20 Japanese Businesses Making The Most Expensive Products In The World | Business Insider

Footstepped Nara calligraphy ink will cost you over $1,000 matago areu from prefecture M. A single cow was once sold for approximately $330,000 and you say you are looking for a bonsai tree. Well, many of them are considered invaluable. Japan is full of people who have dedicated their lives to perfecting their crafts, but the skills, resources and time required to create

products

like these are not cheap. Here's why 20 Japanese

products

and delicacies are so

expensive

. Japanese chef knives are

world

-renowned for their unique design and durability. and just one can cost you over $900, from heating and hammering the metal to sharpening the edge of the knife and polishing the final blade.

These are just some of the skills that a Japanese craftsman spends his entire life learning to master. So what makes these knives so coveted and why? Are they that

expensive

? Terok Kazu has spent 37 years

making

chef knives at her family's factory in Eisen. Each one goes through 100 production stages. It is a process that requires more than 10 years of practice compared to popular European chef knives. Japanese blades are lighter and sharper, allowing for more precise cuts at the lower end. Most takamura blades cost a couple hundred, but custom-made pieces can sell for 15 times more than one of the

most

expensive knives. expensive ones produced by the store sold for $6,900 takam Hono was one of the first knife makers to use a certain type of stainless steel called high speed powder steel, it was originally designed for power tools such as saws and drills due to its durability and Strength, two qualities that Japanese chef knives are known for today, once the metal is cut, it is heated in an electric oven to harden and strengthen it.

The hammering then begins at this point the craftsman relies on experience and instinct to guide them in producing a blade of ideal strength and thinness. Hammering leaves circular marks, something that knife makers in the past typically polished, but 60 years ago, T Kazu's father and his colleagues discovered the benefit of knives with a textured surface like this. This hammered finish called tuim allowed chefs to chop ingredients more quickly and efficiently. He also added a beautiful aesthetic to each blade, another highly valued element in Japanese knives, but a Japanese chef's knife would not be. It can be just as valuable without an extremely sharp edge, a craftsman presses the blade against a rough whetstone made from natural rock, a sharpening material you will only see used in Japan, this step distinguishes the skill of a craftsman and ultimately , sets the final value a knife needs. a full day to sharpen the blade and another full day to secure and polish the handle.

The final knife is totally unique, each with its own balance of thickness and design. Several of the

world

's top chefs use Takamura knives, from Renee rppi in NoMa to Masimo Bor at Aeria Francescana, another of those chefs is Masakazu Fuji uses Takamura knives to prepare fish at his restaurant in Fuku AR Eden has been the center of high-quality knife

making

since blacksmiths began making chef's knives here 700 years ago and today the city is internationally recognized for its cutlery production, but before knives, artisans made swords, another valuable craft in the Japanese culture Despite dedicating decades to this craft, Terukazu and his brothers were not always determined to become master knife makers for professional chefs or not get one of Takota's knives.

It could take years with that kind of lead time coupled with the decades of training required to master this craft, these parts will likely remain expensive for years to come, this is ink, okab needs it until it's as smooth as cake of rice, it is imperative that you be as thorough as possible because a much-needed mixture turns into high-quality calligraphy ink. It takes at least 4 years of aging before these solid ink sticks can be sold and even longer for the more expensive ones, a high quality 200g ink stick of this one. The producer Cor Byen costs more than $1,000 and, for some other brands, prices can reach al

most

$2,000, while almost double the amount of commercial liquid India ink can cost less than $9.

So why are solid ink sticks so sought after and why are they so expensive? We are in January. Ken, the ink producer from Japan's Nara prefecture, has been making Japanese calligraphy ink for 450 years. This type of ink, also known as sui, is traditionally sold in the form of handmade solid ink sticks to use the dried ink stick, calligraphers rub it on an ink stone to mix it. With water, the ink is usually black, but can also be tinted brown or blue. The ingredients are simple, animal glue and perfume vapor, but the quality of these materials and the time-consuming techniques to collect and process them have a big impact on the final result.

Price begins in this room illuminated by 100 oil lamps. This workshop has four rooms like this where artisans produce all the St they need to make ink. Two workers are in charge of this stage, each supervising two rooms and 200 oil lamps. vegetable oil into the lamps and gradually collect S throughout the day in Japan, this process is called trapping smoke every day. The craftsmen light the 400 lamps and cover each with a lid whose bottom collects S as the oil burns, but they can't just leave. the lid in the same place for hours because overheating will prevent the flame from building up.

