A member of the Manufacturing department Team and a veteran artisan with 13 years at the workshop. She rotates through edge-binding / comforter sewing / pillow cotton-filling, mouth-stitching and ring sewing / inner-cotton roll shaping and more — experienced in nearly every process except firm cotton.
Thirteen years in the workshop
I have been at this workshop for 13 years — joining even a little before the current representative did. Over those years I have worked many processes — edge-binding machine, comforter sewing machine, the pillow cotton-filling/mouth-stitching/ring sewing machine, the roll-shaping of shikibuton inner cotton — almost every process in the workshop except firm cotton.
One by one, with all my heart
What thirteen years have built up is not only technique but a bodily sense of the word “diligence.” Before each shift I tell myself — “to deliver a good product to the customer, I make each one carefully, one by one, with my whole heart.” It is not a slogan of mechanical repetition; it is the real state of every day across thirteen years.
Passing experience to those who follow
The workshop has taken on more newcomers in recent years. I play the role of the senior — passing my experience and judgement to those who follow. “Conveying the points to watch and the advice” — this is how the workshop has handed things down for over 150 years, each generation catching what the last one carried, adding their own understanding, and passing it on.
Making for the customer’s joy
I want every shikibuton the workshop makes to bring its owner an “everyday joy” — “I want to make futon that bring our customers comfort and happiness every day.” After thirteen years in this trade, that is still the reason I show up each day.