FEATURE| Houses, things, and people. The possibilities of CASICA, a place where chaos exists beyond time and borders.
Houses, things, and people. The possibilities of CASICA, a place where chaos exists beyond time and borders.
A completely new type of community space was born in Shinkiba. Renovating an old wooden warehouse, it is an ideal complex space where new and old, Japanese and foreign objects are displayed without hierarchy under the concept of "visualizing living time and space," and its name is "CASICA. We interviewed Yoshio Suzuki and Mai Hikita of "CIRCUS," a company that handles everything from interior design to displays and the purchase of antique tools and furniture, to learn how this creative space was created.
Yoshio Suzuki(Right) His activities range from interior design to creative direction of stores and event planning. He is the representative of "TAKIBI BAKERY," a fictitious bakery, and "Bonfire Crafts Group," which reconstructs furniture unraveled from past literature.
Mai Hikita(LEFT) After a career as a press assistant for an apparel company and a radio writer, he is now a member of "Circus" with Mr. Suzuki, where he is in charge of directing "Kashika" and other projects.
Dare to obscure the roots of all things.
Upon entering the high-ceilinged, open-plan complex, the first thing that catches the eye is the wall of antique shops, old furniture, and plants with a strong presence. Looking at the displays, the first thing one notices is the age, country, and other factors that make one wonder where in the world these objects are from. The first thing you notice when looking at the display is the age, country, etc., of the objects. No object on display here has a caption. It is fun just to let your imagination run wild as you gaze back and forth between the objects, looking at this mix-and-match space.
Part of the space is made from scrap lumber and lumber left in the warehouse. Among the items on display are old tools and furniture that Suzuki and Hikita personally drove 2-ton trucks to dig up, clean, and repair at auctions.
Overwhelmed Plants is a project team that is re-establishing a relationship with plants, "Horticulture and Regeneration." by .
The gallery, with a ceiling height of 13 meters, is a space that makes use of the warehouse's construction. The client had talked about creating a tea room, but I thought it would be difficult to create a tea room in an uninitiated manner, so I adopted only the essence of the tea room. I wanted to create a small entrance, inspired by the nijiriguchi (entrance to a tea ceremony room), and express the universe and the large space that spreads out from there. The sound and air in this space is different from that of the store space. So I wanted to create a separate space here and eventually do various things with it," said Suzuki. (Mr. Suzuki). On the day we visited for the interview, the display was in a festive New Year's mood. Mr. Suzuki and Ms. Hikita bought some old tools at an auction.
It means starting anew in a place called Shin-Kiba.
Why did you choose Shin-Kiba in the first place?
SuzukiI originally started the brand "TAKIBI BAKERY," and through my dealings with wholesalers nationwide and select stores in Tokyo, I was aware that it is not easy to run a general merchandise store. It is difficult to sell products in this day and age with just an online store, so I started by trying to establish a real store. So, when you say "general merchandise store," do you mean Aoyama or Nakameguro? Nakameguro? We told the client that we did not think we would be able to produce results with our abilities or methods even if we tried in such an area. If that is the case, we would like to direct the project from scratch in an off-color area. We started with the idea of leaving such areas in the center of Tokyo. We also decided to exclude Kuramae, Asakusa, and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, local areas that are currently thriving. While doing so, we came up with the idea of Shinkiba. There are many large warehouses in this town, and once I came to see them, they were really nice. Since I had originally been doing design work, I had connections with old-fashioned stores that dealt in old lumber. In Shinkiba, I thought it would be better to deal in old tools and furniture than to have a select store that only sells new things.
SuzukiI think that the number of select stores that are like select stores is decreasing. We live in an age where you can buy anything in the same way anywhere. Therefore, I wanted to open a store on a large scale with a proper mix of one-of-a-kind items. I think the fact that Shinkiba was originally a town of trees was also an important factor in creating the concept of this store.
I see, Shinkiba used to be a town of trees. It is said that the name was given to the area as a lumber yard in the Edo period (1603-1867).
SuzukiRumor has it that there are only about five people living there now (laughs). (Laughs.) There was talk of large-scale development, but in the end it remained untouched. However, the people of Shinkiba want to do something about the town, and even if there are warehouses like this space, they are often rented out by logistics centers, but a simple warehouse district would be boring for the town. It would be boring for a town to become a simple warehouse district, so I am very grateful that people around me are saying, "It would be interesting if a new space like this is created.
We want to change the values of things by redefining the select store.
In that sense, I think it is completely different from existing select stores in Tokyo. What are your criteria for selecting each item?