The craftsmen should rotate the lid every 20 minutes for 2 hours. The craftsmen should scrape the soot from the top of the lid and replenish the oil and The process starts again a total of five times a day for each lamp. These lamps contain rapeseed oil, the most common choice for producing high-quality ink sticks. Ink sticks made from even more expensive oils like poonia chamelia or sesame can easily cost up to four times as much but artisans must also consider other details such as the containers that hold the oil and the material of the wig to ensure the quality of the CT they use. containers of non-porous clay the artisans in this workshop even weave the wigs themselves with exacting specifications for the fineness of the grains S determining the final price, then there is the binding agent animal glue unlike most of its modern liquid ink counterparts Those who use shellac sui ink generally use cattle glue for the more expensive ink sticks.

Artisans sometimes mix other types of glue such as donkey deer and goat gayen says this improves the gloss and texture of the ink the company buys glue made especially for sui ink which comes in a shape similar to a dry board Artisans dissolve it mixing it with water at 70° C, which takes over An hour and a half According to Kayen, dissolving the glue slowly at a low temperature is key to producing quality ink, but animal glue can have a bad smell, so ink manufacturers sui add fragrances like Boral and musk to counteract it, the next step is to knead the S glue and fragrance into a soft dough, the dough is needed every morning with your hands and feet.

Doitsu takes care of needing it thoroughly so that the S and glitter are evenly distributed so that the solid stick can eventually dissolve into homogeneous liquid ink once you have kneaded it properly. The dough is cut by Doid Sugu into bowls and weighed for consistency. , then place the balls into molds and use a machine to press them into shape. Incorrectly used mass results in ink sticks that do not produce rich colors. Corbyn makes around 6,000 of the smallest and tallest ones. quality ink sticks per month, it employs a handful of craftsmen for this and those tasked with needing require the most experience.

It takes 5 years to train as a sui Inc craftsman, but 10 years before they are allowed to make high-quality ink. nearly 40,000 of its smaller sui ink sticks between October and April, when cooler winter weather ensures the glue can harden during molding, but the job isn't done yet. Drying ink sticks too quickly will cause them to crack and become unsellable, which is why craftsmen rely on them. in a traditional technique that uses oak to slowly absorb moisture from the bars over a long period of time. They begin by covering the bars with wet ashes every day. They exchange yesterday's ashes for drier ones.

They repeat this process for up to 40 days until the ink. The bars are about 70% dry after hanging with straw and air drying at home for up to 6 months. Proper drying and maturation of an ink stick takes at least 4 years. The longer the bars are dried and aged, the better they will perform and the more expensive they will be. They become coren It has ink sticks that are hundreds of years old Finally the artisans polish them and apply the finishing touches Now they are ready to be sold to calligraphers like Sha Aaki. Calligraphers as a show traditionally prefer ink sticks to liquid ink, but for writing.

With a sui ink stick, you must first transform it into a liquid, this requires an ink stone and water. Shaw adds a small amount of water and rubs the ink stick over the stone, breaking it up, mixes the two to make liquid ink, and adds more water. or more dry ink until you get the consistency you need, but not all SUI inks give you the same writing experience. 95% of Japan's sui ink is made here in N Prefecture. Sui ink production in Japan began in the 7th century, when Chinese monks introduced ink-making methods in the 14th century.

The use of sui ink was flourishing in Japan, although its primary use is for calligraphy, it is also often used for ink paintings known as suier and because coren must age their ink sticks for several years before they can be sold. For them, constant production is necessary or else their supply will not meet demand, but that does not mean that the company wants to increase its production core and strives to continue manufacturing calligraphy ink using the same techniques and with the same quality as its founders. The fat in this Matsu Saka wagu is so soft that it melts as soon as you touch it.

The finest cuts of matsusaka wagu have a melting point of 12° cus, which is 8° less than cor, and although prices for the best diners in Tokyo have never been low. For the first time this meat is sold outside of Japan, in Paris, where only 100 G are sold for $530. These cows are so valuable that in 2002 one was sold for 50 million yen and more than $330,000 at auction to reach that low melting point. Matsusaka farmers raise them carefully. cows and keep them alive longer than their average life expectancy with modern and ancient practices. So how is the world's most expensive beef raised and why is matsusaka so expensive?

Wu is a third generation Matsu Saka wagi. Farmer on his farm in M. prefecture only virgin cows are found, it is the main requirement for any of the 80 Matsu Saka wagu farms here in Mi prefecture. Matsusaka beef has long been praised for its extremely low melting point, which is half that of wagu types, meaning that when cooking the fat melts in a shorter time to achieve this intense marbling. . Old generations of farmers like hio hii's dad used to feed bear to cows, although there is no evidence that this practice increases the cows' appetite, many associate Matsu Saka wagi with the fact that matsusaka has maintained a relatively low profile. low internationally has almost transformed this practice into a hiroi who no longer practices this, instead has perfected the food and practices circular agriculture.

