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Gyoda, once a thriving hub for tabi production, is still alive with the history and skill of its artisans. Building on this tradition, a new challenge is underway: to free tabi from the confines of traditional Japanese attire and introduce a modern Japanese aesthetic to the world.
Managing Director of Isami Corporation. After graduating from university and working in fields like spatial design for a major company, he joined Isami Corporation. He is now spearheading the branding of Isami Tabi. In 2025, he will open a flagship store in Kawagoe under the brand name 'ISAMI,' centered on a modern Japanese aesthetic, to share Japanese culture with the world.
Gyoda's Tabi Culture: Woven from Land and History
Isami Corporation has been making tabi socks in Gyoda City, Saitama Prefecture, for 120 years. The long-established tabi factory will celebrate its 120th anniversary next year. Its sawtooth-roofed building, which featured cutting-edge British technology at the time of its founding, is now designated as a Japan Heritage site.
Tabi have been produced in this region since ancient times. Gyoda is home to Oshi Castle, made famous by the movie "のぼうの城." The area, as the castle town of Oshi Castle—which once repelled an army nearly ten times its size led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi—was lined with samurai residences.
'Tabi production began around the mid-Edo period when lower-ranking samurai started making them as a side business. It seems there were various contributing factors, including a favorable climate for growing cotton, the raw material, and the geographical advantage of being near the old Nakasendo highway for transport to Edo (modern-day Tokyo).'
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