Threads of the Sea, Episode 7: There is Nothing to Waste with Kombu

Toyama/Takaoka Craftan/KOMBU HOUSE Shiko Takenaka 2014-2023

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In my childhood memories, my grandfather's back is always there.

Takaoka City in Toyama Prefecture is a city where various traditional crafts flourish, one of which is Takaoka copperware. The culture of casting has been passed down for over 400 years. Casting is a technique of melting metal and pouring it into molds to create works.

My grandfather started a company that manufactures and sells Takaoka copperware using such techniques, and he protected that tradition. The sound of polishing castings, the cold smell of metal, and his serious profile that I saw at my grandfather's copperware workshop.

As a child, Shiko did not understand what that work was for. However, I somehow understood that he was proud that the things he made would pass into someone's hands and become part of someone's life.

My father was the same. While working in Takaoka copperware, he attended meetings of the Takaoka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was involved in revitalizing the city, and worked for the sake of Takaoka.

Shiko graduated from a university in Hiroshima and returned to Takaoka. I didn't hesitate. But when I returned, something kept bothering me.

What will I do?

My grandfather and father were working seriously for Takaoka copperware and the city. Then, what about me?

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The turning point was the youth division of the Takaoka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

When I joined the 'Food' team of the Industrial Tourism Committee, someone said, 'It seems Toyama has the highest consumption of kombu in Japan.'

Until that moment, Shiko had never thought about it. It was so natural that I hadn't noticed. I had been eating kombu-jime (kombu-cured fish) since I was a child. The kombu-cured sashimi my mother made was naturally on our dining table. Kombu had blended into Toyama's dining tables as if it were breathing.

That night, for the first time, Shiko seriously researched kombu.

From the Edo period to the Meiji era, Kitamaebune ships loaded with Hokkaido kombu arrived at Toyama's ports. Kombu took root in Toyama, became Toyama's cuisine, and entered the bodies of Toyama's people. A culture accumulated over hundreds of years is here now. Yet, I realized that there were no restaurants that made it the main attraction.

'Why is there no restaurant specializing in kombu-jime even in Toyama Prefecture?'

Kombu-jime is one of the local dishes of Toyama Prefecture. Despite it being a culture rooted in households, why is that?

Shiko wondered about this. At the same time, it flashed in my mind: could this be an opportunity? I felt that with kombu as a catalyst, I too could do something for the development of the city.

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Craftan opened in September 2017. It is located in a traditional storehouse-style building on Yamamachi-suji. It is a specialty shop for kombu-jime (kelp-cured food).

Just before the opening, I received a call from the person I had planned to put in charge of the kitchen.
"I'm sorry. I won't be able to come after all."

Shiko stood there holding the phone for a while.

The landlord, having heard the rumors, offered two options.
"Either give up on opening the shop and withdraw, or find a replacement manager."

"I'll do it!"
Shiko chose a third option.

I had watched kombu-jime being made since I was a child. I called my mother and asked her. How to choose the kelp, how long to cure it, how to cut it. My mother taught me while laughing.

From the next day on, Shiko stood in the kitchen. Listening to my mother's voice, I cut the kelp.

This flavor comes from my mother's kitchen.

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That winter, there was heavy snow. For half a year, almost no customers came.

Normally, one would consider closing the business. But Shiko did not. Instead, I studied kelp.

I earned a Dashi Sommelier certification. I researched the history of the Kitamaebune ships at the library. I visited kelp wholesalers in Takaoka. I went around to kelp shops in Osaka and Kyoto and listened to the stories of their owners. In the snow, I faced kelp all by myself.

I continued to experiment with various ingredients, not just fish, but also meat and vegetables. I kept making kombu-jime thoroughly, trial and erroring which method was suitable while slightly changing the preparation for each ingredient.

Looking back, those six months when I could face kelp thanks to the lack of customers were truly precious and happy times.

When spring came and we were featured on a popular nationwide television program, customers started coming from all over the country. From Tokyo, from Osaka.

"I didn't know Toyama had such a kelp culture."

Every time I heard that, Shiko thought: The locals are the ones who know it the least.

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Around the time Craftan began to get on track, Shiko went to Kagawa.

