I already know based on access statistics that the truly traditional stories I select are less read than the contemporary content. Dear Readers, this one writer will tell you one truth : you are wrong.

You simply can’t get the whole picture unless you start also opening the doors of that not brightly lit shop and watch those woody, sturdy, bulky, earthy wares and log house types of furniture you saw during your last visit to a natural hot water spa.

It all belongs to the same world, the slab of wood on four massive feet that supports your breakfast, you know, that grilled fish and the pickles and the rice at the inn that are so … exotic, and a must-be part of the “we went on to a trip in the countryside, and people were so nice and good natured” kind of me-too saw this done that travel into backyard Japan. If you start shunning at these, you will quickly end up into the contemporary “kawaii” accessory range of cute wares I will try my best in the Daily Kogei not to cover.

Because, as with Mr. Eiji Oka of Shimane prefecture, with whom I spoke in length and relished at his storyteller talents, his workshop of some ten craftsmen have been delivering both the massive table, and the exquisite matcha tea delicate spoon, all from the same good old and sturdy woods, namely, black persimmon, but also chestnut and zelkova, that is, woods that won’t break anytime soon.

Everything at his workshop started in a world of art, charm and exclusive intellectualism. That is why at the core of the Okaya workshop know-how is the carving of wares that belong to the tea ceremony, what with the boxes to keep parchment like letters and poems neatly boxed on a sturdy, bi colored low table.

The problem is that these pleasant activities have been declining way before Astroboy came into the picture. Mr. Oka adapted and is offering everything, from highbrow delicious to down to earth objects you will love to have – and use – everyday, not because they feel cool, but because they oozes of serenity.

The pleasures of daily life here start by noticing how the spoon you grabbed to eat that yogurt, not the metallic one, but that  laquered one, is so smooth and light in the hand. You can have a small, reasonably priced collection of such wares, starting from chopsticks, that warm up the day in tiny touches without notice. It goes down to the shoehorn at the entrance. When you start noticing it with content, it means you’ve come home in Japan.

Okaya web site, crowded like a furniture shop, is here to discover.