Founded in 1869, Hata Ito Seisakusho is a long-established company with over 140 years of history as a fishing flag factory. In 1894, the company moved from Sapporo to Otaru, and is now operating as a store and factory in a renovated former Kitashuren warehouse in Sakaimachi, Otaru.

The number of craftsmen who stick to the traditional hand-dyeing method is on the decline, similar to the situation of craftsmen making kendo equipment.

This time, we visited a factory and conducted interviews in Otaru, Hokkaido.

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Harutake Ito

Born in Otaru City.

He grew up as the second son of a dyeing business that has been making fishing flags and other items for generations since the Meiji era, and from an early age it was natural for him to help out with the family business alongside his siblings. Having always loved making things, after graduating from high school he went on to study at Nagoya Zokei University to take over the family business. He studied drawing, crafts, dyeing, etc. for two years, and after graduating he trained for four years at Yoshida Hataten, a company in Gifu Prefecture that makes sumo flags and other items. He then returned to Otaru at the age of 24 and joined Hata Ito Seisakusho. He honed his skills under the guidance of his father, Ichiro, the fifth-generation owner, until Ichiro passed away last year. As the young sixth-generation owner, Harutake has taken over, preserving the family business by incorporating modern technology into the techniques passed down through generations.

-Thank you for making the flag for the Kanagawa Prefectural Koryo High School Kendo Club the other day!

(Production example: Kanagawa Prefectural Koryo High School Kendo Club)

Ito : Thank you very much!

-I'd like to tour your factory...

Ito : "Of course, that's fine. I'll show you around."

Factory tour

- Inkjet factory

Ito : "These are inkjet dyed T-shirts. We can handle both hand dyeing and inkjet printing."

-So you also make T-shirts!

Ito : "It's not my main job, but I do get a lot of orders, even for just one piece (laughs)."

-Hand dyeing factory

-What kind of place is this?

Ito : "It's a place where processing is done manually."

The variety of brush colors is cute (laughs).

Ito : "To color the parts that are not to be dyed, we apply glue to them. After that, we paint them with a brush."

-Laser processing factory

Ito : "We also make trophies, so we have laser processing machines."

-So you also make key chains!

Ito : "Rather than sticking to hand-dyeing alone, we are also digitizing work that can be done efficiently digitally. We would like to combine handwork and digital processing in a hybrid approach."

-Is this a pattern?

Ito : "This is the work of creating patterns. Many restaurants make noren curtains, especially ramen shops. Shops that are particular about their noren curtains often get new ones every year.

Most of them are repeat customers."

The number of hand-dyed artisans is declining

-Are the number of hand-dyeing artisans decreasing?

Ito : "It's a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. There are fewer and fewer people who are willing to take over the business."

-It's a similar situation to that of kendo equipment craftsmen... How many craftsmen like yours are there in Japan?

Ito : "There are about 60 people who are members of the union. There are also some who are not, so I think the number is a little high. Roughly speaking, I'd say it's around 100-200 companies."

-Kyoto is famous for its dyed textiles.

Ito : " Kyoto is famous for its dyeing techniques, but I think there are only a few dozen flag dyeing artisans left today ."

-I see... Does the texture change depending on where it's dyed, Kyoto or Hokkaido?

Ito : "The way it's made is different, and the climate is different too, so it does change. The formula changes depending on the climate."

-What are the advantages of hand-dyeing?

Ito : "The depth of color is completely different. We even get orders for kendo hand towels. Hand-dyeing is difficult, but it's very rewarding."

-It was a day that renewed my desire to support not only kendo equipment craftsmen, but all other craftsmen in Japan. Thank you for today!

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