When I came to Kyoto for the Enbu Taikai, last year, I met Housen for the first time. Actually, I did not know they were Housen - I just stopped in admiration in front of their stall, close to the Butokuden.
I was really impressed by the beauty of their shinai and bogu bags: the colours, the patterns and the obvious quality of the fabrics. No, at the moment I did not need a bogu bag or a shinai bag, but I wished I had an excuse to buy something. Mr. Hatano, the owner of this small family run company, took a picture of me, carrying around a fantastic, traditional patterned bougu/shinai set and told me it would be published on the new catalogue, together with those of young, fierce looking Japanese kenshi and famous Hanshi sensei.
He kept his word. I became a fan.
It was therefore natural to enclose Housen products into Kyoto Budogu collection. Living in Kyoto and having keiko here, Housen bags immediately started to spring to my eyes wherever I went - and they were everywhere. How could that be, that I did not know about them before last year? I have an average of three shinai bags, full of shinai of course, in every place where I keep a bogu - that makes no less than 12 shinai bags, why I never got an elegant Housen one?
Being store manager of Kyoto Budogu, I felt the need to know more about these beautiful items and about the company itself. This year, again at the Kyoto Taikai, I took an appointment and together with my colleague Sara I devoted a Saturday to this little expedition.
Housen is based in Tatsuno, in Hyogo Prefecture and was established 27 years ago. Mr. Hatano came to pick us up at Himeji station and drove us to the factory. The company still retains the workshop feeling, since all items are order-made. I was hoping to find some ready assortment (I had my eyes already on a beautiful Ichimatsu shinai bag), but that was not the case. Each item is cut, embroidered and finished according to the specifications of the order. We sat in the showroom and we had tea, while we were introduced to the Hatano family (Mr., Mrs. daughter and son) and to the philosophy of the company.
First of all, we spoke about the embroidery, which plays a very important role. Housen offers very handsome bags, but also embroiders names, character and symbols on them, in a very high quality. The Kanji are made in a way that shows the "stroke of the brush", as if the calligrapher himself would have taken control of the computerised sewing machines that are used for this task. The name of the owner is never sewn on top - it would not be considerate respectful, since the body of the bag would carry usually the masterpiece of the calligrapher or some inspiring sentence, that should be pondered by the owner of the bag. Housen also takes responsibility to select the thread colours that would go together with the fabrics: no flashy contrasts are allowed, since - in the words of Mr. Hatano - "Housen bags are meant to last for decades and a flashy look would bore and wear out the owner, who would abandon the bag well before the end of its lifespan. This is not desirable."
Housen bags are meant to last. The policy of the company is to create sturdy, beautiful objects that the Customer would buy again, not out of necessity, but out of admiration.
Mr. Hatano showed us the factory: the sewing machines for the embroidery, the stacks of leather and fabrics and the cutting templates, but also the details of the crafting of some items that were laying on the working tables. The painful care of each little detail left us in awe. He showed us also the prototypes - those which passed into production and those which didn`t - the new fabrics that will enter next year collection, the ways to optimise this manufacturing process, which remains time- and material-consuming. A special treat was to assist to a photo session, in a professional photographer`s studio. The pictures are used to create the new catalogue, but also to put the items in context, together with the kenshi who order them - high quality photos that appear in the advertisements on the celebrated Kendo Jidai pages.
We came back to Kyoto impressed by the thoroughness of their care and expertise, and more convinced than ever that offering Housen products on Kyoto Budogu is a privilege and a real honour.
I was really impressed by the beauty of their shinai and bogu bags: the colours, the patterns and the obvious quality of the fabrics. No, at the moment I did not need a bogu bag or a shinai bag, but I wished I had an excuse to buy something. Mr. Hatano, the owner of this small family run company, took a picture of me, carrying around a fantastic, traditional patterned bougu/shinai set and told me it would be published on the new catalogue, together with those of young, fierce looking Japanese kenshi and famous Hanshi sensei.
He kept his word. I became a fan.
It was therefore natural to enclose Housen products into Kyoto Budogu collection. Living in Kyoto and having keiko here, Housen bags immediately started to spring to my eyes wherever I went - and they were everywhere. How could that be, that I did not know about them before last year? I have an average of three shinai bags, full of shinai of course, in every place where I keep a bogu - that makes no less than 12 shinai bags, why I never got an elegant Housen one?
Being store manager of Kyoto Budogu, I felt the need to know more about these beautiful items and about the company itself. This year, again at the Kyoto Taikai, I took an appointment and together with my colleague Sara I devoted a Saturday to this little expedition.
Housen is based in Tatsuno, in Hyogo Prefecture and was established 27 years ago. Mr. Hatano came to pick us up at Himeji station and drove us to the factory. The company still retains the workshop feeling, since all items are order-made. I was hoping to find some ready assortment (I had my eyes already on a beautiful Ichimatsu shinai bag), but that was not the case. Each item is cut, embroidered and finished according to the specifications of the order. We sat in the showroom and we had tea, while we were introduced to the Hatano family (Mr., Mrs. daughter and son) and to the philosophy of the company.
First of all, we spoke about the embroidery, which plays a very important role. Housen offers very handsome bags, but also embroiders names, character and symbols on them, in a very high quality. The Kanji are made in a way that shows the "stroke of the brush", as if the calligrapher himself would have taken control of the computerised sewing machines that are used for this task. The name of the owner is never sewn on top - it would not be considerate respectful, since the body of the bag would carry usually the masterpiece of the calligrapher or some inspiring sentence, that should be pondered by the owner of the bag. Housen also takes responsibility to select the thread colours that would go together with the fabrics: no flashy contrasts are allowed, since - in the words of Mr. Hatano - "Housen bags are meant to last for decades and a flashy look would bore and wear out the owner, who would abandon the bag well before the end of its lifespan. This is not desirable."
Housen bags are meant to last. The policy of the company is to create sturdy, beautiful objects that the Customer would buy again, not out of necessity, but out of admiration.
Mr. Hatano showed us the factory: the sewing machines for the embroidery, the stacks of leather and fabrics and the cutting templates, but also the details of the crafting of some items that were laying on the working tables. The painful care of each little detail left us in awe. He showed us also the prototypes - those which passed into production and those which didn`t - the new fabrics that will enter next year collection, the ways to optimise this manufacturing process, which remains time- and material-consuming. A special treat was to assist to a photo session, in a professional photographer`s studio. The pictures are used to create the new catalogue, but also to put the items in context, together with the kenshi who order them - high quality photos that appear in the advertisements on the celebrated Kendo Jidai pages.
We came back to Kyoto impressed by the thoroughness of their care and expertise, and more convinced than ever that offering Housen products on Kyoto Budogu is a privilege and a real honour.
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| The signature Ichimatsu fabrics |
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| Housen label |
Wow, these look absolutely amazing
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