tea caddy was added to the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK. Even in the UK, which has a rich tea culture, its functional beauty is praised. Minimal beauty knows no borders.

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