Why "Sawara" is used to make ohitsus and sushi okes.
- ・The fragrance of the Sawara is a perfect accompaniment to rice.
- ・It’s water resistant
- ・Light and easy to handle
- ・Sterilization effect
Always thinking of our customers’ health and lifestyle with all the products we make.
An ohitsu that makes rice delicious just by preserving it.
A sushi oke that can remove moisture appropriately and cook sushi deliciously.
A relaxing moment that warms to core of your body with mellow hot water of wooden bath.
Good tools enrich your life as a whole.
We would like as many people as possible to use such tools, wood products.
Shimizu Mokuzai produces sushi okes, ohitsus, and wooden baths made of the local Kiso high-quality timber every day.
We work to provide you with a reasonably priced, high quality product.
Rest assured when purchasing our products.
The main office factory is located in Kiso-gun, Nagano, which is famous as a place of producing good quality timber such as Hinoki or SawaraWe locally purchase good quality timber and produce it at our own factory.The delivery time is short, while the cost is also low, making it is possible to purchase wood stably throughout the year.
Working with skillful artisans is indispensable in making ohitsus and sushi okes. Artisans, who have been engaged in making okes for many years, work wholeheartedly, one by one, such as scraping, logging, assembling, and finishing.
However, not all steps require an artisan. Mechanization allows us to make products of the same quality, quickly. By incorporating both mechanization and manual labor, Shimizu Mokuzai has managed to reduce costs while efficiently producing high-quality products.
Shimizu Mokuzai originated from the manufacture of beekeeping materials and produced wooden baths, sushi okes, ohitsus and barrels, and has a successful track record of over 70 years of foundation.
In Japan, wooden tools have been used since ancient times. Since our founding, we have inherited traditional techniques through our long history, incorporated new methods, and producing old-fashioned wooden tools. Even with the advent of plastic products, old-fashioned wooden okes and the ohitsus continue to keep their appeal due to factors such as the fragrance of the wood, its feel, and the beauty of the wood, and are used habitually by a number of people years after purchasing them.
We hope that the tools made by traditional techniques cultivated after a long history will be used by many people even today, in order to feel the richness of Japanese food and life.
Wooden products made by Shimizu Mokuzai are born from the local timber of Kiso in Nagano.
"Kisoji is all in the mountains."
As it is said in the passage of "Yoakemae" of Shimazaki Touson.Kiso has been blessed with an abundance of forests since ancient times, and people have been using wood to improve their livelihood since then.
At Shimizu Mokuzai, of the precious trees called "The Five Great Trees of Kiso", we mainly use Hinoki, Sawara, Kouyamaki and to make our products.
Why "Sawara" is used to make ohitsus and sushi okes.
The "compatibility with rice" is more important than anything
Each type of wood has different features.
The fragrance from the wood is one of them.
The fragrance of wood called Sawara has very good compatibility with rice.
Ohitsus and Sushi okes are not products which convey goodness as a standalone item.
It is just a tool used to enhance the taste of rice."Hinoki" is known as a famous wood for its good fragrance, but in terms of "compatibility with rice" it is often said that "Sawara" is better.
To preserve the pristineness for a long time.
Ohitsus and sushi okes accompany daily meals.
Although we pay close attention to its functionality, there are quite a few of those who say that "it’s too difficult to maintain and so I feel like I can’t take the first step to make the change".
awara is known for its rich oil content, making it softer than other woods.
This oil provides a great resistance to water.
This being said, if you do not know how to deal with water and how to care for them properly, you will find it difficult to feel draw out the products’ maximum functionality.
With Swara, you should be able to maintain it with ease on a daily basis.
Because we want you to use for your daily meals.
Ohitsus and sushi okes which makes "rice" which is easy to become familiar with for Japanese tastes.
Keep it in a place close to you and, if possible, we would happy if you were to use it every day. If an ohitsu were unbelievably heavy and hard to carry around, it may be bothersome to use every day. It would also become difficult to care for it frequently.
Sawara wood, however, is known to be "very light" while having a beautiful wood grain.
