Hello. I'm Rika Ito, a printmaker living in Aichi Prefecture. Today, I would like to introduce a wonderful restaurant in Ichinomiya called “Oribe-tei”.

Exterior of Oribe-tei

Oribe-tei is near the Ichinomiya interchange. After passing through the alley, there is parking for about 10 cars.

Oribe-tei is currently holding an exhibition called "Connecting Original Scenery'', which is one of my works, to commemorate Oribe-tei's 35th anniversary.

The cloth hanging from the ceiling is the permanent work of Satoru Shoji. His wife, Chieko, arranged the flowers in a beautiful transparent vase.

Seko Kiyomi's work "Sunshine through the trees" etching, aquatint

Oribe-tei is overflowing with many works.

The Story of the Birth of Restaurant “Oribe-tei”

Seiji Oshima, owner of Oribe-tei

We interviewed the store manager, Seiji Oshima, who celebrated the 35th anniversary exhibition.

Mr. Oshima, the owner of Oribe-tei, grew up in Ichinomiya. He decided that he wanted to become a chef after working part-time at a restaurant when he was in high school. Thinking "I'll work at a hotel for about three years, and I'll be independent when I'm 23!" and he spent his high school years working night after night designing the restaurant, devising menus, and thinking about sales goals.

On the recommendation of his high school teacher, he entered the Nagoya Municipal Nutrition College (closed in 2003). There, the focus was on nutrition and bacteriology, which was different from what Mr. Oshima wanted to learn. After graduating, he worked as a nutritionist at the Japanese Red Cross Hospital, worked part-time at a restaurant in the evenings, and improved his cooking skills. At the age of 23, he opened a coffee shop called "Yutopian" in Ichinomiya.

Inside view of Yutopian

Mr. Oshima bought his first painting when he was in high school. A peddler came to sell paintings at the restaurant where he was working part-time at the time, and it was a 15,000 yen painting he chose from there. A cup of coffee was 100 yen, and the hourly wage for a part-time job was 150 to 200 yen. The amount of 15,000 yen must have been a lot of money for him, a high school student.

When Mr. Oshima opened Yutopian at the age of 23, he began buying European prints (Tapies, Saint-Laurent, Casignol, Buffet, etc.) to display in his shop. Then, he started learning tea ceremony and flower arranging to learn about the preparation. As he learned the art of making things, he wanted to make his own tools, so he went 365 days a year to the Fuji Pottery Dojo, located behind Ichinomiya Station at the time, to make vases, tea bowls, and coffee cups to use in his store or to give to others.

Ceramic works made by Mr. Oshima

While managing Yutopian, Mr. Oshima decided that he wanted to open a restaurant that focuses on cooking, rather than a coffee shop. After attending a nighttime confectionery vocational training school and obtaining a confectionery hygienist license, he opened the restaurant Oribe-tei in 1985.

Exterior of Oribe-tei

To build Oribe-tei, he asked his brother-in-law, Mr. Hideshi Kawashima of Unite Architecture. "Yutopian" and "Gallery OH" to be started later are also designed by him. At the time, Mr. Kawashima was frequenting the Sakura Gallery, and he askedSatoru Shoji, who was the gallery's artist, to create a permanent work from the design stage.

Works by Satoru Shoji permanently installed in the open area of the building

The Oribe-tei building attracted a lot of attention at the time, and even his brother-in-law received many architectural orders. Architects and artists began to gather at Oribe-tei for the purpose of construction. Combined with the Bubble period, people gathered every day and the restaurant was fully booked.

Opened "Gallery OH"

Although it is not used now, the left and right rooms were used as private rooms and galleries.

Oribe-tei is close to Nagoya University of Arts, and since that time, students and faculty have often visited there. Mr. Takizawa, a professor of the print course at that time, suggested to use the back room as a gallery since he could introduce as many artists as possible.

Mr. Oshima, who had been using the space of Oribe-tei as an experimental gallery, opened "Gallery OH" in earnest three years after Oribe-tei opened.

Gallery OH interior

The godfather of Gallery OH is Seiji Kunishima, whose work still stands at the entrance of Oribe-tei. The grand opening was an exhibition by Seiji Kunishima. After that, the gallery continued to handle and manage a wide range of works by local, young, and foreign artists.

Gallery closes after 15 years due to cancer

Mr. Oshima, who had been running three stores, "Yutopian," "Oribe-tei," and "Gallery OH," at full capacity from morning to night (and sometimes until morning), developed blood cancer and was forced to close his gallery, which had been in operation for 15 years. He was 44 years old. He did not think to take a break even if he was a little sick, and without realizing it, he continued to overextend himself, destroying his body. ......

A work by Seiji Kunishima standing at the entrance of Oributei

The year-long treatment was harsh, and he was treated with anticancer drugs in a sterile room, where he felt as if he were living like a guinea pig. He faced the treatment with the desire to come back here (Oribe-tei), and when he was given permission to stay out overnight, he recounted how his familiar artists gathered to encourage him, which gave him a lot of strength.

Mr. Oshima said that he liked to gather people and make them happy from an early age. He wants to surprise people, make them happy, entertain them in a space that he has created himself, make suggestions, and most of all, make them happy. Since his illness has improved, Oribe-tei continues to serve lunch only.

Space of Oribe-tei

"I want to be able to help people in any way I can, while keeping in touch with who they really are. I want to make it a comfortable place, not denying it, but affirming it." He added, "I talk to a lot of people through my work, and the more I talk to them, the more I realize that they are all living with something. They say the grass is greener on the other side, but there is no such thing as blue grass." 

Ms. Oshima loves opening parties. He used to be not good at public speaking, but he overcame it and now wants to host the event himself and make each person stand out as a salon when people gather. He says that although he has spent a lot of money by doing galleries, he has received various kinds of enrichment, not just money-making.

counter space

A space across from the counter space. Sometimes dishes are lined up at parties

Mr. Oshima is a gallerist, a restaurant manager, and a caring person. He is a person with a mysterious charm, and when I talk to him, he listens to me and I feel as if he is embracing me and purifying me. I feel that this is because Mr. Oshima likes people, and he faces them directly and accepts them.