Handmade in Japan
"We will show our efforts to the world"

■ Japanese tradition to the world
Roppongi, Japan`s leading business district. Azabujuban is one of its neighboring towns, a marketplace where shops
older than a century cohabitate with new forefront shops. WAMON JAPAN office is here, in a corner of this town.
“Japanese traditional designs meet craftsmen`s handmade art. Our articles are produced under this philosophy and we want to spread
them to the world.”
Director Hidenori Ayano started talking with resolute voice. I could feel the enthusiasm in his words.

■ A boyhood abroad, and then toward the world of Wa
Because of his parents` job, when he was a middle school student Hidenori Ayano moved abroad. For a receptive
young boy, everything he heard and saw was a surprise. But, his memories of the far Japan he had left were still fresh.
“When I was abroad I could discover things about Japan I never noticed before、both good and bad things.
It`s been a precious experience”. He understood the continuity and ancientness of Japanese aesthetic and traditions and
stored these feelings into his heart. When he came back in Japan, he was eager to follow his mission of “bringing
the Japanese sense of beauty to the world”.
His products are made to bring knowledge of Japan to foreign people with a different cultural background. This is a neverending business.
WAMON JAPAN project took shape from two basic questions:
If it were me, what would I do? What should the articles I am selling look like?

■ Valuable Japanese tradition abroad
Today WAMON JAPAN produces and sells clothes decorated with Japanese “kamon” and “kanji”.
They are not common prints but dazzling decorations created using Swarovski crystals.
“I want to produce articles with kamon or brush drawn kanji motifs on them... This was my belief. Hereafter I decided that in
someway I wanted to add Swarovski crystals to my original plan, and me and my comrade brainstormed until we came up with
WAMON JAPAN and its items”.
European family crests display detailed helmets, armors, lions, etc. Instead, many Japanese traditional family crests
have simple design: they represent simplified birds or flowers on circle, square or diamond shapes.
These patterns are greatly appreciated abroad.
"Universally popular Japanese patterns represented through beautiful Svarowski." This is WAMON JAPAN`s peculiar approach.

■ Refined handmade products to reproduce “Kamons` beauty”.
Products are entirely handmade. The craftsmen print the design on a sheet and places the crystals one by one on it.
When they reproduces a Kamon or any other pattern, they regulate the space among one another to better valorize stones` reflection.
They uses different sized stones and decide how to dispose them depending on the shape they have to fill in.
Big stones to create uniform large lines; small stones to create the pointed ends of words and sharp shapes.
Combining big and little stones makes the design look homogeneous.
Nobody can decide in advance “which place is right for every suitable stone”. Craftsmen`s aesthetic sense and sensibility
are everything, there is no other solution. Using just tweezers, thhe bring on this creative process like precision machines.
It takes away viewers` breath. Usually, decorating one product takes about two hours but complex or big designs
might equire extra time. When all crystals have been placed, they are stuck on a sticky sheet and glued on shirt`s back or cuff
with heating technique. This adhesion process is the only phase requiring a professional machine

■ Gathering orders from all over the world
On finished pieces` black cloth, Swarovski crystals` gleam looks delicate and gorgeous.
To decorate one T-shirt are necessary about 3000 crystals. Their splendor is exceptional.
Maximum attention is given to the finished goods and fabrics quality, but what concerns WAMON JAPAN the most is Japanese “Omotenashi”.
The shirts are mailed wrapped in Echizenwashi sheets (paper traditionally used to package kimono) that protects fabric and stones
and packed in kiribakos to prevent humidity.
“The company was founded just one year ago and the e-commerce English site is still very new. I feel very confident”
Director Ayano is using Facebook daily and, after he uploaded his products` photos, “Like!”s` number jumped up to 20,000 in
just three weeks. Because of the increasing number of Chinese tourists, they are planning to start selling their products at the office.
“If this is the case we will make some changes to our office. I will definitely hire Chinese speaking staff”.
The smile he showed us was filled with kindness. “I want to offer Japanese handmade products.
I want to bring Japan`s goodness to the rest of the world”. His words were filled with confidence and deep conviction.
This is Director Ayano`s force. From Japan to the world. The challenge has just started.