Shop 01

I grew up as the eldest son of a father who was a shirt maker, so I've been wearing shirts made by my father ever since I was little.
One day, my aunt, who had loved me since I was a child, passed away, and my mother brought home her yukata as a keepsake. When my father saw the yukata, he sewed a shirt for me and said, ``Let's sew an open-necked shirt using this yukata fabric.'' That was the first ``Aloha shirt made from a kimono'' that I saw in my life. I've heard that Aloha originated when Japanese people who immigrated to Hawaii made their own kimonos to resemble Western shirts. However, up until that time, the only ``Aloha shirt made from kimono'' I had ever known was the ultra-luxury Aloha shirt made from a new type of cloth.

Kimonos are originally designed to be reused. When the threads of a kimono are unraveled, it returns to a single piece of cloth, regardless of the size of the wearer. The kimono can be washed and reborn as someone else's kimono. Every time I wear aloha made from my aunt's yukata, I am reminded of the time I spent with my aunt. An aloha made from an old kimono can give you a sense of the era, season, culture, time, and atmosphere in which the kimono was made, even if you don't know the owner's face. Masu.

At a kimono recycling shop, we asked about the current state of used kimonos. As a result, many kimonos are left lying dormant in chests of drawers, and even if they are fortunate enough to be recycled, they are rarely used as kimonos because they do not fit the height of modern women. I learned that they are increasingly being cut into pieces and used as Japanese-patterned accessories for personal hobbies. Because of this, I began to think that I needed to go beyond the framework of a mere business and establish a business that regenerated kimonos and brought them back to life as ``things to wear.''

At that time, I learned that an acquaintance who runs a kimono shop was looking for a way to use recycled kimonos, so I immediately talked to him about this idea. Another acquaintance who heard the story said, ``Well, I'll buy it,'' and ``Would you like to sew it at our factory?'' A person from a sewing factory also showed up. This is how the ``Shoka'' aloha shirt, which brings a smile to your face just by wearing it, was born.

Domestic production in Japan's garment industry has really decreased. How many Japanese people regularly wear "Made in Japan" clothing? According to economic principles, it is natural to buy things that are cheap and good. The quality of clothing made in garment factories in China and other Asian countries is getting better and better.

However, while I would be sad to see the ``Aloha shirts'' made by Japanese people go away, I would be even sadder if Japanese people would no longer wear the ``kimonos'' created by Japanese people. That's what I think. I want them to at least be used as something to wear, and if that's not possible, I'd like to at least preserve them in a different form. These ``Aloha shirts'' are made through connections between people who share these feelings.