SuzukiBasically, I am in charge of old items and she is in charge of new items, but since we are both married, we overlap in our conversations. For new items, I visit exhibitions, go to contemporary artists' private exhibitions to see their dishes in use, and make appointments if I think they are good. I don't really like flying, so I drive everywhere, including Okayama and Iga. When I go to Fukuoka, my girlfriend flies and I take the car on the ferry, and we often meet there and go from there (laughs).
field for pulling back one's rice opponent by the rootsI met up with my husband there, who had left home two days earlier (laughs).
SuzukiWhile driving around the kilns of contemporary artists, we would go to meet them to tell them "I love your pottery! and "I love your pottery!
field for pulling back one's rice opponent by the rootsIt is not that today's select stores are bad, but I think that in the past, for better or worse, there were more stores that had individuality, or that "oozed" individuality.
It's more like the owner's love has come out.
field for pulling back one's rice opponent by the rootsIn the past, information was scarce, so there was a strong sense of "I found it through my own route" or "I searched for it myself. Nowadays, information is so fast through SNS, etc., that everyone is looking for the same things that they like.
Your values are averaged out.
SuzukiIn that sense, I wanted to rethink how a select store should be now. I myself don't want people to look at things through filters such as "this artist" or "this brand" or "new" or "old. We liked flea markets even before we started this kind of business. At antique fairs and stores where professionals line up, everyone knows the price, and it becomes a matter of course that the price is this much because of the age of the item, rather than because we have searched for it. Rather than that, I would say that if I genuinely like something, it doesn't matter what decade it is from or what country it comes from. I wanted to create a relationship where I could encounter things in a neutral way. In that sense, I basically don't write captions for everything in the store. If it is the artist's work, it would be rude, so I put his or her name behind it, but that is all.
From the customer's point of view, it is tempting to pick up everything and talk to the clerk, "What's this? and talk to the store clerk (laughs).
field for pulling back one's rice opponent by the rootsI would like to value "unkindness".
SuzukiInstead, it is like, please open anything in a drawer. You may find a one-of-a-kind item in it. We hope to create an opportunity for people to be excited to encounter things. We want to choose things that we genuinely like, but that are also easy to use. I think Japanese life today is a mix. We use both foreign and Japanese things. The lifestyle is a mixture of old and new things, so I thought it would be good for the store to be like that. The concept of the shop is "to visualize living time and space," and I would like to show time and space, things from all over the world, old and new, and to make the axis of things as flat as possible. We have an old-fashioned chest of drawers in our store, and I think that such objects and Beniwaren rugs go very well together. I think this kind of mixing of various elements that is uniquely Japanese is very interesting. There are also baskets from Africa, Indonesia, Japan from Aomori, old baskets and baskets made by contemporary artists. When we put these things together, we find that even though they are from different places, there is a common thread of handmade craftsmanship. We are making discoveries as we work.
The number of carved wooden bears that Mr. Suzuki likes to collect is now enormous. At their home, Mr. Suzuki and Ms. Hikita use them as door stoppers, and their 18-month-old child straddles them.
Cultivate it as a community space to create encounters.
At the attached café, visitors can enjoy Ayurveda-based medicinal dishes supervised by Nanpu Shokudo. The food is a mix of Japanese and Western dishes. For example, the base is Japanese, but I use Western yogurt. I consulted with Mr. Mihara of Nanpu Shokudo, who was originally a friend of mine. It was great that we were able to build such a trustworthy team," says Suzuki.
The CASICA Set Menu (￥1,200+TAX) includes three side dishes of your choice, cereal rice, today's soup bowl, and pickles. The three side dishes are: "Salad of split dried radish, purple onion, and dried tofu", "Hijiki and grapefruit salad", and "Cod and potato gratin".
You were in charge of everything from store design to graphics and cafe production. Tanoshinal," which handles the video production, event planning, and web content that you operate, also places its full trust in you, doesn't it?
field for pulling back one's rice opponent by the rootsThe second floor is a studio space. Unlike the store, we are thinking about the furniture to be placed there in a standard direction. We would like to have furniture for the studio, but would also like to be able to rent out furniture from the store for photo shoots. We are often approached by people who have seen the space for new exhibitions and other events. Also, local residents hold meetings here to think about the future of Shin-Kiba (laughs). (Laughs.) As a newcomer, I am very happy that the space can be used as a base for such events, such as nighttime summits with 50 or so old men.
I can see the potential for a hako or place. It's pretty amazing that it's quickly becoming a community space.
SuzukiIt is gratifying to see the positive response from the locals as well.
field for pulling back one's rice opponent by the rootsI would like to create a place where the old men in the neighborhood can stop by for a quick cup of coffee and chitchat. We want to make it such a relaxing place.
In February, the store will open a new interior store in Fukuoka calledLIGHT YEARSI heard that an exhibition by Mr. "I'm a fan of the Japanese" is scheduled to be held as well. You can expect to encounter something new every time you visit. Come and experience firsthand the space that is being customized and transformed into something completely new every day.
