Chitose Ohchi
About the exhibitor
acoya is a brand that creates jewellery and other items using Akoya pearls from Nagasaki’s Omura Bay, also known as the Koto Sea. The History of Akoya pearls in Nagasaki goes back 1300 years.
acoya views pearls as a metaphor for all life, born from the same sea as human beings. Life contains a myriad of brilliance, colours, and shapes — it is not a perfectly round pearl. We make use of that lively beauty and shape, using the finest untoned Akoya pearls newly born from the sea.
Born in Nagasaki’s Koto Sea (Omura Bay) acoya maintains a perspective of life and the natural environment. It shares the unique uncolored beauty of Akoya pearls with those based in the Netherlands and Japan who are active worldwide.
About the products
The history of Japanese Akoya pearls dates back to the Jomon period (c.14,000–300 BCE).
Since ancient times, pearls have appeared in the Kojiki (historical accounts of ancient Japan) and Manyoshu (the oldest collection of classical Japanese poetry) as an example of sacred things and metaphor for beautiful people.
The beauty of Akoya pearls is that of life and death, the metamorphosis of pain into something beautiful. They say time heals all wounds — so does the power of the sea.
Born in Nagasaki’s Koto Sea (Omura Bay), each pearl represents a unique form of existence. akoya presents the natural beauty of these uncolored Akoya pearls to the world as the beauty of the sea itself. akoya is committed to protecting the nourishing sea that creates these pearls by creating a beautiful cycle.
All photos ©Chitose Ohchi
acoya makie plate + Blue pearl
Matsuda Cultured Pearl Farm in the Koto Sea, Omura Bay
The Koto Sea