Tomotaka Tajimi: Between Tea-and-Liquor Mixes and the Violin

Turning the intersection of Japanese tea and alcohol into lines, planes, and solids. This is a sentence I added to the end of my profile for an event I was asked to speak at a while ago. I am undoubtedly the violinist who mixes tea and alcohol more than anyone else in the world.

How many of you are familiar with the drink called "Ochawari" (tea mixed with alcohol)? Today, it has become a term understood by almost anyone in the Kanto region, major metropolitan areas, or those involved in the tea and liquor industries. I serve as the representative of the "Japan Ochawari Association," which carries out promotional activities to convey and spread the excellence of Ochawari so that it may be called a national drink.

When I graduated from the Juku, thanks to the mentors, seniors, and friends who gave work to a cheeky young man who boasted he could do anything, I was able to leap into society with seven different business cards without going through traditional job hunting. The scope of my work at that time was strangely wide, and I was happy because it felt like a seal of approval for my time as a student at SFC, where I learned that if you try, you can do anything.

In 2016, when Highballs were becoming common and Lemon Sours were showing signs of becoming a trend, the specialty shop we created was "Chawari." Nine years since then, I never imagined that such a fascinating rabbit hole would lie beyond the door I opened at that time.

I spend my days visiting tea and alcohol producers in various regions, mixing their products, and bringing joy to people. In addition to Ochawari, the "Chajoshu" project—brewed alcohol made using tea as one of the raw materials—has already entered its fifth year, and we have released 12 products. This is the image I mentioned at the beginning: taking the intersection and making it two-dimensional and then three-dimensional.

As a violinist, centered around the trio "Daikanyama Kingdom" with accordion and guitar which is now in its 13th year, I am active domestically and internationally across all genres. This includes being a member of "Caesar and Shino Shinkirou" with composer J.A. Seazer (known for his work with Shuji Terayama) and "Mariko Goto Acoustic violencePOP," as well as participating in "Engeki Jikken-shitsu ◎ Banyu Inryoku" and "PK shampoo."

I live with the desire to build one new pillar every twelve-year cycle of the zodiac. I don't know how many more cycles I have left, but I intend to push forward so that my curiosity never runs dry.