MOCHISHO SHIZUKU Kishiwada by TERUHIRO YANAGIHARA STUDIO
Confectionery Shop | Osaka, Japan
MOCHISHO SHIZUKU Kishiwada | TERUHIRO YANAGIHARA STUDIO | photography : Takumi Ota
DESIGN NOTE
A minimalist Japanese confectionary shop
designed as a 'space for installation'
Mochi display showing shadows through the glass
photography : Takumi Ota
words : Reiji Yamakura/IDREIT
Teruhiro Yanagihara Studio has designed Mochisho Shizuku Kishiwada mainstore in Osaka. This confectionery shop is Yanagihara's second design for the client, following the Shinmachi shop, which opened in 2008. Shizuku is a Japanese confectionery that focuses on mochi (rice cakes), with the theme of 'aiming to be the best of all medicines with sweets', just as 'good wine makes good blood'. They were founded in Kishiwada and had been making mochi using carefully selected ingredients and vintage machinery. After the opening of the Shinmachi shop, they closed the Kishiwada shop and used the factory at the back of it to make confectionery.
When we asked Yanagihara about the new main store's design approach, he said, "When the Shinmachi shop opened, there were no shops with that kind of low-decoration, minimalist style, so it was accepted by customers and had good sales. However, from my personal point of view, I felt that the design was somewhat softened by adding cafe functions inside the shop. So, in this Kishiwada shop, we developed our design as if it were an installation space, where the customer could feel the owner's philosophy and concept more clearly."
The design team closed the glass wall at the front, where the entrance used to be, with concrete and applied a side entrance. "We did not set up a sign for the shop and dared to make it unclear whether it was even a confectionery shop or not. My approach was not to create a pastry shop but rather a place to showcase the collections of the art-loving owners. We wanted the shop to be a place where people could talk to the owners and hear about their passion for confectionery." A commissioned artwork by contemporary artist Tatsuo Kawaguchi is displayed in front of the entrance.
An artwork created by Tatsuo Kawaguchi. The artist used lead and beans.
Customers find seasonal rice cakes on an 1100 mm high wall inside the shop, designed for display. "We designed this display wall for the rice cakes as the focal point so that customers and the shop owner could talk to each other while looking at them. The reason for placing the sweets on the glass was to express a sense of time by showing shadows under the transparent glass. The idea of showing shadows through the glass was based on the Arita porcelain exhibition in 2015.
Customers enjoy talking with the owner about the water, naturally-farmed ingredients, and the topic of art, and many spend an hour or two in the shop, Yanagihara says happily. "We needed a bench for our customers, but a bench like common furniture would stand out too much there. So we put a solid piece of Yakusugi cedar, which is the right height to sit on so that the rice cakes can take centre stage," he added.
Yanagihara's words, "We didn't want a bench; we just needed the 'height' to sit on," clearly reflect their perspective on design. When customers visit this place, they can enjoy freshly made rice cakes while communicating with the makers in a space that conveys the owner's aesthetic sensibility. Kishiwada main store is a concept-driven and sophisticated shop that embodies the core values of the local confectionery brand.
DETAIL
Rice cakes displayed on concrete. The designer installed a clear glass riser to show the shadows.
They installed Yaku-sugi cedar timber for bench use.
Electrically treated water is placed in pale green columns.
Teruhiro Yanagihara designed a water tap in the shape of a circular disk.
The owner has been making mochi rice cakes with this old-fashioned machine for many years.
CREDIT
Name : MOCHISHO SHIZUKU Kishiwada
Designer: Teruhiro Yanagihara / TERUHIRO YANAGIHARA STUDIO
Construction: Kikusui
Location: 21-11 Kaminocho-nishi, Kishiwada-shi, Osaka
Owner: Yoshihiro Ishida
Main use: Confectionery Shop
Completion: February, 2018
Floor area: 29 sqm
Material:
floor, wall/sumi black ink mixed mortar
ceiling/AEP
counter/exposed concrete
wall shelf: baked pained steel
lighting box: hot-rolled black steel
