A Five-Year Drying Process, Tended to Every Few Hours

During the Edo period, Nagoya flourished as the premier castle town of the Owari-Tokugawa clan. From the Meiji Restoration to today, it has remained one of Japan's three major metropolitan hubs. In this bustling city, a crossroads for people and culture, Kusitome Shoten has been crafting combs for 120 years. Today, the legacy is carried on by third-generation master Shingo and his son, fourth-generation artisan Hideaki, who meticulously uphold the traditions established by the founder.

'The founder was originally from Mie Prefecture,' Shingo explains. 'After apprenticing as a comb maker there, he moved to Nagoya in 1903. He initially set up his workshop in Higuchi-cho, right by the castle. But the workshop was destroyed in an air raid, forcing him to evacuate to Ichinomiya, a city just north of Nagoya, for about a year. Afterward, he relocated here to Kita Ward, which is quite close to the original spot.'