Born on April 14, 1955 (70 years old).
After graduating from Toyo University's Faculty of Business Administration, he studied marketing. Upon joining Muto Corporation, they were weaving fabric for nightwear and zabuton (Japanese cushions), but with lifestyle changes on the horizon, they switched to manufacturing scarves and stoles. Now, by focusing on making stoles from ultra-thin, natural fibers, they've been able to collaborate with luxury brands both domestically and internationally.
Born on January 28, 1990 (34 years old)
He studied architectural design at Tokyo Polytechnic University, and initially worked as a designer for a house-building company. However, feeling doubtful about the lack of direct customer contact in product creation, he quit his job. He then joined Muto Corporation, where he started out as a weaving artisan, and now manages the sales, schedule, and production site. Currently, he also handles sales for their own brand "muto," and sells products during pop-up events.
Unparalleled Commitment to Ultra-fine Threads
Could you tell us about the beginnings of your business and its evolution over the years?
Hideyuki "After my father returned from Manchuria after the war, he started a business in 1947, which originally produced fabric for kimono haori. We then began to make fabric for umbrellas, and yaguzabu, a type of fabric used for bedding included in dowry sets. In the case of futon fabric, we used to deliver products to local wholesalers, who would then distribute them to retailers nationally, and then to consumers. We made yaguzabu with Kai silk for a long time, but when down comforters started appearing, we thought things might change. We tried to get into the down comforter business, but it failed. I saw scarves displayed in department stores and thought I wanted to make them, which led us to start manufacturing scarves and stoles.Then, our business started recovering, and due to the bubble economy, we received orders to manufacture scarves and stoles from high-fashion brands such as Dior, Saint Laurent, and Kenzo. However, after the bubble economy collapsed, Japanese companies relinquished all their high-brand license contracts, which drastically worsened our business conditions.
That's when we decided to start an intensive research on stoles with the aim of making the world's thinnest thread from natural fibers to compete globally. As the best raw materials were monopolized by Loro Piana, we decided to compete with the finest thread in the world."
Keisuke "The reason we focused on thin threads was because around the time of the burst of the bubble economy, fast fashion began to rise, and production bases were migrated from Japan to China en masse, which led to an improvement in China's production technologies. In order to survive, we had to create something that couldn't be replicated even in China, which led to the development of this thread.
The thinner the thread, the better the raw material needs to be in order to create it. As a result, we are able to manufacture high-quality products with an incredible touch. Another characteristic is its beautiful, silken luster. At exhibitions, high fashion and maison representatives took notice and started using our thread."
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