Petals on the Wind

Should the east winds blow,

Carry to me the fragrance

Of apricot bloom;

And though your master is gone,

Never forget the springtime.

- Sugawara no Michizane

The Apricot II

In the year 901 CE, famed Japanese scholar, poet and lover of “ume” (Japanese apricot) Sugawara no Michizane whispered this love poem to his garden’s apricot tree before he left from Kyoto to take his position in the Emperor’s court. Michizane exemplified the waka style of classical Japanese poetry, which, although there were many forms, typically refers to a 5-7-5-7-7 meter. The poem evokes a powerful nostalgia for one’s home, and is shrouded in a mystical mythology regarding love and longing. The story tells that the apricot tree flew through the night, from Kyoto to Fukuoka, to visit its master one evening.

Apricots are in the stone fruit family and grow in the summer season. The fruit is preceded, in the winter and spring, by edible delicate white flowers. Apricot blossoms have five white petals that are sometimes tinged with pink. In Japanese tradition, apricot blossoms symbolize “timid love” and can be given as a gift from an admirer. This particular apricot blossom, from master artisan Akio Kamei, would indeed make a nice gift. Kamei, who began creating novel secret opening “boxes” in the nineteen eighties, formed the Karakuri Creation group in 2000 and coined the phrase “karakuri box” (trick box) to better capture this new style of art. He wanted to create something very special for a big event early in the group’s career, an exhibition the group held in Nagoya, in 2003. “Apricot” was his first large format piece, made from rare Japanese Horse Chestnut Crepe (Tochi), Rosewood, and other exotics, and included beautiful inlay marquetry by Haruo Uchimyama, one of the masters of that art. The woodworking was exceptional, and included a shaped bow on top. The mechanisms featured one of Kamei’s signature inventions, the binary movement system he developed for his “Cubi” puzzle, although utilized in a brand new and surprising way. The elegance and rarity of the piece without question achieved the goal of unveiling something sensational at the exhibition.

Hides a beautiful secret

Kamei-san has revisited his work on Apricot with a new version that mirrors the original in most details. Most notably the inlay design has changed, and is now the work of one of Japan’s new marquetry masters, Tomoko Hasuo. She began to work with Kamei a few years ago on his four seasons chests, creating inlay which provided clues to the secrets. For the new Apricot chest she was tasked with, of course, ‘apricot”, the theme of the inlay on the original. But she had never seen an apricot blossom. During her walks one day, shortly after the plum blossoms had come and gone, she found them. There were little birds pecking at the flowers, the Japanese white-eye, and she captured this little bird in her new design. Apricot II also has one added secret, with a total of three hidden chambers to discover now, one more than the original. Like all of Kamei’s fine work, it exceeds expectations and is full of surprises. It is his whispered love poem to his art.

Travel the East Wind

One of the original Japanese cocktails was served at the Yokohama Grand Hotel in 1889 by head barman Louis Eppinger, a German bartender who gained fame in the San Francisco bar scene of the late eighteen hundreds. He was recruited by the new hotel to bring the elegance of the American cocktail culture to the East. His “Bamboo” cocktail, a low alcohol martini made with dry sherry and vermouth, was already gaining popularity back in the States, but it was Eppinger’s introduction of the drink in Japan that launched it into the history books.

Like the scent of nostalgia

There are many, many variations on the basic Bamboo template that range from simple and subtle changes of the main ingredients to the addition of a myriad of ingredients that make the drink almost unrecognizable. Here’s an elegant and sweet interpretation of one of the original Japanese cocktails in an homage to one of Kamei’s masterpieces. Let it whisper to you – kampei!

To remember the master

East Wind

1 ½ oz Oloroso sherry

1 ½ oz blanc vermouth

½ oz apricot liqueur

2 dashes orange bitters

Stir ingredients together with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Lemon twist.

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