The cost of feed is a major factor driving prices up to soft matsusaka cows. they need to eat a lot they also need to eat for much longer than other cows matsusaka cows are bred for 30 to 32 months 6 months longer than other

japanese

black cows it all adds up over time for hiroi feed costs temperature control air circulation and Clean enclosures regularly to avoid flies. Farmers here call this breeding period fattening. For the first 3 to 4 months, cattle eat grass to develop a strong digestive system. This is called the belly building period, then comes the finishing period where the cattle gradually switch to concentrate feed. and rice straw for fattening Hoki is now experimenting with even longer fattening periods by raising his cattle for 35 to 40 months, but raising cows for that long can also be dangerous for hioki as a cow could become ill and die as a cow in the end of their fattening period is a true treasure every year matsusaka cows andone is crowned queen of matsusaka, while the highest price ever achieved for one of these cows was 50 million yen in 2002, this auction has never seen a low average price. around 20 million yen events like the auction have also fostered another legend that Matsusaka farmers massage their cows with alcohol this time it is not to improve their appetite but their appearance it is not just the adult cows that cost a lot to care for they can be very expensive R hioki does not raise cattle from birth to 10 months the carvings are also sold at auctions throughout Japan hioki spends almost half of his time at work buying carvings and is very demanding BMS ms12 is the degree of marbling higher for Wu in Japan the more intense the marbling the higher the price for customers in Tokyo 100 G of sirloin costs 10,000 yen, but it is still much less than what Parisians pay at marak Ania, where the same cut The most premium cut loin sells for €360, the most premium cut loin sells for €5,000 per kilogram.

The Paris restaurant was the first to successfully export Matsu Saka wagu outside of Japan and include it on its menu. Their most expensive tasting menu costs €520. Matsusaka wagu is heavily regulated to include matsusaka meat on the menu. The restaurant had to follow strict rules. The Paris restaurant. It was necessary to apply for a license that took a year to be accredited to maintain it. The restaurant must have a high rating on Google Maps and there cannot be another restaurant serving Matsu Saka wagu within a 840M radius as of 2023. Hiroi has sent only three cows for Maria Cara due to this limited supply menu 520 with premium ethor ranch tenderloin served at just one table per day this exclusivity will become a little more flexible over the last 10 years Japan has been a major importer of us Beef imports an average of $1.83 billion a year, while While millions of Valende Wu made the opposite journey when he achieved international fame, a decline in tourism after the Covid-19 outbreak and a shift in consumer behavior towards cheaper meats exacerbated this and now Japanese ranchers are looking outside the borders. of the country's export quota of Matsu Saka. has gone from 24 in 2022 to 700 in 2024, of which the majority of Premium Cuts are exported to high-end restaurants such as Maria Cana in Paris, which is pushing farmers who want to ship abroad to bet on those lucrative but dangerous long periods of fattening.

M, this is Kenji, he is using a centuries-old technique to dye silk for a kimono, it is physically demanding, but that is not the only challenge he has to match this color exactly, making adjustments by eye and it is essential that the fabric within this barrel remains white. Kenji won't do it. Knowing if he is successful until he opens the lid This is one of the more than 20 steps required to make a kimono. You can buy a cotton kimono for $300, but a handmade chiso kimono can cost more than $10,000, and the company's most expensive kimonos cost 10 times more than the ones we follow. 10 step-by-step craftsmen to discover what makes these kimonos so expensive.

Versions of the kimono have been worn for centuries today. The kimono is considered formal. They are worn on special occasions such as weddings or coming-of-age ceremonies. They are so expensive that they are made entirely of silk, it takes around 12M of silk to make a single kimono. Chiso collaborates with a network of highly skilled artisans. Each step is done by hand and can take weeks to complete. This intricate design begins as a simple sketch once the design is ready Hiroshi transfers it to silk. This step is called Drafting and can take up to 2 weeks. Hiroshi makes sure that the design looks good when the kimona is worn not only on a flat surface.

These lines are critical to the design process but you will not see them on the finished kimono this painting is removed after acting as a guide for other artisans Hoshi has 37 years of experience but is still very critical of his work Jos kimonos are known for their complexity patterns painted using a technique called Yen Artisans trace the design with a glue-like paste that separates the colors when the silk is painted. It also gives a distinctive white outline to parts of the design. It's patient work, but AI says it's all worth it when you see the finished Kimon.

This is just the beginning of a month-long process. The kimono pieces are sent to different artisans throughout Kyoto. Each craftsman must perfect his section while he considers the final design. In Yoko's workshop she dyes the base of the kimono with these large brushes. Yoko and her assistant blend the edges by working around the design, but this is not the only way kimonos are dyed. Some are dyed using a technique called shibori that creates bold colors and distinct shapes, but it's very tedious work before Kenji gets to work. The craftsmen sew the silk and tie this barrel.

