Interviews
Meet the people behind our goods. We visit workshops across Japan to hear how each piece is made, and why. Find a story by craft or by region, or search for a maker.
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m+: Leather Goods That Their Owners Complete
We visited m+ in Kuramae, Tokyo, to hear how a former architect trained in Italy became a leather craftsman, and designed wallets that age beautifully with use.
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Wajima Kirimoto: Bringing Lacquer Back into Everyday Life
We visited Wajima Kirimoto on the Noto Peninsula, a family of woodworkers turned lacquerware maker, to learn how it is making lacquer part of everyday life again.
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Reela: Leather Room Shoes Shaped Like Fine Footwear
We visited Yamato in Matsuyama, Ehime, a sandal maker of over 60 years, to learn why its room shoe brand Reela is shaped on wooden lasts like fine footwear.
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Takaokaya: The Art of Relaxing, from a Kyoto Futon Maker
We visited Takaokaya, a Kyoto futon maker founded in 1919, to learn how its craftsmen turned their skills to the art of relaxing, and the secrets of the Ojami cushion.
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sufuto: Tsuzure Weaving, Woven with the Fingernails
We visited Kiyohara Orimono in Shiga, the Nishijin weaving house behind sufuto, to learn about tsuzure weaving and the extraordinary fingernail technique of tsume-kaki.
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Beret is flamingo: Pure Wool Berets from Kumamoto
We visited the Kumamoto factory of Beret is flamingo, Japan's leading beret maker, to follow the many hands and steps that go into a single 100% wool beret.
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Sonobe Sangyo: Wooden Bowls from Odawara, Made to Return to the Earth
We visited Sonobe Sangyo in Odawara, Kanagawa, to see how its Meiboku wooden bowls are made over eight months, using nature's help and wasting nothing.
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TADAFUSA: Blacksmith Knives from Sanjo, Niigata
We visited TADAFUSA in Sanjo, Niigata, to learn how a struggling blacksmith workshop reinvented itself with three essential knives, and helped open up its whole craft town.
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KURODA: Leather Gloves from Japan's Glove Capital
We visited KURODA in Higashikagawa, Kagawa, the town that makes 90% of Japan's gloves, to learn how its leather gloves achieve their remarkable comfort.
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SHINTO TOWEL: The Ultimate Towel from Senshu, Osaka
We visited Shinto Towel in Senshu, Osaka, the birthplace of Japanese towels, to learn how a 1907 towel mill created its own brand and three "ultimate" towels.
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