Kyoto Visitor's Guide-Savory Kyoto

Savory Kyoto
Essay by Risa Sekiguchi

Cool Imari
Add a bit of blue and white to your summer table

Kanzando

Although Imari pottery is not native to Kyoto, the familiar multi-color (or, more commonly, blue and white) ware has become a style icon in the Japanese kitchen, loved by Kyoto-ites for nearly four centuries. The evidence is all around you: The next time you walk along the wide gravel paths of the Imperial Palace grounds, you may notice the occasional blue & white shard staring up at you, or spot them glinting in the sun under the shallow ripples of Kyoto's canals.

Imari is used year-round, but is particularly appealing in summer for its cooling effect - especially the crisply patterned blue-and-white Arita sometsuke (literally, ''applied dye''), a technique that uses bright cobalt blue overglazes that bring indigo textiles and that longed for cool breeze to mind. It is no wonder that blue and white Imari has come to embody a Japanese aesthetic, and thus is a good way to bring a touch of Japan home with you.

Luckily, old Imari ware is still readily available throughout Japan and abundant in Kyoto's many antique shops and markets. The prices vary widely, from 2,000 yen for a printed (not hand-painted) kozara (small plate) to 200,000 yen for hand-painted and rare Edo-era pieces.

Locals use Imari daily, and soba choko, the cups used for soba dipping sauce, are especially coveted. Modern Kyoto-ites have taken to using them creatively, for instance: to hold dips and olives at parties and pens and brushes on desks.

Almost all of Kyoto's antique shops carry some Imari, and you might find some bargains at the To-ji Temple and Kitano Tenmangu Shrine flea markets, but for a good selection head to these shops:

Kanzando

This small storefront on Shinmonzen is known for its wide selection of antique and vintage tableware, and always has an excellent selection of dishes, plates and bowls for sale, both individually and in boxed sets (usually in the Japanese standard of 5 or 10). It's especially fun to sift through the stacks of kozara, and the soba choko are to die for. On the north side of Shinmonzen, west of Hanamikoji; Open: 10:00-18:00, closed: Wed.; http://www.kyoto-kanzando.com/

Yumekobo

This beautiful antique shop, also on Shinmonzen, occupies a rambling Meiji-era former home of a doctor. Anything from six-panel gold screens to fine yuzen-dyed kimono to delicate mamezara (''bean'' plates, which are even smaller than kozara) are sold here. Good-quality Imari is always in stock, and is usually snapped up quickly by the shop's devoted patrons. On the south side of Shinmonzen, west of Hanamikoji; Open: 11:00-18:00; http://www.yumekoobou.com/

Risa Sekiguchi is the founder of Savory Japan, a website dedicated to Japanese cuisine and culture. For more information on Imari and Japanese ceramics, visit Savory Japan: savoryjapan.com/tableware/ceramics/imari.html