The seam that Homi is sewing forms the border of the design. Matsuyama then wraps the silk along this wooden tub and tacks it into place before placing the lid. This step is key to prevent the dye from bleeding inside. Now it's Kenji's time. To wet the silk, he works quickly but constantly monitors the silk to make sure it is dyed correctly. If the barrel sits in the dye for too long, the colors will begin to bleed. Kenji cuts a strip of fabric. He compares it to the Swatch and adjusts its tint accordingly afterwards. death is complete Kenji lifts the lid and examines his work.

All of these steps combine to tell a story through the design of the kimono. Themes of nature or the seasons are common, while some designs reference poems or reproduce one of the most skillful and delicate steps. We're in the US and Tomo, dying, has 25 years of experience making kimonos and tying has been practiced for centuries and has become an iconic feature of high-end kimonos. The technique is more expensive and time-consuming than screen printing, but Cho's clients are willing to pay. a premium for results Long-sleeved kimonos with intricate designs can take two to three weeks to paint;

The final step of the process is for artisans to apply gold leaf and embroider complex designs. Embroidery alone can take anywhere from weeks to months depending on the design, the more embroidery a kimono has the more expensive it will be when all the pieces fit into place the finished kimono is a work of art a testament to the skill of each artisan who has worked on silk Jos kimonos take between six and 12 months to make and those hundreds of hours of work are reflected in the price, most range between $7,000 and $14,000, but some of Cho's elaborate designs cost more than $100,000 and the accessories that traditionally worn with a kimono they increase the price, even more customers looking for less expensive kimonos could choose to rent or buy refurbished ones that usually cost a few hundred but still offer good quality buying a cotton kimono or a no-hassle one At us it's much more Affordable, these kimonos are often worn for less formal events, but the current demand for expensive and complex kimonos is low kimono sales.

It declined sharply in the 9 years during Japan's economic crisis and the industry has continued to shrink. Today it is about 14% of the size it was in 1975. Chiso sells about 4,000 kimonos each year, but the garment's relevance in life modern technology is limited, which makes things even more complicated. the hands of the artist that it depends on to maintain production are aging the future of this centuries-old tradition of clothing depends on the skill of the artisans who practice it Japanese sword making is a tradition that dates back centuries and continues to Today every sword requires dedicated skill and can take over 18 months to create.

The resulting blades can be worth thousands of dollars, so what makes them so expensive? After 5 years of apprenticeship and years of training, he became one of 180 blacksmiths working throughout Japan. Japanese swords have always been more than just weapons, they were works of art, status symbols and throughout history they had great spiritual importance, since each sword is a unique work of art. and one that is made to be admired as you would a painting, as the sheets of steel are folded together again and again, patterns similar to wood grain are formed and these patterns, along with the skill of the master of the sword, they create a completely unique blade that knows what to look for.

In each sword there are important characteristics such as the angle and length of the blade or the way the metal is bent that could reveal the era in which it was made and even who made it, looking at the work required to create each blade. , It is easy. to see why these swords command such a high price and as there are fewer and fewer sword masters throughout Japan, these works of art will only become more valuable. This is the most expensive fish in Japan in January 2018. One kilogram of these eels costs. At around $35,000, it's more than bluefin tuna and almost as much as the price of gold at the time, but catching these eels is just the beginning;

It may take a year of work until they are big enough to sell. Eels are so popular and why are they so expensive. People in Japan have eaten eel for thousands of years. Restaurants like this can sell 40 to 50 tons of E e each year. The Japanese eel or japanica eel can be found throughout East Asia, but with changing fisheries and habitats. have caused a huge decline in eel stocks since 1980, the global eel catch has decreased by more than 75%, which has had a huge effect on the price, unlike other types of fishing, most Eels are raised and not caught as adults, young eels called glass eels.

They are caught in the wild and raised on farms like this one. No farms have been able to raise eels in captivity efficiently, so farmers rely on catching young eels for profit. To obtain so many eels requires constant attention. Miio has been working like an eel. Farmer for almost 40 years after the cost of eels, feeding them is the most expensive part, two or three times a day, workers feed the eels a mixture of fish meal, wheat, soybean meal and soybean oil. fish, after 6 to 12 months of working with eels. are large enough to sell, workers unload the eels and sort them by size to determine where they will be sold.

Experienced workers can quickly tell the difference just by sensing that some of these eels will end up in restaurants like Cuga, which has been serving eels for more than 150 years, high demand is part of the reason tender eels are so expensive The final dish is called kabayaki. It may seem simple, but it takes years to prepare. Skilled workers prepare live eels to maintain their freshness, but this makes handling them much more difficult. Workers remove the bones and eels cut to size for the skewers and must be constantly monitored while cooking to achieve uniform grilling. The chef steams and then roasts each eel three times, dipping it in sauce between each roast.

