Loaves of Light

Since ancient times, the Japanese have believed that a life force resides in all creations.

Valuing and caring for the things we use, a "Zero Waste Life."

Pointing the way to better living for a new era.

The bread isn't edible anymore
but it has a living appeal I can use.

If I don't make it shine, who will?

The port city of Kobe.

Many bakeries are found here, a leading area for bread production in Japan.

It's also home to a certain artist's studio.

An artist whose creations are altogether different.

Morita Yukiko.

She's operated this studio for 6 years now.

And this is what she produces: lamps made with real bread.

It's a warm light that shines
through the air bubbles in the bread.

Nobody else makes anything like it.

Morita is particular about where she gets the bread she uses.

Hello!

Thanks for everything!
Do you have any throw-aways today?

She buys bread that bakeries discard.

She tries to pay as close to the original selling price as possible.

Since bread goes bad quickly, even though baked with care in the early morning, any that remains unsold often has to be disposed of.

Many bakeries are troubled with this issue.

To make use of such discarded bread, Morita has several bakeries which regularly supply her with bread.

Hello!

Hello. Thanks. Put them here.

This popular bakery sells lots of bread, but they are still regularly forced to discard it.

Bread that would've been thrown away
is given life and can be sold in a new form.

We're truly grateful for that.

Morita uncovers the personality in each discarded piece of bread.

I love this shape!

The edge, the way it stands out,
there's a sort of dignity to it.

The baguette has
a very gallant personality.

This boule may be small,
but lined up alongside others it looks like the baby,
creating a sort of family.

My work starts as soon as I hold it.

It's like, "Come on in! I've got a new life
in store for you, my bready friend!"

With that, she gets to work making lamps.

Once hollowed out, the bread is left to dry.

The surface of each one is prepared by hand.

I listen to the bread.

It tells me how it will look best.

It's then preserved in long-lasting resin.

I do my best to preserve the beauty
of freshly baked bread.

An LED light is inserted, and it's complete.

Morita has another passion.

She bakes her own bread at home.

"Are you good at making bread?"

Well, I'm better than a total beginner,
but I still make lots of mistakes.

Her daughter Kaede has come to take a look.

We can eat it together later.

Bread is really amazing!
It's like you're creating life.

It reminds me why I do what I do.

Her inspiration to make lamps from bread dates back 15 years.

Back then, while studying art at university, Morita worked part time at a bakery.

Every day, she saw them having to discard bread.

Being around bread all the time,
it began to feel like a living thing.

After closing up, looking in the basket,
It still seemed to shine.

Putting it in the trash just felt like a mistake.

Her room was full of discards she brought home.

One day, she saw a sunset illuminating the bread.

In that moment it just lit up!

It was such a gentle, healing light
with a warmth that was in perfect union with my feelings about bread.

It just felt like a good idea.

Morita began working to develop a bread lamp.

Refining the preservation method and other aspects, all told, it took her 6 years to perfect.

Attracting like-minded individuals, over ten people now work producing her lamps.

This bread could've just gone to waste.

Lit up, the layers are lovely
and it's just so wonderful!

Sometimes the feeling just hits you.

The lamps sell for between $40 and $100 USD.

Morita turns all kinds of bread into lamps.

Ordinary white bread.

When lit up...

the lattice of fibers come to the surface, with a texture like Japanese paper.

This Kaiser roll with its characteristic notches...

Glows from within with a tasteful light.

This large baguette lamp casts lovely shadows.

Lighting up the bread they bake,
I have so much respect for bakers.

And bread itself, it's fantastic!

A museum in Kobe.

Morita has brought some new bread-based items for the giftshop.

Hello!

- It's a pleasure to meet you.
- We're glad to have you.

The new items are bread-based objets d'art.

The shadows it makes are wonderful!

The beauty of the cross-section
is what first catches the eye.

But up close, there's more to discover.

It should make you want to look deeper.

It's a deconstruction of the notion
of bread as just something to eat.

And a good use of waste bread.
It adds excitement to the everyday.

We should hang bread in the museum.

Waste bread as illumination.
Bread is just wonderful, isn't it?

To think, right now, it's out there somewhere
bringing warmth to someone's home, it makes me so happy.