Five Layer Cotton Gauze ‘Zen Master’ Bath Towel

'Zen Master' Bath Towel

Greetings From Kyoto

Kyoto photographer Kosuke Okuda and I teamed up to do an article for the Russian travel magazine Afisha Mir (Афиша-Мир). I just got a PDF of the article — hot off the server!

In the article I introduced the long history of Aritsugu which was founded in 1560. Aritsugu is one of the most famous makers of traditional Japanese knives and they are found in good kitchens all over Japan. We focused on the special eel bone cutting ‘honegiri’ knife that is used for the traditional Kyoto summer delicacy of ‘hamo’ pike eel. The knife is over 40 cm long, weighs more that 500 gm and costs more than $1,000 USD!

I wrote it, but I can’t read it!!

Kyoto photographer Kosuke Okuda and I teamed up to do an article for the Russian travel magazine Afisha Mir (Афиша-Мир). I just got a PDF of the article — hot off the server!

In the article I introduced the long history of Aritsugu which was founded in 1560. Aritsugu is one of the most famous makers of traditional Japanese knives and they are found in good kitchens all over Japan. We focused on the special eel bone cutting ‘honegiri’ knife that is used for the traditional Kyoto summer delicacy of ‘hamo’ pike eel. The knife is over 40 cm long, weighs more that 500 gm and costs more than $1,000 USD!

I wrote it, but I can’t read it!!

Kyoto photographer Kosuke Okuda and I teamed up to do an article for the Russian travel magazine Afisha Mir (Афиша-Мир). I just got a PDF of the article — hot off the server!

In the article I introduced the long history of Aritsugu which was founded in 1560. Aritsugu is one of the most famous makers of traditional Japanese knives and they are found in good kitchens all over Japan. We focused on the special eel bone cutting ‘honegiri’ knife that is used for the traditional Kyoto summer delicacy of ‘hamo’ pike eel. The knife is over 40 cm long, weighs more that 500 gm and costs more than $1,000 USD!

I wrote it, but I can’t read it!!

Kyoto photographer Kosuke Okuda and I teamed up to do an article for the Russian travel magazine Afisha Mir (Афиша-Мир). I just got a PDF of the article — hot off the server!

In the article I introduced the long history of Aritsugu which was founded in 1560. Aritsugu is one of the most famous makers of traditional Japanese knives and they are found in good kitchens all over Japan. We focused on the special eel bone cutting ‘honegiri’ knife that is used for the traditional Kyoto summer delicacy of ‘hamo’ pike eel. The knife is over 40 cm long, weighs more that 500 gm and costs more than $1,000 USD!

I wrote it, but I can’t read it!!

I had been waiting for this to come out for awhile and it finally arrived this morning by special delivery. A friend of mine’s company, down in south Kyoto, where they brew all the sake, has been developing really nice futons, blankets and pajamas with a very interesting layered gauzy cotton fabric, that I think only Japanese could come up with. I call this kind of Japanese thing ‘Zen master’. The cotton is obviously of the highest quality. It is refined yet has this elegant primitiveness to it. Kind of like the tea ceremony. There is even a fringe of soft brown silk around the edge of the towel.

I couldn’t wait to use it after it arrived. It didn’t have that factory smell of new towels but I did wash and dry it today. Tonight, after my bath I used it for the first time. The towel is soft, yet has this slight roughness to it, that is intended. Ah, ‘Zen master’ refinement.

One thing, as this towel isn’t terrycloth, it didn’t absorb the water quite like a conventional bath towel would. But, on my body, it was just fine.

I noticed on the company’s blog that their towels are used at Tawaraya. Tawaraya is in Kyoto and is perhaps Japan’s best and most famous traditional ‘ryokan’ inn.

'Zen Master' Bath Towel
‘Zen Master’ Bath Towel: Unpacking
'Zen Master' Bath Towel
‘Zen Master’ Bath Towel: Unpackaged – Hmm…looks and feels interesting
'Zen Master' Bath Towel
‘Zen Master’ Bath Towel: Ahhhh, that felt good!