Kabayaki presented in a lacquered box with rice is called unaju. can cost up to $91 depending on the price of adult eel if prices are too high, restaurants struggle to make a profit in Japan. Eels are eaten year-round, but consumption peaks in the summer and have become an important part of some local economies, but high demand has caused concern in 2014. Japanese eels were classified as in endangered and, due to the low domestic catch, most of the eels consumed in Japan are imported from China and Taiwan. Efforts have been made to improve the eel population, such as regulating fishing and releasing adult eels into the water. and researching how to farm eels, but the future of Japanese eels remains unclear and the price is likely to rise with demand.

Bons site is an art form that requires years of training and centuries of dedication at the 2012 international bonsai convention where a tree stood. It sells for 100 million yen, just under a million dollars, and many more of these trees are considered completely priceless. So what makes bonai so expensive? Bonsai is the art of dwarfing a normal tree to create a perfect miniature representation of nature in a small size. potting has a long history originating in China the practice of creating tiny trees and landscapes appeared as early as the 6th century the growth of trees is restricted by years of pruning wiring transplanting and grafting and the plants need to be checked and often watered every Today , the skills needed to grow these trees play a huge role in their value.

They are often bent and twisted into shape, placed around rocksor even placed together with other trees to simulate a small forest. Many of these techniques take years to master and any mistakes made can permanently ruin the shape or even kill a plant that has been growing for centuries Chako Yamamoto is a fourth generation bonsai master based in central Japan. She has been creating and selling bonsai for the last 51 years and one of the most difficult skills to master when growing. These plants are patience for time and the devotion that this process requires is different from almost any other form of work of art while the work is almost a form of sculpture the plants are living beings and will always react in their own way the extraordinary time that There are simply not that many trees around, some of the most valuable bonsai are over 800 years old and therefore supply will not increase any time soon, other factors can contribute to the cost of bonsai pots and plants.

Tools that are often used are handmade. and can cost thousands of dollars, certain types of trees are also more difficult to grow or require certain techniques and can command a higher price, but more than anything these trees are works of art valued for their beauty and the vision of the artist, the more distinctive appearance. of a Japanese bow has a length of more than 2 m in height, these bows are difficult to handle and making them is just as challenging. Bow makers file raw bamboo and insert over 100 wedges to curve the bow, depending on the materials these bows can cost over $2,000, so how are these bows made and why are they so expensive?

Longbows have been used in Japan for centuries, but today you will mainly find them in a martial art called Kudo. You can buy a synthetic bow for around $400, but many experienced archers prefer that feel. of handmade bamboo bows kuto shibata's family has been making bows for over 450 years it all starts with raw bamboo Kido tries to source most of their bamboo locally around kiyoto but it has to be dried for 3 years before it is ready to use kuto shaves the dried bamboo to a thickness of 4 to 5 mm this is one of the most physically demanding parts of the process C because bamboo is dense and fibrous a Japanese bow consists of three main layers two pieces of bamboo and a inner core called nakauchi The nakauchi is made of laminated bamboo and waxed tree wood and is much harder than the bamboo on the outside.

Glue filed bamboo to each side of the nakauchi to form the arch. For some bows, use a natural glue called neb, which is harder to work with. With making the final product more expensive than bows that use synthetic glue, but the hardest part is bending this straight bamboo into a bow shape. Canotto wraps a rope around the bamboo and inserts more than 100 wedges while bending curves in the bow due to decades of practice. Koro takes between 10 and 15 minutes despite the importance of this step. Kto only shapes his bows by eye for after the glue dries. Kto removes the wedge and bends the bow into its final shape.

Cano bows cost between $900 and about $2,200, depending on the materials used, but bows made for display can cost much more. His family's customers include everyone from local Kudo practitioners to the Imperial family, but Koto wants his bows to be accessible to more people as long as it doesn't affect the final quality. Try to make the process as efficient as possible despite the high price by using a well-made bow. That feels good is essential for archers. If a single hair is out of place on a high-end calligraphy brush, this should be removed. Intense attention to detail is part of why these brushes can cost over $1,000, you can find a beginner brush for under $15, but for handmade brushes custom designed for a master calligrapher.

Artisans spend months turning raw hair into a perfect brush tip, but what makes these brushes unique and why are they so expensive? Calligraphy is a respected art form in Japan and has been practiced for centuries, but today there are not many qualified brush makers left. Yoshiyuki Ha is a third generation brush maker and has been making calligraphy brushes since he was a teenager. His family's workshop in Kawajiri focuses on what they call uncompromising craftsmanship. Each brush tip is handmade by a single Artisan, but making these brushes is not easy for a master calligrapher like Dao kanako.

