Spending time in a café is an essential in our daily life.
A café is not just a part of the city any more but the café itself has evolved into a vital presence in the city.
In days past, a café was just a place for talking and sharing but now it has broadened its purpose and has become a hub for new forms of communication and a contemporary lifestyle.
Work and leisure, individuals and groups, internet and magazines, the interior and tableware. All kinds of elements are fused together in a café.
We need time to think in a quiet and comfortable space. We need time to just relax. There are times when we can experience a ‘loss of self’, such as during the Japanese tea ceremony. These are all an organic experiences born from “Drinking” and “Eating.”
We would like to further enrich this precious time that can be found in a café.
With sophisticated interior items made by prominent craftspeople using natural material, we will create a new and pleasant time at a café for everyone.
“chanto” is the name of a product brand originating in Hikone City, Shiga. Lacquer, woodwork, gilding, carving, metalwork and other traditional crafts come together to form this brand. Hikone has a history of over 300 years as a production center of Buddhist altars. The technique was originally nurtured through producing samurai armors. Delicate and precise handcrafted techniques and artifacts by each craftsman merge to create one ultimate art form.
* “chanto” is derived from a Japanese word meaning “straighten up the back,” “to be concentrated on work” and “to do or work carefully and properly”.
*Inquiries: Inoue Butsudan-ten
50 Serinaka-cho, Hikone, Shiga Japan
Tel: 81+0749-22-1587
Fax: 81+0749-22-1333
Shoichi INOUE
mail: info@inouehikone.jp