From the Made in Japan Takumics to a Player, Not a Coach
I'd like to share with you, if you'd like, the long story behind why I decided to do this job. Please feel free to read on.I was a mediocre college student with no particular aspirations.I studied French in the Foreign Language Department, but I never took my classes seriously.While watching my classmates graduate and start working, I was inspired by the popular novel "Midnight Express" by Kotaro Sawaki, and became obsessed with it.A senior colleague at my part-time job had just cycled across South America solo, and I decided to backpack in India, a dream come true.I was convinced that India would hold some kind of answer, so I set off on a solo backpacking trip with two Nikon SLR cameras and an open ticket, with no plans.Looking back, I wonder if that was the trigger.Seeing the people struggling to survive, the children with their legs amputated, and the bodies of people being burned on the banks of the Ganges, I realized I wanted to find what I wanted to do and die. Shortly after returning to Japan, I decided I wanted to become a craftsman of some kind, as I was very dexterous with my hands.I went to an interview at a leather goods company in Kyoto, where I had lived since my student days. I brought a wallet that I had bought and sewed myself, and boldly told the president during my interview that I was planning to go independent.Looking back, I'm amazed that they were willing to hire someone like me.I'm still indebted to the then-president (now chairman).I joined the company as an apprentice seamstress, and every day I would sit in front of a sewing machine, using a pen cutter to cut out intricate lettering from leather, and sew intricate leather designs on the machine. Day by day, I became more and more immersed in the joy of working with leather and sewing.Over the years, I took on roles in leather product and logo design, as well as production management. After a while, the company started talking about setting up a factory in Vietnam, and for some reason, the president appointed me as factory manager.He was assigned to a remote area of Vietnam as the only Japanese factory manager.Starting a factory from scratch wasn't easy, and we encountered many difficulties, but now we can laugh about it.There was a lot to do locally and no interpreter, so I had to study Vietnamese, and I couldn't relax so I walked faster. I also had many arguments with the skilled, experienced craftsmen I had hired over how to proceed with work, and he even threw a chair at me.When things weren't going well, during a blackout on a rainy night, I would long for Japan, listening to Yashiro Aki's "Ame no Boujou" playing from my laptop, which was about to run out of battery.Over the years, I gradually began to enjoy having casual conversations with the local workers in the daytime, using unfamiliar Vietnamese.On my much-anticipated days off, which were only available on Sundays at the time, I would always go to Ho Chi Minh City's backpacker district, stay in a cheap hotel, and talk to foreigners.
Being a bit cocky, I wanted to prove myself in Tokyo, so after two years stationed in Vietnam, I changed jobs and moved there in high spirits.
Tokyo is a place where top-level people gather, but the company I transferred to in Daikanyama was exactly that - I was a frog in a well.
I worked every day doing clerical work and production management from morning until close to the last train, shouldering a huge workload while being scolded by many of my seniors.
When I went on a business trip to Vietnam, the nostalgic warm air and the sound of sewing machines treading on the pedals made me feel even more strongly that I wanted to be a player in Japan, creating Made in Japan products, rather than a supervisor at an overseas factory.
Looking back, my experience at this company was an invaluable time in honing my production management skills.
After that, I changed jobs and returned to being a craftsman, learning traditional techniques from experienced senior craftsmen who had worked on projects related to the Imperial family, and improving my skills and giving them the final polish.
After a while, my boss at the Daikanyama company decided to start his own company, and I was asked to work on the production line and as a craftsman making products. This was the culmination of everything I had done up to that point.
Then, during a trip to Paris, I rented a left-hand drive manual Fiat and drove unfamiliar roads in early summer Italy under the cold winter skies of Paris. The lavender-filled countryside of Orvieto, Civita, and Florence.
The delicacy and vividness of Europe's colors further fueled my desire to create things. I decided it was about time to go independent.
Through my work, I've learned so much and met so many different people.
My experience in Vietnam, which was tough at first, and working overtime every day at the Daikanyama company, both nourished me and helped shape who I am today.
Even now, with the support of my seniors and the president of my previous company, I continued to seek new skills and knowledge, and in March 2012 I went independent, leading to where we are today. This is the short history of Takumics.
Through my work, I learned that ultimately, it's not enough to rely solely on my own skills; connections between people are important. I can't accomplish anything on my own. Even if I fight or hate each other, in the end, I should never forget to be grateful to everyone.
Every day, we work on our products, planning, designing and creating handcrafted leather products as artisans.