Small differences in a brush's hardness or ink retention can dramatically affect the lines you can produce during the dozens of steps involved in making the brush, starting with selecting different hair types. Hair has a big impact on the price of a brush. Yoshiyuki's specialty is one of the most expensive goat hairs. This hair was collected 50 years ago from the chest of the Yangtze River Delta. The white goat hair of this specific breed of goat is classified as type three hair based. Due to its size, shine and elasticity, it is a highly sought after hair for making brushes because it is soft but durable and retains ink well, but today this type of hair is difficult to find in large quantities and can cost thousands of dollars. per kilogram.

Selecting high quality hair is done entirely by ey and is one of the hardest skills for a new brush maker to learn, but this long process only begins once the hairs are chosen, boiled, and combed to remove any lint. , this process separates the long, straight hairs which are ideal for Making a brush one of the most time-consuming steps is aligning all of these hairs. This delicate work is key to making a uniform brush, but it relies heavily on experience and instinct throughout the process. Brush makers patiently remove any imperfect or damaged hair at this stage. Yoshi Yuki's vision of a brush begins to take shape after trimming it, he wets the hair and combines different strands to create a dense, long-lasting brush, then dips the hair in funori, an adhesive liquid made from seaweed to hold the hairs together and the finished brush.

The tip is almost unrecognizable from raw hair, but the precise work isn't over yet once the hair dries. Yoshiyuki ties the ends and burns each one with a hot iron, joining the hair together. Any mistake here could ruin a month of work. It's finally time. to assemble the brush light the brush tip each handle is custom made this time consuming process along with the materials used means these brushes can cost 100 times more than a mass produced brush the price varies depending on the size and the larger brush type The brush requires more hair, which naturally increases the price.

Hatab bunino brushes usually cost around $1,300, but some brushes can cost much more despite the high price. These brushes are essential tools for calligraphers like Dao. He followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and has been practicing calligraphy for 20 years and some brush manufacturers mix natural and synthetic hair to make brushes more affordable, but yoshiyuki remains committed to using only the highest quality materials. Koo yoshiyuki's son will be the workshop's fourth-generation brush maker, but like many traditional craftsmen, the future of brushes is unclear as demand for handmade brushes is in decline. Some brush manufacturers have started selling makeup brushes to attract new customers, but the main concern for Yoshiyuki and his family is the lack of raw materials.

You've probably heard of fugu, the deadly pufferfish delicacy served. Across Japan, Japanese eat 10,000 tons of fish each year, but in high season it could cost $265 per kilo. So what makes this dish so expensive? This video contains images of a killed fish. There are more than 12 species of pufferfish. 22 different types. They were approved by the Japanese government for use in restaurants, but one is more prized and more poisonous than the others, the torafugu or tiger puffer fish. Wild tofugu is often found in upscale restaurants where it is served as a perfectly thinly sliced ​​sashimi, fried, and even used. to make hot sake called hirake Yamad has been serving puffer fish for over 100 years.

Their Fugu is caught in southern Japan and transported alive by plane to their Tokyo restaurants. Getting the fish can be tricky at the beloved market. The Fugu is auctioned off using a bag and hides. hand signals, each potential buyer puts his hand in the bag and secretly bids before a successful bidder is chosen when such dangerous food is sold. Safety is paramount in 2018, when a supermarket accidentally sold five packages of fish that did not have the poison. The liver was removed. The city used its missile warning system to warn residents that the tetrodoxin found in Fugu is more toxic than cyanide and about 20 people are poisoned by poorly prepared fish each year.

It takes a lot of skill and training to prepare fish safely and know which one. the parts are poisonous we have the poisonous parts The parts can vary depending on the species and now hybrid species are appearing that are even more difficult to distinguish. One of the most difficult things to distinguish may be the female fugu's ovaries, which are extremely toxic, and the male's testicles, which are a delicacy. The Japanese government strictly controls who can prepare Fugu and chefs must undergo extensive testing. before they are legally allowed to serve the fish. This rigorous regulation means that while the fish can be lethal, many more people die from eating oysters than Fugu each year, because all the skill and training required to prepare this fish increases its price, the fish is killed seconds before preparation and, although the process seems gruesome as the muscles continue to spasm, the fish is technically brain dead, this method of killing the fish.

It means the meat stays fresh longer and at yamadaa the fugu is aged for 24 hours before being served, so what does it really taste like? Because of how transparent it is. I didn't expect it to have such a chewy texture, it really is a lot. chewier than I expected, but it actually has a very subtle flavor, it's just a really fresh, clean, really nice kind of flavor. There is another reason why tiger Fugu is becoming more expensive due to fishing. The tiger puffer fish is near threatened and in 2005 the Japanese government limited its fishing quotas. and seasons and another popular edible species throughout Japan, the Chinese pufferfish population has declined by 99.9% over the past 45 years.

