Starting in the late 1990s, big changes were afoot in the eyeglass industry.
Shockwaves from the collapsing bubble economy did not spare us. Trading companies and manufacturers who had been reaping handsome profits from the licensing business found themselves in tough straights. Low cost manufacturing in China was rapidly expanding, and Sabae's subcontractors and craftsmen were losing their their jobs.
One day, as heavy clouds gathered over our region, a certain artisan, anticipating the end of his work, paid a visit to Kaneko.
"Would you look at some eyeglasses I made?" he asked. "If you like them, will you give me a chance to work for you?"
That artisan was Yamamoto Taihachiro.
He had been hit hard by the stagnation of Sabae's eyeglass industry, one of many artisans to lose work.
This encounter would later prove to have a singular and irreplaceable value to KANEKO OPTICAL.
Yamamoto Taihachiro was born in Sabae in 1942. After graduating from middle school, he apprenticed under the master of a small eyeglass factory, quietly perfecting his celluloid frame-making techniques over a 40 year span to become a true eyeglass artisan.
In the late 1990s, growth in the eyeglass market came from high volume plastic (acetate) frames. This was a time when thin colorful frames were in vogue. Yamamoto's celluloid frames were perceived as outdated, and demand for them plummeted.
Expecting to become unemployed, Yamamoto had nothing left to lose. But when Kaneko looked at Yamamoto's handmade glasses, he was moved and even shocked in a way he had never experienced.
The best eyeglasses become one with the wearer.
The shape of those glasses was by no means refined. But they exhibited a sensitive and virtuosic technique, intensely expressing the artisan's individualism. Kaneko in that instant discovered an attraction beyond what might be expected from the form or detail of the glasses, and a value which went beyond the design.
He fell in love, and there and then resolved to launch a new brand that he would design, but would preserve the uniqueness only Yamamoto Taihachiro could impart.
Yamamoto was one of many eyeglass craftsmen who for years had supported the manufacturers behind the scenes, unknown to the eyeglass buying public. Yamamoto had stubbornly persisted in his work even as the profession of celluloid craftsman faded away amid constant change.
Kaneko made up his mind to bring aYamamoto Taihachiro's name and unique ability into the light.
He would engrave the glasses with the name of this unknown but highly skilled Sabae artisan, along with the company name. The TAIHACHIRO KINSEI brand was born - an unprecedented step in the eyeglass industry.
He also launched a KOH BOH-SAKU brand for craftsman Yamazaki Tsunenori, and within a few months, works of the two artisans quietly began appearing in stores. Internet and social media were not yet in wide use, but it didn't take long for people to notice the appeal of these artisans. The first positive reactions came from people in the fashion and media worlds, who discovered the products at trade shows or at KANEKO OPTICAL stores.
Through their enormous influence and exposure in magazines and other media, the spark was lit among young people, finally reaching middle aged and older generations through word of mouth and the like. Before long, the product overcame generational and gender barriers, to the point that "craftsman eyeglasses" became a major current in the industry, affecting everything that followed.
Three more brands were added in 2002: KOTAKE CHOBEI-SAKU, IDO TAMIO-SAKU and YOICHI-SAKU. All of these artisans had matchless skills and, like Yamamoto Taihachiro, had kept Sabae eyeglass making alive in the face of an economic abyss. Kaneko's determination to shine a light on them and protect the region and its methods is what led to these craftsman brands.
"The best eyeglasses become one with the wearer."
Those were the words Kaneko kept repeating to himself when he launched these brands, in love with these real eyeglasses made by real craftsmen - he had not the slightest doubt of their power. Though silent, their attraction was unmistakable. Even today they grab people's attention and don't let go.
Shockwaves from the collapsing bubble economy did not spare us. Trading companies and manufacturers who had been reaping handsome profits from the licensing business found themselves in tough straights. Low cost manufacturing in China was rapidly expanding, and Sabae's subcontractors and craftsmen were losing their their jobs.
One day, as heavy clouds gathered over our region, a certain artisan, anticipating the end of his work, paid a visit to Kaneko.
"Would you look at some eyeglasses I made?" he asked. "If you like them, will you give me a chance to work for you?"
That artisan was Yamamoto Taihachiro.
He had been hit hard by the stagnation of Sabae's eyeglass industry, one of many artisans to lose work.
This encounter would later prove to have a singular and irreplaceable value to KANEKO OPTICAL.