Ready to surprise the world with purely domestic leather items

A wallet that has been used and has changed color.
Its appearance gives the impression of a veteran navigator who has overcome rough seas many times.
This is a dish using Yamato that was made six years ago.
What kind of time has the owner spent these past six years?
As a "part" of its owner, what kind of situations has this wallet witnessed?
The appeal of leather products is that they can reflect the owner's way of life.
“I want to make a partner to share my life with.”
Representative Kusagaya expresses this feeling with “Yamato”, an “all-Japan” leather.
What is his “Brooklyn Vision”?

Interview with Brooklyn Museum Leather Craftsman and Representative Director Masahiko Kusagaya (second half)

━ "Yamato" was born by creating a unique route for Japan's livestock and leather industries, which had been divided. How has the response been since its completion?

The number of customers who relate to the story and purchase our products has increased. I am very grateful. I want people to know that there are wonderful materials in Japan, even if they don't appreciate Italian or French leather, and through Yamato, the number of people who are learning about the ``mottainai'' of cow skin being thrown away is gradually increasing, and I feel a positive response.

━ We live in an era where products can be sold based on stories, and SDGs and ecology are increasingly becoming deciding factors in consumer behavior. What do you think about this trend?

I feel more and more that this era has certainly arrived. To be honest, the Brooklyn Museum didn't do this on purpose, but in the process of pursuing their own ideals, they were in sync with the needs of the times.

━ Are you ever conscious of ecology and SDGs?

Since our founding 44 years ago, our philosophy has been ``cherishing good things for a long time,'' and the ideas of ``eco'' and ``SDGs'' have taken root, so I don't really think about it again, but I am very happy that society's eco-consciousness is increasing. The current situation is that most of the skin from slaughtered cows is disposed of, which is a waste. Even though we use Wagyu cow skin to make leather products, in Japan as a whole, most of the skin is thrown away. I hope that as society's interest increases, there will be a major movement to change the current situation. We are very grateful to be able to match trends, but at our core we have a very simple idea, so I hope we can continue to move forward without changing.

━ The important thing is to stay in the basic position.

I agree. I think we must not lose sight of our true nature. ``Let's stop throwing away the skin,'' ``We want to make good products and have them be bought at a fair price,'' and ``Create an environment where craftsmen can concentrate on making things without thinking about cost performance.'' I believe that once we achieve these goals, we will be able to create what we think of as a "natural society that is natural," and we will continue to aim for that.

━ 　Realizing a vision and making a business successful are sometimes incompatible. What do you think about that?

This is my personal opinion, but I believe that the industry I work in has great potential in terms of business, even in the midst of the current slump in the Japanese economy.

━ As a business owner, how do you view the current Japanese market?

It is often said that Japan has changed completely after nearly 30 years of deflation. The stories that my father and his predecessor told me about the bubble era were so hard to believe that we were from the same country.It was a time when there was no set price even when you were doing business, and everything seemed to sell like hotcakes. It's an amazing time. But now is not the time. In today's consumer mindset, people who say ``I'll buy something good even if it's expensive'' are in the minority, and many people are more concerned with ``how cheaply I can buy something,'' so product manufacturers have no choice but to adapt to that.

━ ``Cheapness'' has become one of the values, isn't it?

I'm grateful for that, as I've benefited from it in my daily life, but as someone who makes and sells things, it's honestly scary because if the idea of ​​``manufacturing a certain amount and selling it at a low price'' becomes entrenched in companies, the industry and society will have no choice but to decline.

━ Since you have a shop in Omotesando, a city that is sensitive to trends, do you feel anything about the atmosphere of the city?

I feel polarized. Omotesando is always gorgeous. There are a lot of people walking around who are shopping for luxury brands. However, if you think about the average of Japan, these people are only a small part of the population, and I feel that society as a whole is moving into an era where things are difficult to sell. Under such circumstances, will “definitely good quality but high-class products” really survive in the future? That conflict is always in my heart.

━ The people who will be the main consumers in the future will be Generation Z, the children of the generation who are not aware of the bubble economy. They are also said to have very little desire for material things.

It's very tough, isn't it? However, even after knowing all that, the feelings within me remain the same. No matter what era we live in, as long as we are craftsmen, we want to create what we believe in. That's why I'm running my own shop, and if there's just one person who loves the items I believe in and make, then I want to dedicate my life to that person.

━ It means that society is aware of this, but goes its own way.

I agree. Since I was born as a craftsman, I want to be particular about what I want to make, and I definitely don't want to compromise. I have a path that I believe in, so I want to walk on it even if it's a thorny road. We also want to create the best made-in-Japan products that we can be proud of to the world. It may sound naive, but I can see that vision and I have no choice but to make it a reality. However, on the other hand, as a business manager, I am also calm, and when I think about it from a bird's-eye view of the future of Japanese society, I also want to convey the sense of crisis and hope that I currently have to as many people as possible, and do what we can all do together.

━ You mentioned the word "hope," but could you tell us specifically what kind of light of hope you are seeing?

I think the key is to rebuild the "Made in Japan" brand power. For example, when it comes to leather, it is not true that all French leather or Italian leather is of high quality. However, when a product is commercialized and is advertised as a ``bag made with carefully selected Italian leather,'' that alone gives it a sense of quality and coolness. I think this is a result of the multiplication of the country's image and the product's image, and I think Japan should be able to do the same thing.

━ It's true that Japanese culture has an originality that attracts attention from around the world.

For example, in the fashion industry, how many made-in-Japan brands are recognized around the world? In each genre, there are brands that represent Japan to some extent. However, this is zero when it comes to leather. I have never heard of a made-in-Japan leather brand that is recognized worldwide. This is why I said, ``The industry I work in has great business potential.'' The world still doesn't know about leather items made in Japan.

