Keiji Nakazawa — widely regarded as the world's foremost sushi chef, and a man who calls subtraction his aesthetic — opened a new restaurant on Fifth Avenue in New York. On that stage, where he puts the essence of Edomae sushi to the world, he chose AMUAMI's Hakke as the counter it would be served on.

A sushi counter is something that exists quietly between the craftsman and the guest. What Nakazawa asked for was something real — a piece that would not diminish the beauty of the sushi, but would lift the dignity of the room around it. That AMUAMI's Hakke could serve that role was, for those of us who make things, an honor beyond measure. Still, there was a quiet surprise in being chosen. A man who has mastered subtraction, choosing a vessel with this much flourish. That a man who broke the mold himself would deliberately choose a provocation like this one carries a strength of its own. We had also helped with parts of the interior — a display shelf in copper plate, among other things — but within the context of the work we do, no stage could have suited it better.

"Squid is squid, uni is uni" — Nakazawa says the philosophy of Edomae is to draw out the power already present in the material itself. AMUAMI believes the same. We want to bring out the essence of a craftsman's skill without dressing it up, and put that, unadorned, before the world.

Design / Masao Nemoto : NOMURA Co.,Ltd.
Photo / Nacasa & Partners