I heard that in Mitoyo City, famous for Sanuki udon, there is a facility called "UDON HOUSE." It is a renovated old folk house where you can stay while experiencing udon culture. A place where food culture and lodging are integrated.

The moment I arrived, I knew.

This is it. The old beams, the smell of udon. You can experience the local food culture through the building itself.

As Shikou walked through the facility, he superimposed Kanaya-machi in Takaoka in his mind. The rows of houses with thousand-lattice windows. The cobblestone streets. The kelp brought by the Kitamaebune ships.

If it can be done with udon, it can be done with kelp.

In the car on the way home, I sketched out the framework for KOMBU HOUSE. Lodging, a bar, an esthetic salon. Connecting everything through kelp. Eating, drinking, and feeling it on your skin. And then staying the night. Creating an experience where you are wrapped in kelp all day long.

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I entrusted the renovation of the old folk house in Kanaya-machi to an architect friend I could trust.

Kelp, which usually goes unnoticed, takes center stage here to entertain our guests.

Looking at the counter of the KOMBU BAR, Shikou thought to himself. Just as my grandfather created copperware, I am creating a space.

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Several people are involved in the KOMBU esthetic salon.
Some even travel all the way from Ishikawa Prefecture when a reservation comes in.
I realized one esthetician couldn't meet all the guests' needs, so I set up a system with multiple staff members.

Because of the kelp salon, people often say to me, 'So kelp isn't just for eating, is it?'
That's right. I wanted them to feel that, which is why I made it possible to experience the esthetic treatments in the same space.

The base is a kelp foot bath. It wraps you from the feet up with a gentleness like kelp dashi.

For the full treatment, we wrap the entire body in oil and cream containing kelp extract.
As we warm it and slowly let it absorb into the skin—it feels like your body is floating in a sea of kelp.

It is a blissful time, wrapped in kelp.

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It was about half a year after opening that I received a call from a teacher in the Marine Science Department at Himi High School. 'We are working on a project to farm and commercialize sea urchins that have overpopulated due to isoyake (sea desertification), and we are looking for feed.'

Shikou answered immediately. 'Would you like to use the used kelp from KOMBU HOUSE?'

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Extermination sea urchins are urchins that have overpopulated in the sea. Sea urchins love kelp, and if left alone, they will eat up the entire kelp forest. But if you feed and raise them properly, they become plump and can be sold as a product.

The kelp used in the KOMBU HOUSE foot baths became feed for the sea urchins at Himi High School. The used kelp raises the sea urchins, and the sea urchins become a product.

There is no part of kelp that goes to waste.

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In July 2023, a message arrived on my computer from an unknown address.
"My name is Aoi Nakajima from Konbu Bunko Co., Ltd. Could I hear your story about KOMBU HOUSE?"

A week later, we connected online.

As we talked, Aoi said this:

"I had become unsure if I was truly embodying the phrase 'delivering the story along with the product.'"

Those words resonated with my own experience during those six months in Oyu.

"I, too, was only thinking about whether things would sell until I hit rock bottom in Oyu. But once I started thinking only about kelp—my feelings of love for kelp and my desire to take pride in Takaoka all connected. I feel that giving shape to my thoughts is what finally allowed things to start selling in the true sense of the word."

At the end of the meeting, Aoi said:

"I want Konbu Bunko to handle the story of KOMBU HOUSE, story and all."

"That would be great," Shiko said. "By all means."

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After the meeting, Shiko stepped out onto the cobblestones of Kanaya-machi.

The twilight light was hitting the senbon-koshi lattice windows at an angle. The port where the Kitamaebune ships arrived was not far from here. Hundreds of years ago, kelp crossed that sea to get here.

Shiko's next dream was a kelp drink. A non-alcoholic beverage combining a kelp dashi base with local ingredients. He had been repeating trials at KOMBU BAR. "I'll take on the world with a kelp drink"—it sounded like a joke, but he was serious.

Tourists were walking on the cobblestones. They were taking pictures with their smartphones, looking at the row of houses with the senbon-koshi lattice with curiosity.

Shiko stood at the entrance of KOMBU HOUSE, watching the scene.

There are things in this town that have accumulated over hundreds of years. Delivering that is my job. Just as my grandfather polished copperware. Just as my father worked for the sake of the town.

Shiko opened the door.