Kaikado

{{Infobox company | name = Kaikado | logo = | logo_caption = | logo_upright =  | logo_alt = | type = | industry = hand-crafted metalware | predecessor =  | founded = 1875 in Kyoto<ref>{{cite web|language=French |url=https://photo.geo.fr/kyoto-la-ville-ou-le-passe-se-conjugue-au-present-17577#kaikado-sort-le-grand-jeu-314317 |title=Kyoto, la ville où le passé se conjugue au présent |author= |date=May 2016 |website=geo.fr |publisher=Prisma Media |access-date=October 30, 2022 |quote=}}</ref> | founder = Seisuke Yamamoto | defunct =  | fate = | successor =  | hq_location_city = | hq_location_country = | area_served =  | key_people = | products = metal canisters and tea caddies | owner =  | num_employees = | num_employees_year =  | parent = | website = https://www.kaikado.jp/english/ }} '''Kaikado''' is a company located in Kyoto, Japan that manufactures and sells hand-made metal canisters and tea caddies. The items have been made by members of the Yagi family for six generations.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |last=Morelli |first=Vivian |date=October 27, 2022 |title=Tea Caddies That Last for Generations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/fashion/craftsmanship-kaikado-tea-caddies-kyoto-japan.html |work=The New York Times |location= |access-date=October 30, 2022}}</ref>

The company manufactures tea canisters called ''chazutsu'' in Japanese (''cha'' is the Japanese word for tea, ''zutsu'' for canister) out of copper, brass or tin, using designs that have not changed since the company opened in 1875. One important feature of the canisters is the tight fit between the lid and the container, ensuring it remains airtight, to ensure the tea contained inside stays fresh.<ref name=nyt/>

The workshop is located beside the Kamo River in a quiet alley in Kyoto.<ref name=cna>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Tracy |date=April 26, 2019 |title=The Kyoto craftsman keeping his family's 144-year-old legacy alive by hand |url=https://cnaluxury.channelnewsasia.com/remarkableliving/kaikado-tea-caddy-caddies-japan-traditional-japanese-design-180546 |work=CAN Luxury |location=Singapore |access-date=October 30, 2022}}</ref> The hand-manufacturing process involves 130 to 140 steps, using a process that has remained unchanged since the company opened. Many of the dies and molds used today from the early years of the company.<ref name=nyt/>

== Company history == The company opened in 1875, when Japan first opened to the world, allowing for the import of items such as tin from England for the first time. At the time, tea canisters were made of ceramic or earthenware. The metal canisters were considered revolutionary for the time, as they kept air out due to their double-walled construction and tight-fit lid. Their construction allowed the tea leaves to retain their flavor and quality for up to a year.<ref name=cna/> The canisters appear straight, but have a slight bulge, a feature, that improves airtightness and a lid that slides shut by itself, owing to the precision of manufacture.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://meguri-japan.com/en/exploring-the-regions/20220429_13151/ |title=Kaikado |author= |date= 28 April 2022|website=Meguri Japan |publisher= |access-date=October 30, 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

==Products and Manufacturing== In 2022, the company's workshop employs a team of eight full-time artisans, most having an art school background; with office staff, the company employs 15 people.<ref name=nyt/> The family-run business is currently run by Takahiro Yagi (a sixth generation descendant of founder Kiyosuke) who works with his father Seiji and the other craftspeople in the shop.<ref name=cna/> The skills are not formally taught to the craftsman, instead they learn by being shown how to work the metal; they develop the skills on their own by making the items one at a time.<ref name=nyt/>

Yagi can produce around 10 canisters a day, and the company makes around 40 canisters a day. The company also makes copper tea pots, first made in collaboration with Danish studio OEO.<ref name=cna/> The collaboration was meant to update products or create new ones for an international market; Kaikado was one of six Japanese companies involved in the process. OeO “tweaked the basic shapes and designed a range that includes various jugs, containers and serving trays made from brass, copper and wood” as part of the collaboration.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nicholls |first= David|date=April 22, 2013 |title=Japan Handmade: fusing Japanese crafts and Danish design |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/interiors/10012242/Japan-Handmade-fusing-Japanese-crafts-and-Danish-design.html |work= The Telegraph|location= |access-date=October 30, 2022}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Japanese companies established in 1875