プロダクト:

Five Senses Plate

日本の食卓は、世界でも珍しく５つのマテリアルが一人分のあつらえに揃います。ガラス／木／磁器／陶器／金属　そして、基本香辛料や、調味料などの和食の基本は、すべて５です。そして、食事は、五感を使う唯一の時です。

そして、一般的な和食は、付けるソースによって取り皿を４回取り替えます。食事が運ばれる前に、このお皿が取り皿として一枚セットされていれば、働く方々の取り替えなどの労力を減らしてあげられる事、洗う手間も一枚分で済む事、そしてなにより置き場所の狭い日本のキッチンで、スタッキングの美しさでオブジェとして見せられる事、などを考慮しました。スタッキングの強度は、地震の多い日本では重要ですが、食器の分野では、ほとんど考えられていない難しいデザインです。

---

PRODUCT:

Five Senses Plate

I came up with the idea for these plates for an organic restaurant, which was founded on the concept of the five senses (please see ReBrand)

Gokanzara (which translates to "plate of the five senses") certainly draws its inspiration from the fact that the mealtime is the only time when you make use of all five senses at once. But it also draws inspiration from the fact that the number five figures significantly in the world of Japanese dining. For instance, there are a total of five basic spices and flavorings that make up the essence of Japanese cuisine. Additionally, Japanese dining, which is certainly a rarity in the world, supposedly requires five materials to be arranged for one person: glass, wood, porcelain, ceramics, and metal.

The Gokanzara has practical aspects to it as well. Upon observing that diners at restaurants in Japan are generally supposed to have their serving plates changed four times in the course of a full-course meal so as to avoid mixing sauces and seasonings, I wished to reduce the workload of the waiters and waitresses who had to keep replacing these plates. With the Gokanzara, all they have to do now is set a single plate per person before the entrees are served. These special plates also make dishwashing less burdensome, and what's more, they double as beautiful art objects, which you can put on display by stacking them in the kitchen, where storage space is usually limited in Japan. While the special design of the Gokanzara is all the more important in Japan because it is an earthquake-prone country, this design still remains a completely neglected challenge in the tableware field.