━ I see! So you're aiming for the vacant seat on the leather item Japan national team.

We want the world to know the wonders of all-Japanese leather items made using Japanese leather. Just like in Italy and France, we would like to make leather items using the skins of cows that are carefully raised and eaten in Japan, and expand our business globally with an all-Japanese system of materials and makers.

━　That's a grand goal!

There are many people with good taste in Japan. And there are some great leather materials as well. If these things work well together, I think leather items made in Japan will be able to secure a solid position in the world market, just like in Italy and France. I hope that this will lead to a revolution in various industries, and that many things will become more natural. In our industry, I hope that things will become natural and natural, such as ``stop throwing away skin,'' ``make good products and get people to buy them at a fair price,'' and ``create an environment where craftsmen can concentrate on making products without thinking about cost performance.'' It's economical, eco-friendly, and a sustainable world. You could say that I developed Yamato in order to open the door to that world.

━ "Yamato" is also a symbol of empathy and a map that will guide the next generation.

If we can succeed globally with Yamato, I'm sure other companies will follow suit. Actually, that's the main goal. If there are more leather items made in Japan using Wagyu leather than us, the range of products will expand. In the future, Japan may become a leather goods powerhouse like Italy and France. I want the entire industry and society as a whole to move towards a bright future. I believe that through this process, things will return to their original state and a natural eco-cycle will be created.

━ It would be wonderful if the day came when Japan would be on par with Italy and France!

I don't think this is a pipe dream. The “mottainai” spirit in the Japanese DNA is the most SDG-oriented feeling in the world. We may have forgotten a little bit now, but I hope that by remembering that feeling, we will become a society that uses "good things" for a long time, and in times like these, I want to continue making items that people will choose as "good things."

━ In this interview, the phrase “ideal state” appears many times, but when did you start to value the ideas of “using good things for a long time” and “not producing waste”?

I guess it's because my father, who came before me, kept telling me this since I was a child. It might be a bit of brainwashing (lol). My father was an antique lover and collector. As my father showed me his proud collection, he told me over and over again, ``If you take good care of something, it can last for generations.'' I'm sure that this was a primary experience that shaped my outlook on life and philosophy. Now that I'm a leather craftsman, I place more emphasis on long-term use than I did back then, and in fact, leather products from the two major French brands, Hermes and Louis Vuitton, can last an extremely long time. Our predecessor regretted the fact that there was no such brand in Japan, even though Japan is a country of ``mottainai,'' and one day he secretly decided, ``If there is no such brand, then we should become one.'' Nowadays, I approach leather with the same feelings, so I guess that means we can't fight over blood (lol).

━ We started a salvage project (outlet) last year.Is this also related to “mottainai”?

there is. We believe that because we put our heart and soul into making an item, we have a responsibility to pass it on to someone in the end. Once the skin is turned into leather and made into a product, it may be a shame that the Wagyu beef will not be able to live up to its natural life unless it is used.

━ Indeed (lol).

But until now, I didn't want to sell it cheap. Leather is delicate, so it may get scratched during the manufacturing process. Even if there was no problem with the product, the craftsman's pride would not allow it to have small scratches even though it was new. That's why I kept it out of sight. But one day, I suddenly thought about it. ``If it's stored forever and never released into the world, it's no different than if it was disposed of as a skin.'' I was surprised to see what I was doing even though I had been told that it was not good to dispose of it and that it was not eco-friendly.

━ But as a craftsman, you didn't want to release it to the world, right?

that's right. It's kind of frustrating (lol). But I thought that was the right thing to do. I felt that once I made it into a product, I had a responsibility to make it a product. This is achieved by having someone use it. Only when people use our products can we achieve the "circulation" that I value so much. That's why we started a limited-time outlet store. It seems like it's an opportunity for people to get to know Brooklyn and get them interested in ecology and the SDGs, so I wish I had done it sooner (lol).

━ So you prioritized ensuring proper circulation.

Someone once said, ``It's not eco-friendly after it's made. It's the ego of the creator.'' But I thought that if we want a natural way, we need to ensure proper circulation. In this way, I think creating a cycle in which we maintain contact with some part of society while changing our form is eco-friendly in the truest sense, and I think that such a society is a sustainable society.

━ ``Yamato'' is a symbol of various feelings, and if you own such an item, it will probably change the way you live your life a little.

Fortunately, we receive many such stories. Just the other day, a customer showed me the Yamato wallet he bought for me six years ago and expressed his gratitude, saying, ``My life changed when I discovered wallets.'' She also donated her well-worn wallet as a sample of how it has changed over time, saying, ``I want other people to know that choosing things seriously and taking care of them can enrich your life.'' I don't know the details of that person's past six years, but it was as if his wallet was speaking to him. If you use it with that much care, it will be a blessing to you as a craftsman. I was so happy that I cried. Since you purchased a new wallet, I would like to look forward to being able to show you your life through the wallet again in a few years.

━ That's a wonderful story.

One of the charms of leather products is that they become a part of the person's life, giving them a unique flavor. I want good products to be used for as long as possible, so I would like to continue to create high-quality, careful, and elegant products that can be used in various aspects of life.

After talking about leather, Representative Kusagaya talked about the company's future prospects.

“I also want to pursue originality in dyeing methods.Currently, our lineup includes persimmon tanning and indigo dyeing, but there are still many dyeing methods that are unique to Japan.I want to deliver items with colors that have never been seen before.”

Yes, the future envisioned by Representative Kusagaya, who speaks with a smile, is an exciting world filled with vivid possibilities that is the exact opposite of the confinement of modern society.