business

Coronavirus crisis threatens to unravel Japanese artist's kimono ambitions

15 Comments
By Elaine Lies

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15 Comments
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Though Takahashi is teaching and eking out an income making kimono fabric masks, her income has taken a major hit. Her yukatas started at 60,000 yen and kimono at 3 million yen, but the masks go for just 1,400 yen each.

Sorry, but I hardly feel sorry for someone who makes 3 million yen for one article of clothing that she could just as easily sell online along with her masks as well.

There are far too many other people that are trying to "eek out" a living at 1000 yen per hour or less, and raise a family too!

0 ( +9 / -9 )

She persisted until she was selling 100 to 200 made-to-order yukata a month - remarkable success in an industry so steadily declining that sales now hover around 16 percent of what they were in 1981, according to government data.

When did the government start keeping data on kimono production?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@yubaru

She doesn't 'make' 3 million yen for one article of clothing. They are sold at that price.

Figure in labor, cost of design, and marketing, overheads and materials etc. and her margin may not be as large as you think.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

When did the government start keeping data on kimono production?

Hell, there's probably a 10 story building in Kagurazaka full of kimono specialist bureaucrats.

Thanks for pointing that out, Japanoob. Never would have thought of that. Insightful business stuff.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

She's an artist and a business in a pandemic. She has collaborated with strong brands before. She will be fine or her brand will be acquired.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why not expand; include designs and sizes for all?

Many people are interested in yukata, & kimono,

but it is not welcoming to foreigners due to sizes.

Go where they ain't.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

does every female have the right to allege sexism without any proof?

QED. Next!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the WHO do a 360 flip and now saying it is not a virus but a bacteria. Apparently the Italian research doctors went beyond the call of duty in studying the deceased and came up with a way forward using antibiotics that has had remarkable results so far? A total twist in the plot. I was wondering myself on this because a virus t

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Who can afford Japanese clothing at that price ? The really rich.

If her company goes bankrupt, I promise I won't weep a drop.

Too many hard workers are paid little.

I like kimonos and yukata (I wear one often to relax) but it shall be a more long range of price.

All useless niche markets are dying, that's the new normal.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@Japanoob

@yubaru

She doesn't 'make' 3 million yen for one article of clothing. They are sold at that price.

Figure in labor, cost of design, and marketing, overheads and materials etc. and her margin may not be as large as you think.

Exactly this. And first there is the making of the raw textiles - before them being dyed -, which also takes huge amount of time and effort. Japanese hand made textiles are a serious art form. First growing the natural materials (for both weaving and dyeing), harvesting them, making them into threads, designing the weave pattern, weaving them, designing the dye pattern and methods, dyeing them, finally cutting and sewing (kimono often by hand). It takes hours after hours, the finest materials and several craftsmen with specific skills. I think the prices are justified. If you calculated the hourly wage, it wouldn't be that much.

The price for her masks is also way too low, when you consider the materials and the time it takes to make one if and when made properly (cutting, ironing, sewing, secure stitches, cutting notches, inserting the nose wire, etc.). It breaks my heart when I see some grannies selling their beautiful hand made masks for 500yen..

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I met my wife when she was working for a kimono design shop in Kyoto, 谷口工房. The artisans sit cheek and jowl with each completing one step of the process to create the silk screens, which are then sent to the dying shop. My wife's job was creating the design; a few seats down and across the row was a very elderly man whose job was to painstakingly cut the silk screens. Imagine cutting a thousand cherry blossoms into a piece of plastic - that's why the elderly are chosen for this position. Most kimono today come from China, where they are mass-produced, and the traditional shops are suffering badly. But there's nothing like a Japanese-made kimono.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Most kimono today come from China, where they are mass-produced, and the traditional shops are suffering badly. But there's nothing like a Japanese-made kimono.

Soon, they will be made in Vietnam.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/economy/2020/08/14/vietnam-surpasses-bangladesh-in-textile-clothing-export

There are many Japanese businesses looking for a way to settle over there.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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