16-Bone Umbrella / Chess-long Carbon / Cowhide

Product Description : Why is it so EXPENSIVE?

Product Story

General Product Information

A lattice pattern is applied like a chessboard. The pattern, woven from a single color thread, appears and disappears depending on the angle of the light.
Each piece of genuine cowhide is dyed and sewn one by one by a craftsman. No waterproofing or other coating is applied to the leather in order to preserve the original texture of the genuine cowhide. When it is wet, please wipe off the moisture with a dry cloth and dry well.
You will surely look forward to rainy days.

 Product History

When did these crafts start to craft?：200 years ago / 1800AD / Edo period in Japan.

After Japan broke its national isolation, Western culture was introduced to Japan. Western-style umbrella was the one of the items introduced to Japan. During the Meiji period (1868-1912), the fashion of matching a Western-style umbrella with Japanese clothing became popular and took the world by storm. Tokyo Umbrellas, with a history of about 100 years and traditions that have been handed down to the present day, have been selected as a traditional craft by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and continue to be loved by a wide range of people of all ages.

Craftsman Story

Craftsman Profile

Shinji Maehara / Maehara Umbrella
A craftsman who makes Tokyo Umbrellas at the long-established Tokyo Umbrella Studio in Tokyo, which has been in operation for three generations since 1948. After spending his college years abroad, he decided to take over the family business when his father became ill. He develops products that are not only practical, but also fit into modern society by incorporating elaborate designs with attention to detail.

Craftsman Passion

"Enriching people's lives with Umbrellas"
Our first priority is to make the people in our company happy who are most involved in the umbrella business. If the environment within the company improves, the attitude will be reflected in our customer service, and if customers are satisfied with that customer service, society will become brighter as a chain reaction. I hope that umbrellas will be the catalyst for such a change!

Achievement

Received Taito City Shitamachi TAITO Industry Award

Your Contribution to Craftsman

Customer Voice

Due to the market structure (link for full articles are attached bottom), craftsman have not known who the customer is and how customer reacts to their work. We made a “Message to Craftsman” box at purchase page. We will deliver all message to every craftsman. Our review will be also shared to craftsman so please leave your comment and evaluation on review section!

Income for Craftsman: Craftsman get only less than 10% of selling price?

As written above, craftsman have not controlled last phase of sales channel that resulting in selling price is set by third-party without craftsman’s recognition. There are some cases that only less than 10% of selling price is given to craftsman. We promise with our customer / craftsman that we offer the fair trade with craftsmen in our contract!

We made an article about above problem and our challenge. Please have a read from below link.
Current state of the Crafts Market / Benefits brought by Suigenkyo

Measurement

When opened

Diameter : 113cm

When closed

Length：94cm

Weight : 616g

Material & Caution

Materials

 Polyester

Caution

Individual Difference

Each piece is handmade, so there are individual differences even in the same series. We hope that you will understand the change by handmade.

Delivery Date

Please note that it will take about 2 months for delivery if we do not have the item in stock.