The Interior Design
A Space Steeped in The Poetry of Azuchi-Momoyama Period
The interior of Teppanyaki Wajo, a luxury restaurant in Osaka, Japan, reflects the design philosophy and echoes of the Azuchi-Momoyama spirit, filled with cultural splendor, futurism, and innovation. This historical contribution is subtly expressed through architectural features of our restaurant inspired by the tea ceremony traditions.
Teppanyaki Wajo, a top French restaurant in Osaka, features two dining areas. The Soan Private Dining Room takes inspiration from the Daimyo-cha and by the Golden Tea Room of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, while the adjacent Taian Communal Dining Room, embodies simplicity and tranquility for guests aged 12 or older.
Built using traditional Japanese techniques and materials, both areas offer an entertaining dining experience where spirituality is the main character.
Metal Openwork and Foil-Stamped Bamboo
Located on the 12th floor of The St. Regis Osaka, Teppanyaki Wajo stands our for its elegant entrance. The main feature is its shiny panel bearing the restaurant's name, a work of art by a Kyoto metalwork artisan ordinarily tasked with creating decorative metal fittings found in Japan's castles, shrines, and temples.
The lettering is carved in relief using a technique known as openwork, every undulation painstakingly crafted by hand. The walls feature half-split bamboos decorated with foil, created using a foil stamping technique that matured in Japan during the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
An Outdoor Garden
The passageway of Teppanyaki Wajo, an élite French restaurant in Osaka, that connects the two timeless tea rooms is the symbol of an outdoor green oasis. Here, the stone floor is characteized by a stepping-stone pattern, while the paper lanterns that line the walls are crafted in the traditional style of Azuchi-Momoyama tea areas.
A Golden Tea Room
"Daimyo-cha" is the name given to the form of tea ceremony practiced by daimyo—feudal lords—in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. These daimyo frequently hosted tea ceremonies, building dedicated tea rooms to entertain high-ranking samurai. The most famous is the Golden Tea Room of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It is this tea room that Soan is modeled after.
Soan's floor is decorated with gold leaf, the work of master craftsmen from Kanazawa. Fusing the traditional gold leaf techniques of Kanazawa with the foil-stamping techniques of the Nishijin district of Kyoto, gold leaf has been embedded into the very grain of the ash wood, drawing out its innate textures and beauty. Both subtle yet extravagant, refined and elegant, the floor appears to shimmer with light.
The walls are adorned with Nishijin textiles patterned with flowers.
Panels Inspired by Maki-E Lacquer Techniques
The design of Soan is inspired by the extravagant Golden Tea Room, from head to toe. Champagne-gold aluminum panels embellished with a hammered finish are interspersed with stripes inspired by maki-e lacquer decoration techniques, showcasing a fusion of the traditional and the modern.
A Silver Tea Room
Taian is inspired by the simplicity and silence of wabi-cha, a style of tea ceremony particularly associated with the tea master Sen no Rikyu.
The floor is tiled with the renowned "Sekishu gawara" tiles from Shimane Prefecture. Their smoked-silver color is in tune with the simplicity espoused by wabi-cha.
The impressive cooking range hood is decorated with aluminum panels that have been stained silver and blackish-brown. Each of the panels has been decorated by hand with a rippled or hammered finish. The walls are adorned with Nishijin textiles patterned with pine-bark in the kumodori style, and with Korean hill cherry in the kiredori style.