Rokkaku Hashi Kanshitsu Kai Chirashi is...

• This is a pair of hexagonal lacquered chopsticks adorned with scattered mother-of-pearl inlay.

Inspired by a star-filled night sky, these chopsticks are decorated using raden (mother-of-pearl inlay), a classical Japanese technique dating to the Nara and Heian periods in which iridescent fragments from the inner layer of abalone shells are set into lacquerware. Each pair is finished by hand: crushed shell pieces and kanshitsu-ko (powdered dried urushi) are scattered across the handle, sealed under layers of URUSHI lacquer, and carefully polished to reveal a depth of brilliance — some fragments catching light like first-magnitude stars, others glimmering softly from beneath the surface. The hexagonal form, known as kikko (tortoiseshell), is an auspicious shape in Japanese tradition, associated with longevity and good fortune. Because the placement of each shell fragment is done entirely by hand, no two pairs are identical, much like no two nights of stargazing are ever the same.