‘Omotenashi’ is the Japanese way of hospitality, an ethic imbued with thoughtfulness and quietness, expecting nothing in return – and it’s deeply ingrained in the culture.

Tokyo-born Yuka O’Shannessy, curator at Ponsonby’s Public Record, says she finds real pleasure in cooking and hosting. “I love to entertain and serve guests, but the thought behind this is part of me; it’s something I do subconsciously.”

She calls the interaction “a silent exchange” – it is not pushy or showy – and believes it derives from the tea ceremony born 400 years ago in the Edo Period when everyday citizens were invited into a beautiful garden to partake of a beverage made by tea-masters with great consideration. “Japanese gardeners who work for the traditional temples wake up really early in the morning to prepare for visitors who arrive daily – there is such a sense of duty and dedication.”

The tranquillity of that tradition translates today in the Japanese approach to tableware as an unbreakable adjunct to a cuisine that is often made from fresh and foraged ingredients. “Unlike French cooking, Japanese meals are actually quite simple,” says Yuka. “So there has to be some creativity in how you serve them – a tweak that appeals to the eye.”

Texture and modest pattern play their part so as not to distract from the food. Intelligent craft and raw, organic materials are favoured – it’s tableware as art, typified by Bizen ware, the unglazed pottery of which Hitoshi Morimoto is an unmistakeable artisan. At Public Record his square plates are flecked with beautiful, handcrafted imperfection, displayed next to Kenichi Sasakawa’s hand-blown wine glasses made from recycled glass with a tinted glaze. But a large leaf, flower or a piece of driftwood as table decoration can serve just as well. Be curious to find that thing that works.

For Yuka, the spaces in between matter equally. Subtract. Pare back. When you put food on a plate, leave space. When you arrange flowers in a vase, maybe just one or two will do. Notice proportion and balance. “Train your eye to the table setting: sometimes by moving one thing, a composition becomes so much better.”

Yuka is an advocate of slowly updating your tableware. Like Vivienne Westwood, she champions the cause of conscious consumption. To buy mindfully. “Food and drink are such a big part of life – having one beautiful cup for your morning coffee keys into omotenashi,” she says. It turns a pause into an experience.
publicrecord.shop Claire McCall