By processing the ohitsus and sushi okes, we can reduce their "weight" as kitchen appliances.
One could say that being light and easy to handle is the charm of an ohitsu or a sushi oke made of Sawara.
Reassuring sterilization effect
Because ohitsus and sushi okes often store rice inside, the "sterilization effect" is also an important factor.
Sawara has a natural sterilization effect.
Everyone in the family can enjoy delicious rice with peace of mind.
Many of the ohitsus and sushi okes are made of Sawara.
It seems that the ancient people had grasped the characteristics of Sawara wood, and its good compatibility with cookware.
Most of the ohitsus and sushi okes which are currently on sale are made of Sawara.
Selection of timber as a material is an important point because it is to be used on a daily basis.
When you choose a sushi oke or ohitsu, please try and take a look at the material and its quality.
The Five Great Trees of Kiso is a group of precious five woods, which also appears in the poem of Kiso-verse, and includes "Hinoki, Sawara, Kouyamaki, Asunaro, and Nezuko."
The mountains of Kiso were known for producing excellent timber from ancient times, but in the early Edo period, the forests were devastated by the construction of the castle town and the surrounding buildings.Therefore, a strict protection production called "one tree felled, one neck chopped" was decreed by the ruling Tokugawa clan of the ancient Owari province (near current-day Nagoya) which managed the mountains of Kiso at the time. The five types of trees that were protected from being cut down are called “The Five Great Trees of Kiso’.
Today, most of the Kiso Valley Mountains are under the control of the federal government as national forests, and are preserved as beautiful forests through extensive planting and logging planning.
Hinoki
Hinoki is famous for being used as a building material for shrines and temples since ancient times.
Hinoki is a strong wood, suitable as a building material.
At the ‘Ise Jingu’ Shrine, the rebuilding ceremony is held once every 20 years, and Kiso Hinoki has been used since the eighteenth century.
Sawara
It is beautiful, similar to Hinoki in color with a pretty wood grain, and it an excellent material to make sushi okes because of its strong resistance to rain, moisture, and acid.In addition, because it is only second in lightness to Kiri wood, it has a number of applications.
In addition to the fact that there are few woods with fragrances like Hinoki and Asunaro, Sawara also has a sterilizing effect, making it useful for making wooden containers for cooked rice, ladles, and okes in addition to wooden baths.
Kouyamaki
The wood grain is beautiful, the color is a yellowish white, it is shinier than Hinoki, and is resistant to moisture for a long period of time.
As indispensable materials in the production of wooden baths and other such products, kouyomaki has been used as the most appropriate material for making sinks, ships, bridges and the like.
Hiba/ Asunaro
Because of its various useful characteristics such as low deviation, strong loading ability, high preservation property, dense material and so on, it is often used as a building material, fittings material, and lacquerware products.
Nezuko
It has an excellent resistance to water, light, and abrasion.It is easy to process and has been used as a building material for furniture, clogs, and tea rooms for a long time.
The wood grain is finer than that of other Hinokis.
The Kiso Hinoki is said to have a finer grain compared to other Hinoki of other producing districts.
This is because of the growing conditions such as the severe cold of winter in the Kiso area in Nagano Prefecture, the large amount of rain, and the severity of the slope of the mountain, which grows for years longer than Hinokis in other regions.
As it grows slowly over a long time, the grain becomes finer and of better quality, making the wood valuable.
A strength and durability making it suitable as a building material.
The Kiso Hinoki is famous for being used as a building material for shrines and Buddhist temples for a long time.
Hinoki is a strong wood and is suitable as a building material.
At Ise Jingu Shrine, the rebuilding ceremony is held once every 20 years, and Kiso Hinoki has been used since the eighteenth century.
Kiso Hinoki is famous for its high quality.
Hinoki has a good tint and is shiny, making it desirable as a building material and for furniture as luxury wood because its appearance is beautiful after processing.
Among all Hinokis, Kiso Hinoki is especially characterized by its neat color and dense wood grain.
Contact
We sell sushi okes, Handai, Hangiri, okes, wood baths, and other manufactured wooden products.
Please feel free to contact us about any repairs or any other concerns.