Interview: 47Ronin (Watch Straps) Founder/ Designer by Akadot TV

 

I didn’t started out as a craftsman.

I started off my career as a business consultant bringing Japanese products to Singapore, South East Asia.

Then I came across this idea of making something very small that you can showcase it anywhere you go, which is a watch strap.

I always think of new ideas, new elements of Japan to incorporate to the watch straps design.

There are many different designs for Tatamiberi, which is the fabric that wraps around the edges of Tatami to keep the straws together.

Here is a design with the chrysanthemum, which is the very common design in Japanese print.

This is the gold and here is white one

Same for Kinomo fabrics, it's a mixture of a various colors like blue, gold, red, pink, and black

It’s the fusion of colors that gives a very amazing design to it.

Matching with the golden coated leather here, it looks really striking.

This is called the second button, Dainibotann.

This comes from a war movie from the 1960s, which tell the story of a Kamikaze pilot.

When he was going to have his last flight and saying goodbye to his girlfriend, he wanted to give her something closed to the heart, so he took out the second button from his uniform.

One particular material that I have sourced recently is called “Menuki”.

Menuki are pieces of metal that are used in the handle of Katanas.

These watches are in collaboration with a Japanese handcrafted watchmaker called Watanabe Kobo.

The watch case itself, the watch mechanism, including all these letters are all handcrafted.

The level of handcrafting and quality is so high that you can only find only one piece of these watches in the world.

I have about 5 years of working and living experience in Kyoto, it is a ancient capital of Japan, full of Heritage sites.

Then I realized for Japanese craftsmen, making profit is not their priority.

A craftsman could be doing his crafts for the past few decades, that he still continues to perfect it.

Making the best products for his customers has always been his Ikigai.

This is something I am very impressed with.

It has impacted me in such a way that I also would like to create something that is perfect.

it also creates a relationship between myself and the customers, who will have a piece of my design, my product, that will serve them in their daily lives.

Japanese calls it “Goen”, which means being fated to have this kind of relationship.

 

僕の本業はレザークラフトではありませんでした。元々はコンサルタントの仕事に勤めていて、日本製品をシンガポールなどの東南アジアで展開する支援をしていました。そのとき、身につけやすくいつでも他人にお見せできる小物を作る発想に至りました。

 

僕は常に日本から新しいものを探し続け、デザインに取り入れるようにしています。畳縁には様々なデザインがあります。畳縁とは畳を補強するために畳の端に縫い付けられた布のこと。ここは和柄によく見られる菊の花を使ってみました。黄金色と白色がありますね。紺色や黄金色、紅色、桃色、黒色などが交じり合って、カラフルなデザインに仕上がりますね。

 

この金でコーティングされた革との組み合わせが気に入っています。これは第二ボタンです。第二ボタンのストーリーは1960年代のある戦争映画に由来しています。映画の主人公が神風特攻隊に選抜されました。彼は出撃前に、大切な人に別れを告げるため心を表す何かを彼女に送りたいと考え軍服から第二ボタンを市議って渡しました。最近取り寄せた素材の一つは目貫です。目貫というのは、日本刀の柄に装着する金具のこと。この時計は「渡辺工房」という日本の手作り時計作家さんとのコラボ作品になります。時計本体、駆動部位と文字盤、それぞれが手作りのものです。そのため、一つ一つの時計が世の中にたった一つの存在です。

 

僕は5年間京都で働いて暮らしていました。京都は昔の都で、世界遺産にあふれています。そこで出会った職人は、自分たちの利益を優先していたわけではありませんでした。何十年もやってきた職人でも、技を磨き続けます。お客様に最高のものを届けるのが職人さんの生きがい。僕はその考え方にとても感動しました。その影響を受けて、僕も最高のものを作りたいと思うようになりました。ものはお客様と僕をつないでくれると思っています。僕のデザインしたものを、お客様に日常生活で使っていただけたら。日本では「ご縁」と呼ばれますね。このような人と人のつながりのことを。

 

Produced by AKADOT

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