Farmed versions of this fish are much cheaper and many more affordable Fugu restaurant chains are starting to appear, but the farmed version is difficult. increase and Japanese consumers say it just doesn't taste as good. The high price of wild fugu ensures that it is safely prepared by a skilled chef and when it comes to a potentially deadly fish, that price is reassuringly expensive, this is a handmade iron kettle. For centuries, artisans have made teapots by pouring Molen iron through a small opening into molds like this, once the iron hardens they continue the tedious work of hammering the teapot free.

It is only used to boil water, but that doesn't make it cheap. You can buy one. a mass produced teapot for $20 but a handmade iron teapot can cost over $300 so who makes these teapots and why are they so expensive? This is Iwat Prefecture in Japan. Iron teapots have been made here for hundreds of years, each one beginning with a sketch of Nobu Mia. She runs kamada, a workshop founded by her grandfather, to design a new teapot it takes her two to three years in this workshop. Each teapot is handmade, but before you start melting the iron you need a mold.

The mold is made of three parts that form a space where the iron is poured into the core and is destroyed with each use, but the outer molds are reused two or three times depending on the design of the teapot. According to Noou, about 70% of the work is making the mold. This process also creates the most recognizable look. From the design this bumpy pattern called AR this mold has around 2000 dots all placed by hand. The craftsmen cover the core with charcoal powder to make it easier to separate it from the iron and then Shitaro delicately places it inside the outer mold, but you won't know if something has gone wrong until the iron cools.

There is a lot of anticipation waiting for the iron to set. melt. Shitao has to mentally prepare for the poor. A dangerous and physically demanding task. A mistake here could ruin the kettle, so experience and confidence are essential once the iron cools. Shitaro finally sees the result of his hard work.work because traditional iron teapots like this one do not have any enamel coating on the inside. Instead, artisans heat the teapot to 900°C over a bed of charcoal, creating an oxidized layer that helps prevent rust. The enamel coating on the griddle subtly changes the taste of boiled water, but this teapot still It is not finished.

The final stage is one of the most skill-intensive steps. Noou heats the teapot and applies a coat of lacquer and colors the exterior for most Kamada cost teapots. From $3 to $400, but prices can reach $22,000. Despite the high price, customers appreciate the slow-moving nature of these teapots. The design is considered wabisabi, which is difficult to translate literally, but refers to the concept of appreciating imperfection and practicing mindfulness. Iron kettles were common. in Japan in the 17th and 18th centuries, when they were used in tea ceremonies, but struggled to compete with convenient mass-produced options after World War II. In recent years, interest in its aesthetic qualities has revived demand, but that demand has led to many imitations that can be purchased for a fraction of the price.

These teapots imitate pattern A, but are generally not made in Japan. They also have an enameled interior instead of the bare iron used in the traditional version, but the original uncoated interior is actually one of the main ones. Selling Points: Customers say they like the taste of water boiled in these teapots and some also value the small amount of iron content it adds to the water despite the rise in popularity. Nabu says that the demand for this type of teapot is not enough to sustain the Business on his account. Sharo Nabu's son has trained in making iron teapots and plans to take over the

business

to continue the centuries-old craft.

After plucking these leaves, drying them, and grinding them, they will make the best matcha, but not all matcha is created equal. The Greener Matcha is smoother and more complex, its flavor is high quality, jade green can cost 20 times more than pale green and although this bright green powder takes a few seconds to dissolve in water, it takes an entire year to let the plant from which it comes grow. What makes ceremonial grade matcha so exceptional and why is it so expensive? Matcha at its highest quality is known as ceremonial grade due to the central role it plays in Japanese tea ceremonies.

Lower quality matcha, also called culinary grade matcha, can be made sweet with sugar and cream in desserts, but in tea form it is very bitter. Gintaro is a sixth generation matcha producer. He runs a 180-year-old tea farm, one of the oldest in the city of Uji, Japan, with a centuries-old history of tea. In spring, young and tender leaves sprout and that is the sign that the match season has begun. To make matcher, you only need the first leaves of the plant, that is where there is a greater concentration of nutrients and they will make the best quality tea, So at Peak Harvest drying the leaves can take hours, but the reason the plants are in the shade is not to protect those who pluck them from the sun, but to protect the plants themselves.

