Budo, Kobudo & Japanese Artisanry - The Seido Blog

After the closing of the Horinouchi workshop who held about 40% of the production in, 2019, the production capacity dropped and the situation quickly became critical.
Where are we today? Well, it's not looking good, not at all.

Nowadays, the term "made in japan" has lost its meaning. How can you be sure what you are buying? Analysis of the situation.

In September 2019, the Horinouchi workshop who held about 40% of the production of all made in Japan wooden weapons, closed its doors forever. This article comes back to the reasons of that event, the state of the industry and how the prices of the products will evolve in 2020.

Dictionaries define sponsorship as: Money that is given, usually by a company, to support a person, organisation or activity — The act of sponsoring someone or something or of being sponsored. Let's be clear, sponsors’ primary goal is to make money: brands hope to gain visibility in return for their sponsorship and thus generate more revenues over the short or long term. So why is Aikido so desperately lacking for sponsors? As we are about to establish a partnership with the 5th Aiki Taikai and the 8th Traditional Martial Arts Night (NAMT - France), let’s use this opportunity to dwell on the subject.

For a decade, Seido has been deeply involved in assisting/counseling its partner craftsmen to help them going through this difficult time. Today, it is with heavy sadness in our hearts that we have to publicly announce that we failed at providing enough support to the Horinouchi workshop, to the point that the workshop is closing mid-September 2019. Let's start with a quick translation of the letter we received from the workshop in early August 2019.

The past few months, we've spent a great deal of time publishing our interviews made at the last wooden workshops of Japan this summer. Aramaki and Matsuzaki's interviews are already live and Nidome's interview is almost ready too. Following our encounter, and consistently with the subject we've discussed in those interviews, Master Aramaki sent a letter to all his partners presenting the situation at his workshop. Here is a free translation of this letter.

No, it’s not directly related to Budo, but nonetheless, it’s an interesting story that some of our followers may appreciate. Seido was one of the main contributors to the translation and release in Japan of the world number one e-commerce store provider. Why did we invest time in this? How did this happen? Trust us, we had good reasons!

Our story began in the summer of 2005, when the founder of BudoExport and Seido, Jordy, arrived in Japan. 19 years of age at the time and without university degree, he devoted one year to intensive Aikido practice before enrolling in a three year study course focusing on Japanese and Japanese culture in France and Japan. During those years, he continued to spend much of his time in different Dojos, also getting into Kendo and Judo.

As Budoka, most of us feel having moral values superior to those only practicing “sports”, we like to believe that we are better. Are you—as Budoka—more concerned by human conditions and human rights? Are you concerned with the origin of the products you buy and wear? Take your Dogi, your belt and have a look at the label. Pakistan? Bangladesh? China? Japan? Let us examine under what conditions your equipment is manufactured.