iga donabe maker

Before I left New York, Chef Tadashi Ono, my sensei at Matsuri Restaurant, gave me my marching orders: "Bring me back a donabe, man."

At one time you could find a traditional donabe in every Japanese kitchen, heavy earthenware cooking vessels used for everything from roasting green tea to preparing rice. And at one time there were dozens of donabe makers in the vicinity of Iga village in Mie Prefecture, where the finest of these vessels are produced.

Today there's just one major donabe company left here, called Iga Mono, run by the same family for 175 years. I paid a visit to the 8th generation owner, Mr. Nagatani, to learn more about the vessels. And to make the chef happy, of course.

A couple of friends, who are always up for an adventure, drove me to Iga. As we approached Mr. Nagatani's compound I was struck by the scale of the industry: A dozen workshops and warehouses rising from a valley of rice fields in this deeply rural corner of the country. As Mr. Nagatani graciously walked us around I was struck by another sight, too: A monstrous sixteen chambered, wood-fired, packed-earth kin that snaked up a hillside for a hundred yards. "Built in 1835," Mr. Nagatani said. "And fired until 1970, when it was replaced by gas-powered equipment." Countless donabe born in its chambers.

We walked into one of the workshops and watched artisans form, shape and glaze donabe to ready them for the kiln. Why Iga, I wondered? Why does this place make such prized vessels?

Mr. Nagatani pointed to a donabe waiting to be fired. "This clay," he said, by way of answer. Biwakoso clay -- old Biwa clay. Millions of years ago, he explained, the valley where we stood was submerged under nearby Lake Biwa, Japan's largest. As a result, the clay found here -- clay that was once lakebed mud -- is impregnated with microscopic remains of water creatures and plant life. When this material is fired, the organic matter inside burns up and, in its place, tiny air pockets remain -- giving the thick walls of Iga donabe peerless heat retention and insulating properties. In other words, the prefect clay to make a donabe that heats quickly and stays warm for a long time.

Mr. Nagatani explained that his company made over a thousand specialized kinds of donabe over the years. Today he still manufactures more than two dozen kinds, each handcrafted and fired in a giant gas kiln the size of a hotel room (at least the budget hotel rooms I'm staying in these days!). He showed me a yukihara, the oldest shape, for cooking rice porridge, a shallow horakunabe for roasting and a deep fukanabe for slow cooking. I bought two for the chef and three for me (sorry, chef!). Mission accomplished.

By the time we walked outside, night was approaching. The country air was cool and fresh. The sky was painted grey-blue and rose. A crescent moon loomed. Long, piscine-shaped clouds streaked across the darkening horizon. "We call them 'sardine clouds' here in Japan," one of my friends told me. A good omen, I thought.

Posted by Harris Salat in Japan | Permalink | Comments (5) | Email | Print

Comments (5)

Harris, I just returned from Japan with a nabe pot from Kyoto - apparently it's called Kiyomizu pottery. I've had some strange issues with it - it has a pinholed surface, and now, after cooking with it, what look like welts rising under the glaze that weren't there before. I'm wondering whether it'sa sign of poor workmanship, or that it's simply not a 'food grade' pot designed for decoration. Although $US180 was a lot to pay for it if the latter. I haven't had a lot of luck getting clear answers from the store despite helpful friends to translate my emails. I wrote about it here, with pictures: http://galfromdownunder.blogspot.com/2009/10/japan-on-friday-kyoto-ii.html Appreciate your take!

Galfromdownunder (upover, though) | Posted 09:36 02 December 2009

Hi, thanks for your comment. I'm not sure why you're having this problem. Did anyone advise you to cook rice porridge in your earthenware pot before cooking anything else? That's the usual recommended first step.

Harris Salat | Posted 19:31 02 December 2009

Harris-san, It was a pleasure meeting you at your Japan Society Hotpot evening and discovering my Nabe pot is probably OK. As Tadashi-san said, it heats up to around 350 degrees ... I met some terrific people and we look forward to convening over a Mitsutaki (did I get that right?) hotpot at Matsuri sometime. I blogged about the evening here: http://galfromdownunder.blogspot.com/2009/12/cooking-japanese-i-really-think-so-nabe.html Thanks for a mouthwatering site. Today nabe, tomorrow ... puffer fish! Jut kidding - I'll leave that to the experts.

Galfromdownunder | Posted 13:31 11 December 2009

Thanks Lynette, a pleasure meeting you in person at the Japan Society event! Thanks for your nice post, too. Yeah, your donabe is going to be great, enjoy cooking in it! (Try making rice with it too, sometime -- nothing like rice cooked in a donabe). But yes -- leave the poisonous blow fish to the licensed chefs! :) Thanks for reading the JFR -- Harris

Harris Salat | Posted 13:34 11 December 2009

Hi! Where did you take the photo of this beautiful nabe pot? Museum? It's gorgeous!

ez | Posted 18:58 26 July 2011

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