COMMITMENT
KaFu's Roots
YACHIMUN
Seating That Wishes for Good Fortune and a Good Wind
The seating used at KaFu is yachimun handmade by Ikumi Kakazu, a potter based in Itoman, Okinawa. Carved into it is a motif of kuba, a plant long woven into Okinawan daily life, expressing a wish for good fortune and a good wind. You can read the fuller story of this seating below.
HERBAL
Herbal Steam with Okinawan Mugwort
Steam from Okinawa-grown mugwort gently warms the body. Surrounded by a rich herbal scent, it offers quiet time to rest.
BOTANICAL
Scent and Steam of Herbs
At KaFu, we value the scent and steam of herbs, starting with mugwort — time spent surrounded by the fragrance of plants. Rather than claiming strong effects, we offer quiet time together with herbs.
MOTHER
Quiet Time for the Postpartum Days
We value offering a little distance from the busy days after childbirth. A quiet setting, and unhurried time. A place to spend at your own pace.
SAFETY
A Place Where Women Can Finally Breathe
KaFu is a small place you can visit without hesitation — whether you want a quiet day alone, or a day out with your child. The postpartum days, days when your feelings won't settle, everyday fatigue. It's okay to come as you are, carrying what can't be put into words. Here, you don't have to adjust to anyone. We value time spent at your own pace.
YACHIMUN SEATING
Yachimun Seating, Carved with Okinawan Life and Prayer
KaFu's seating
Potter Ikumi Kakazu
An example of the kuba motif
The seating at KaFu was made by Ikumi Kakazu, a potter who runs Yachimun Workshop Yui in Itoman, Okinawa.
What Kakazu carves into their work is a motif of kuba — a plant long woven into Okinawan daily life.
Kuba, known in Japanese as biro, has long, broad leaves that have been used in Okinawa to make fans and hats. For Kakazu, kuba also calls to mind the quiet presence of the plant at their grandparents' house as a child — their own sense of what Okinawa is.
What does it mean for a piece of pottery to feel truly Okinawan?
While exploring expression beyond traditional yachimun motifs such as fish, Kakazu turned to kuba, a plant rooted in Okinawan daily life. The kubagasa — a hat woven from kuba leaves — became the basis for a motif carved into the seating, expressing a wish for good fortune and a good wind.
Staying true to Okinawan clay, materials, and technique passed down over generations, while reaching for expression that hadn't existed before — that, too, is a small act of innovation in service of carrying tradition forward.
In starting this place, KaFu asked Kakazu to make this seating.
In Okinawan, "KaFu" means good fortune, happiness, and good news.
The kuba motif, wishing for good fortune and a good wind, quietly connects back to this place's name, and the thinking at its root.