About
OGATA is a global concept that defines a new sensitivity to daily life to conceptualise a way of being. Drawing on Japanese culture and traditions in harmony with nature, OGATA offers another way to live in our times: it is an invitation to discover daily practices with all their treasures, in a way that echoes their ancestral origins. Through a renewed tea culture, a refined culinary art, a many-sided crafts industry, a sense of hospitality and a radical aesthetic, it is the expression of a new way of being.
Tea
Tea is medicine. Its widespread consumption in the East was originally justified by its soothing properties. Not only is natural tea beneficial to our health, more importantly it brings people together around a common experience. This social dimension of tea is the reason it is the foundation of the OGATA way of being. OGATA strives to create a radically different, everyday experience of tea defined by contemporary forms. If tea culture is adopted in a more flexible and open manner outside of Japan, it has the potential to become an alternative to modern coffee culture.
Cuisine
Eating is the most primitive, intimate experience of the blessings of nature, in harmony with the passing of the seasons. Enjoying food means sharing it: only in good company do we thoroughly feel the pleasure of appreciating a meal prepared with love. Through the original OGATA take on cuisine, we aim to share this common consideration of ingredients, to cooking and to eating, in order to enrich the culinary habits of each region of the world. In return, we hope that the OGATA cuisine, which may not be considered traditionally Japanese, will grow and develop from its multiple encounters with different culinary traditions. Through the act of eating we may assimilate our differences and be reminded that nature’s gifts are not to be taken for granted.
Wagashi
The word wagashi literally means “Japanese sweets,” with its origins dating back to when we gathered nuts and fruits. Each wagashi holds a symbolic meaning echoing a given time of the year, indexing a particular cultural reference, and very often accompanying a specific festival or ritual. Traditionally, these treats were a privilege of the elite, but at OGATA our intention is to make wagashi a small joy accessible in our daily lives—a reminder to pay attention to the passing of each season. When wagashi are offered as gifts, the act of wrapping them embodies a person’s feeling of gratitude. Despite their unpretentious appearance, consuming wagashi allows us to experience a complex and delightful network of sensations and meanings aligned with a refined sensibility toward nature.
Craft
The OGATA vision for craft is simple: enriching our daily lives by offering functional, timeless, and long-lasting products made from natural materials. Our mission behind craft production is twofold: to enrich our everyday lives, while guaranteeing the transmission of crafting techniques to the next generation. By producing crafts for a worldwide audience, OGATA hopes to rediscover and open up new horizons for traditional Japanese crafting techniques—many of which face the risk of extinction. We believe in treasuring each object, caring for it, repairing it, and finding unexpected beauty as it ages. Whether lacquerware, wood, ceramics, or glass, focusing on exclusively natural materials is to make the most of limited resources. Tools instill certain behaviors in those who wield them, and well-conceived works of craft can influence our lives over the long term.
Fragrance
At OGATA we believe a fragrance should be treated as medicine—a soothing remedy capable of balancing the senses and awakening memories, in perfect harmony with our body and its condition at a given time. In a world dominated by artificial fragrances, OGATA intentionally resorted to the most archaic production techniques for fragrances in the hopes of regenerating our olfactory sensitivity. By grinding and blending natural ingredients, one can create a sophisticated composition that takes us back to the essence of our sensory experience. These blends become living fragrances to be appreciated as they are, by placing the ground mixture in a vessel to permeate a room or carried around on one’s person by putting a small amount in a sachet.