青幻舎 SEIGENSHA Art Publishing

The name Yobi is a true description of the shop’s tableware, which is both beautiful in itself and adept at bringing out the best of the food that it serves.

——Satow Toshi (proprietor, Tawaraya inn)

The artisanal tableware shop Kogeiten Yobi has been in business for more than five decades in Osaka, the food capital of Japan. Its name, given by Tsuji Kaichi, the second-generation owner-chef of the traditional Kyoto restaurant Tsujitome, derives from yo no bi, “beauty in utility.” The original pieces of tableware available at Yobi are created through careful discussion between each artist and proprietor Maki Keiko, whose discerning eye has won the unwavering trust of many a professional chef.

Maki takes her first step into publishing with this book, in which she recounts—among other topics—Tsuji’s teachings and her interaction with respected clients such as Satow Toshi, the eleventh-generation proprietor of the Tawaraya inn in Kyoto. Through it all she provides glimpses into profound world of Japanese tableware and the essence of the craftwork involved; she also offers many helpful tips on how best to use vessels to enhance everyday life.

Maki Keiko is the proprietor of the artisanal tableware shop Kogeiten Yobi, which she opened in 1970 primarily to sell the works of her brother, the lacquer artist Noda Kosaku. The name Yobi, given by Tsuji Kaichi, the second-generation owner-chef of the traditional Kyoto restaurant Tsujitome, derives from yo no bi, “beauty in utility.”