Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store is hosting "Summer Encounters with Coolness," an event that began on July 16th and runs through the 22nd. It proposes traditional ways to spend the summer using tatami, wood, bamboo, and washi paper. An event organizer commented, "We hope that Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store will become a hub for promoting Japanese culture." The aim is for visitors to reexamine the joys of everyday life by experiencing items made with materials and methods native to various regions of Japan. The venue introduces five categories designed to allow visitors to experience with all five senses "wisdom for life born from the local climate" and "the painstaking craftsmanship of artisans." The first is a space where visitors can experience tatami made by Aoyagi Tatami Shop, a four-generation business in Choshi City, Chiba Prefecture. Guests can take off their shoes and feel the tatami under their feet, or sit on a tatami-covered veranda to enjoy the coolness. Additionally, the exhibit features sleeping mats and wallets made from tatami mats (mats woven from rush stalks and hemp thread). These are crafted from rush plants under 90cm tall that don't grow to the size of a standard tatami mat, as well as scraps from tatami mat production. Fourth-generation owner Kentaro Aoyagi says, "We wanted to bring these discarded rush plants, grown with the same loving care as our regular plants, to the stage in a beautiful way." The second exhibit features furniture and accessories from Tokyo-based KOMA, a company that continues to create furniture made from kumiki (jointed wood) without metal fittings. As artisan Toshihiro Kamei explains, "Our motto is to create furniture that lifts the spirits when you use it," the exhibit features a selection of exquisite pieces that are both aesthetically pleasing and tactile, including chairs that soothe the soul. Many pieces are on display, including the "Kiss Chair," designed to resemble a scene in which a man and woman sit facing opposite directions and kiss. The third is Eitaro, where you can enjoy a taste of coolness. Established over 150 years ago in Nihonbashi, the shaved ice they make is made with a focus on the traditional crunchy texture, adding a touch of summer to Japan. They offer 14 flavors of shaved ice, including Uji, strawberry, and kintoki, with prices ranging from 810 yen to 918 yen. The fourth is a space aimed at cooling you visually, where you can enjoy a variety of beautiful washi paper from Ozu Washi, a long-established washi paper maker that has been in business in Nihonbashi for 360 years. This exhibition showcases a wide variety of "rakusui paper" (lace-like washi paper), which stands out for its visual coolness, among the washi paper that has been used in everyday life since ancient times for sliding doors and shoji screens. The finale is the sound of cool water falling from the sky above the venue. The piece was created in collaboration between Nousaku, a metal casting manufacturer in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, and Chuetsu Pulp Industry of Chuo Ward, Tokyo, and features 100 wind chimes hanging from bamboo paper strips.
A different workshop will be held every day in the central hall on the first floor of the main building, where the event will be held. From the 16th to the 18th, there will be washi dyeing using Ozu washi paper (500 yen), and on the 20th and 21st, there will be coaster making using rush grass (1,000 yen) by Aoyagi Tatami Shop and sandpaper finishing with fallen leaves (1,000 yen) by KOMA. Chuetsu Pulp Industry will also be distributing a "Banbyun (bamboo dragonfly) making kit" and "bamboo paper postcards" (both free, while supplies last).
