While Takahashi tries to create pieces that will be utilitarian, he also wants them to be appreciated as art objects. These goals he achieved perfectly with this black lacquer tray and three cups. The combination of the reflective black of the central portion of the tray, the "water," is set off by the surrounding matte and stippled texture of the irregularly shaped lacquer around the circumference, the "rocks." The three pouring vessels with distinct, soft matte colors "float" on the tray's surface. Felice Fischer from, The Art of Japanese Craft: 1875 to the Present, Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin (2008), p. 39.