2024.9.14sat - 10.20 sun

TOYAMAKANAZAWA

EVENT

Noto Chestnut Delicacies Served on Stunning Noto Lacquerware

01/2

[Past work] Akagi Akito, Chikyu Lacquered Bowl, Japanese zelkova and lacquer. Photo: Uehara Miwa

Add a multisensory indulgence to your day at Waguri Shiratsuyu, a café specializing in Japanese chestnut confections. Each masterful creation is designed to showcase the aroma and flavor of locally sourced Noto chestnuts. For a limited time, the café is offering two types of the classic Mont Blanc: Harizuri and Kincha. Each is served on a lacquer dish handcrafted for the café by Akagi Akito, an artist based in in Wajima, Noto, and accompanied by elegant knives and forks created by the Kanazawa metalwork artist Takemata Yuichi.
The experience is further elevated with a serving process that engages all the senses. While the customer watches, café staff turn the rich chestnut cream dough through a press to create the signature vermicelli-like topping of a Mont Blanc. The final confection is then set on a lacquer dish made with chestnut wood. When visiting the Higashiyama Area, stop by the café to relax in style during this limited-time collaboration.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

Akagi Akito

b. 1962 in Okayama Prefecture. Akagi graduated from Chuo University with a degree in philosophy. After working as an editor, he moved to Wajima in 1988. He apprenticed under Okamoto Susumu, a lacquerware artist specializing in base layers of Wajima lacquerware (Wajima-nuri). Akagi launched his independent career in 1994. Since then, he has continued creating lacquerware in Wajima while holding solo exhibitions nationwide. In addition to his work as a lacquerware artist, Akagi has written professionally for over twenty years. In 2024, he published What Is Kogei? (co-authored by Horihata Hiroyuki, published by Sekkou Stillmind).

Takemata Yuichi

b. 1975 in Ishikawa Prefecture. Takemata started studying metal engraving in 1995 and went independent in 2002. Takemata primarily crafts custom jewelry, household utensils and tea utensils. His recent initiatives include the businesses Kiku in 2004 and Sayuu in 2010. In 2014, Takemata’s cutlery was selected for use in multicourse menus at Le Jules Verne under the leadership of Alain Ducasse during the Cool Japan World Trial project. In 2017, he participated in “Tea House at the Ocean’s Edge” during the Oku-Noto Triennale. In 2019, his cutlery was selected for a luncheon event during the Spouse Program at the G20 Summit in Osaka.

INFORMATION

Waguri Shiratsuyu

Waguri Shiratsuyu is a café specializing in Japanese chestnut confections. Located in a renovated traditional townhouse near the Higashi Chaya district, the café opened its doors in 2020. Skilled staff prepare its popular Mont Blancs by turning chestnut cream dough through a press in front of each customer, allowing them to savor the mellow aroma and rich flavor of local Noto chestnuts. Takeout is available for the classic Mont Blanc as well as other chestnut confections, including chestnut paste formed into chestnut-shaped cakes (kuri kinton), French canelés, and chestnut and sweet bean paste wrapped in a delicate casing (kuri kintsuba).

Address 3-1-16 Kannon-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Hours 10:30 a.m.–5:00p.m. (Last order 4:30 p.m.)
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