Creator KIYOMI HAMA / ARI+JAPAN

Greetings

　My name is Kiyomi Hama and I live in Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan.

　I started out in Osaka as a designer for women's clothes with the aim of making something that was original using ordinary material. I would take ordinary material and using my imagination would transform it into something original.

　One day I was given an obi (Japanese Kimono belt) from my late grandmother and was a treasured possession which had been cherished. I loved the material and wanted to use it, but I thought…. perhaps not as an obi in its current form… So I asked myself "what do you want it to become?" and so I used the material to make a bag.

 The results were even better than I had imagined. The Japanese Kimono belt was transformed into something even more splendid and I said to myself "This is so much fun!!"
From this point on, I decided that I wanted to continue to revive old Japanese Kimono belts with my hands. With that thought in and determination in mind, I spent many hours repeating this. Through countless attempts with much trial and error, the end results got better and better. With this refinement and improvement, I proceeded to make samples and launched the truly original brand called ARI+JAPAN (ARITUS-JAPAN). A brand that has never been seen on the streets before.

My origins

　My love for designing clothes all began when I was a young child. I would use the bottom of the cutting stand of my mother's dressmaking work space.
My early childhood was spent fantasizing about clothes. I would spend my time pricking the pincushion with a gusset needle and drawing floral designs.
I would show fashion magazines to my mother and ask her to teach me to make clothes rather than play with dolls and toys. These are my memories of my childhood.

　I learnt the skills of clothes making at an outfitting technical school and after graduating I went to work as a designer in the apparel industry. However, I wanted to be more creative and decided to become independent, which I did on 12th December 2012.
My workplace in Ashiya City is near the sea and surrounded by mountains. It is both my boutique and workshop where I hand make my products. It is here that I take inspiration from this tranquility and my work shows off this Japanese style and culture. My products reflect this and are truly one of a kind with true Japanese originality.

　I am determined to carry on producing this way, as I continually ask the obi and kimono "what do you want to be?"

　My desire is to continue to deliver these "precious", "cute" and "considerate" products to you.

MY MISSION

Our style of kimono and obi has survived the Meiji era (1868-1912), Taisho era (1912-1926), and Showa era (1926-1989) yet the demand for its existence is disappearing through the changes in our modern lifestyle.

We use historical fabrics from the kimono to restore them, preserving their integrity for all of eternity.
Without disturbing the original character of the obi, we transform its design through the traditional Japanese technique of interweaving, giving it a new lease of life, which we are proud to present to the rest of the world.

These products are individual and unique and I feel proud to show off my beautiful ancient Japanese culture of the Kimono and obi.

I plan to continue to cherish and preserve the wonderful historical tradition of our Japanese culture.

The origin of the name ARI+JAPAN

ARI＋JAPAN logo

ARI + is a take on the word "ARIGATO, which means Thank you" in Japanese. /p>

As the + in Japanese character form is 十 which translates as TO and TO is the Japanese word for 10.

Together ARI + is the word ARITUS which means Thank you 10 times.
For the label design, the concept of the whirlpool and heart represents a bow portraying an image of infinite possibilities with the arrow as the heart. Together they send out love from ARI+.

Concept

  • ARI+JAPAN is a brand to take forward the traditional succession of the Japanese kimono culture.
  • We take pride that ARI+JAPAN products are 100 percent Made in Japan.
  • Every ARI+JAPAN product is made with loving care and is a personal gift from me to you.
    I hope you enjoy my handmade product and take as much pleasure from this as I have had in creating this for you.

Philosophy of ARITUS-JAPAN

Every time I have an order for custom-made obi bag, I always feel that there is a story behind each obi. The story of obi is a proof of every customer's life and the story of the families lived through the era.

Here is an actual experience shared by a customer.

The time is the end of the World War II.
Yoshiko, a seven-year-old girl, was living in town experienced a group evacuation to rural area of Japan to avoid damage from air raid attack.

The life there was cruel for a little girl without enough food but something like tasteless soup made from corn powder to fill her up.
She could barely live and the meaning of living for her was to keep breathing.
In August 1945, the sky became calm when the war ended, and Yoshiko was able to go back to her beloved mother.

The houses, the town, the people....everything was gone.
70 years passed now, Yoshiko has memory flashbacks of the scenes of that time etched in her mind.

"When I joined a group evacuation, my mother had me take her obi and kimono. I exchanged the obi and kimono to food a little by little to survive the chaotic period after the war"

"This obi was something I bought for myself. There is nothing special to share with you about this obi" she continued with a warm smile.

Dear Yoshiko,
This story of obi is proof of your life. This is the story of you and your ancestor's proof of life.

I want to be a successor to continuously inherit obi and kimono in new ways by paying great respect for those obi and kimono lived through the era.

Creator KIYOMI