Japan's Kojima Has History of Making Blue Jeans
2024-10-07
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1In the Japanese town of Kojima, the main road is named Jeans Street.
2This street is where people from around the world come to visit.
3The drink machines at the train station have images of jeans on them.
4The roads are painted blue, with the lines at the edges colored pink and white, the trademark of Kojima jeans' seams.
5With about 40 jeans manufacturers and stores, including cafes, the area gets about 100,000 visitors a year, the Japan National Tourism Organization said.
6Japanese jeans are often costly, dark and durable.
7Although a small part of the global jeans market, Japanese jean makers have developed a reputation for quality and attention to detail.
8Kojima is where popular brands like Big John are made.
9The city now supplies international clothing brands, including Gucci.
10Emma McClendon of St. John's University in New York said that the Japanese industry has not taken a mass marketing path.
11Instead, the jean industry pays careful attention to creating quality products that collectors might like.
12In Kojima, Jeans Street is small and uncrowded.
13Each company in the area is small, hiring about 100 people.
14What you will find are workers taking pride in "monozukuri," or "making things."
15The term suggests careful attention to detail.
16This idea can be found throughout Japan, from carmakers to the local tofu store.
17"More like making a kimono" is the way Yoshiharu Okamoto, a dyeing craftsman at Kojima-based manufacturer Momotaro Jeans, puts it.
18His hands and nails are colored blue from putting threads of cotton into a big container of coloring called dye.
19He knows by smell and feel the right state of the indigo coloring, which he compares to a living thing.
20He says it is a 365-days-a-year job, as the dye has to be checked and mixed every day.
21"It's not that easy to get this special color," Okamoto told the Associated Press recently. "It's my life."
22The dark color is so special it has earned the name "Japan blue" or "tokuno blue," meaning "especially concentrated blue."
23Jeans made in Kojima are costly. The jeans can cost from $230 per pair to $1,400 or more.
24Thomas Stege Bojer is founder of Denimhunters, an online site for people who like jeans and the cotton material they are made out of - denim.
25He says Japanese brands use "raw denim" that ages well and lasts a long time.
26He pointed to the jeans as part of a movement known as "slow clothing."
27The idea is to produce fewer, but higher quality pieces of clothing.
28The movement came as a reaction to low-cost, mass-produced clothes.
29"We just make too many clothes...I think, and we need to slow down," Bojer said from his home near Copenhagen, Denmark.
30McClendon said the Japanese industry is "shifting the conversation around jeans to be about heritage elements, about educating consumers on historical details as a form of quality."
31Momotaro Jeans, for example, come with a lifetime guarantee. Tears and other problems get fixed at no cost, within reason.
32Japan Blue Co., which runs Momotaro, a brand that began in 2006, said yearly sales totaled about $11 million for the latest year.
33About 40 percent of sales come from outside Japan.
34Masataka Suzuki, president and chief operating officer at Japan Blue, said the area has a strong industrial history.
35In the past, industry centered around sewing heavy materials, including military clothes and obi sashes for kimonos, as well as the cotton and indigo-dyeing native to the area.
36The jeans are for life, Suzuki said. The jeans slowly change depending on how they are worn and how the wearer lives.
37"We want to create a product that is a testament to a person's life," he said.
38I'm John Russell.
1In the Japanese town of Kojima, the main road is named Jeans Street. 2This street is where people from around the world come to visit. The drink machines at the train station have images of jeans on them. The roads are painted blue, with the lines at the edges colored pink and white, the trademark of Kojima jeans' seams. 3With about 40 jeans manufacturers and stores, including cafes, the area gets about 100,000 visitors a year, the Japan National Tourism Organization said. 4Japanese jeans are often costly, dark and durable. Although a small part of the global jeans market, Japanese jean makers have developed a reputation for quality and attention to detail. 5Kojima is where popular brands like Big John are made. The city now supplies international clothing brands, including Gucci. 6Emma McClendon of St. John's University in New York said that the Japanese industry has not taken a mass marketing path. Instead, the jean industry pays careful attention to creating quality products that collectors might like. 7In Kojima, Jeans Street is small and uncrowded. Each company in the area is small, hiring about 100 people. 8What you will find are workers taking pride in "monozukuri," or "making things." The term suggests careful attention to detail. 9This idea can be found throughout Japan, from carmakers to the local tofu store. 10"More like making a kimono" is the way Yoshiharu Okamoto, a dyeing craftsman at Kojima-based manufacturer Momotaro Jeans, puts it. 11His hands and nails are colored blue from putting threads of cotton into a big container of coloring called dye. 12He knows by smell and feel the right state of the indigo coloring, which he compares to a living thing. He says it is a 365-days-a-year job, as the dye has to be checked and mixed every day. 13"It's not that easy to get this special color," Okamoto told the Associated Press recently. "It's my life." 14The dark color is so special it has earned the name "Japan blue" or "tokuno blue," meaning "especially concentrated blue." 15Jeans made in Kojima are costly. The jeans can cost from $230 per pair to $1,400 or more. 16Thomas Stege Bojer is founder of Denimhunters, an online site for people who like jeans and the cotton material they are made out of - denim. 17He says Japanese brands use "raw denim" that ages well and lasts a long time. He pointed to the jeans as part of a movement known as "slow clothing." 18The idea is to produce fewer, but higher quality pieces of clothing. The movement came as a reaction to low-cost, mass-produced clothes. 19"We just make too many clothes...I think, and we need to slow down," Bojer said from his home near Copenhagen, Denmark. 20McClendon said the Japanese industry is "shifting the conversation around jeans to be about heritage elements, about educating consumers on historical details as a form of quality." 21Momotaro Jeans, for example, come with a lifetime guarantee. Tears and other problems get fixed at no cost, within reason. 22Japan Blue Co., which runs Momotaro, a brand that began in 2006, said yearly sales totaled about $11 million for the latest year. About 40 percent of sales come from outside Japan. 23Masataka Suzuki, president and chief operating officer at Japan Blue, said the area has a strong industrial history. 24In the past, industry centered around sewing heavy materials, including military clothes and obi sashes for kimonos, as well as the cotton and indigo-dyeing native to the area. 25The jeans are for life, Suzuki said. The jeans slowly change depending on how they are worn and how the wearer lives. 26"We want to create a product that is a testament to a person's life," he said. 27I'm John Russell. 28Yuri Kageyama reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 29________________________________________________ 30Words in This Story 31jeans - n. plural pants usually made of denim 32trademark -n. a characteristic or feature firmly associated with a person or thing 33seam -n. the joining of two pieces (as of cloth or denim) by sewing usually near the edge 34durable -adj. strong and able to last a long time 35reputation -n. the opinion that people have of a company or a person 36brand -n. a particular kind of product that has a name recognized by a lot of people 37kimono -n. a traditional Japanese clothing consisting of a long robe with wide sleeves 38dye - v. to impart a new and often permanent color 39craftsman -n. a person (especially a man) who is skilled in a craft 40concentrated -adj. very dense or thick 41conversation -n. a spoken exchange of opinions or ideas 42heritage -n. tradition 43testament -n. a proof or tribute