Extensive exposure to sunlight develops bitterness in the leaves by blocking sunlight. It preserves their flavor and gives them a bright green color before harvesting in the spring. Gintaro spends 30 to 40 days in the shade using rice straw panels to shade the rice plants, a method that has become extremely rare among farmers. Most farmers now use plastic nets, they are more convenient and can be reused. Gintaro plants spend twice as much time in the shade. than is recommended for making matcha, which is 20 days, while plants that produce lower grades of matcha are harvested two or three times a year.

Ceremonial GR matcha is made from plants that have been plucked only once after a full day of Genta harvesting work. start before the first step of processing the leaves is steaming, steaming preserves the flavor and retains their bright green color, but above all it prevents the oxidation that would turn them into black tea. After steaming the leaves, a series of four mesh tubes enter this leaf spreader where the wind quickly cools them, removing water from the leaves and preparing them for the next step: drying the tea leaves in Genta's Farm are dried using a 97-year-old kiln which gives them a unique roasted aroma.

After drawing, the stems are removed and the leaves are sorted, the leaves up to this point are called tenture and will only mature after they turn into a green powder, but before doing that, Gintaro usually tests the unrefined leaves and it is very critical of his work for the ceremonial grade. Matcha is ground using a stone mill. It is designed to grind counterclockwise. Only this traditional method grinds a fine powder that preserves the leaf's nutrients, but it is very slow. It takes Gentaro an entire hour to grind just 40 grams of matcha with an automated grinder. It happens in seconds Stone Mills mattresses are some of the most traditional instruments in Japan, they are made of granite and are completely hand carved.

Just one of these Stone Mills can cost over $1300, it grinds the matcher into a fine, shiny powder, but once the matcha is ground. The fragrance fades slowly and becomes more delicate, so Gentaro usually grinds it one more time before selling it as ceremonial grade matcha. It contains a higher level of an antioxidant called kaken and more chlorophyll than other green teas, this is because to the process of shading and slow grinding, while the Japanese public has long been familiar with the distinction between ceremonial grade and culinary grade matcha, is relatively new. to the rest of the world, but the popularity of matcha has skyrocketed in 2020, the global matro market was worth 3 billion dollars and is expected to exceed 5.5 billion dollars by 2027 in the last 10 years, exports of matcha from Japan have doubled compared to 30 years ago.

They have quadrupled, but these figures barely refer to the ceremonial grade matchmaker. Lower production costs, faster delivery and the ability to harvest leaves up to three times a year have made culry grade jogger a more popular choice for farmers in Uji, with only 60 families left farming. The ceremonial grade matcher for Gintaro taking over the family

business

was not an obvious choice once all of this year's young leaves are gathered and ground into matcha powder. Gentara will spend the fall pruning the trees, plowing and fertilizing the soil. When winter comes, she will weave the rice straw. to shade your plants and the new leaves will sprout again ready to become matcha there every year GUI fuar goes to the mountains to look for this mutaki mushroom if the harvest is low.

Wholesale mutaki can cost more than $500 per kilogram and for the last 70 years. Japan's harvest has decreased by more than 95% now the future of mushrooms is unclear, so what makes these mushrooms so expensive and why have they almost disappeared? Matsutake cannot exist without the trees that grow connected to the roots of red pines in a symbiotic relationship. The mutaki grow. in several countries, including China and South Korea, but Japan reaches the highest price in 2021. The first mutaki of the season were auctioned for more than $7,000 and are harvested once a year, approximately from September to November, but due because the national harvest in Japan has plummeted, the price is volatile unlike other precious foods it is not a problem of overharvesting it is a problem of habitat change mutaki cannot be grown on farms they have to be harvested by hand but foraging does not It's an easy task Giii Fujara has been searching for matsutake for over 60 years.

There is a lot of anticipation before each harvest season. G forges from dawn to dusk and returns home around noon to empty his baskets. Even for someone with her experience, it can be difficult to predict the quality of a harvest, even with a good harvest of these mushrooms. They are difficult to find, blend into the forest floor, and often do not grow at the base of a tree. Knowing where to look is the result of decades of foraging on this mountain. It's exhausting work, but today G is rewarded by filling several baskets on each trip. but his work is not over when the harvest ends in the off season gu returns to the mountain and tries to grow matsutake gii also tries to spread the mutaki spores to help them grow, but growing matsutake this way takes about 5 years and success is It is not guaranteed even though this year was a great harvest, the long term trend is downwards in 1953 Japan harvested around 6400 metric tons of mutaki but in 2019 it harvested only 14 metric tons.

One of the main reasons for this decline is a change in how forests are maintained. Taki also grows best with red pines that are a few decades old, but for the past century an invasive pest called pine nematode has been harming the growth of the trees. red pines throughout Japan without the trees, mutaki will not be able to survive, the mushrooms also need plenty of rain and cool temperatures at the beginning of the season. All of these factors create a delicate balance for the mutaki. Mushrooms vary greatly each year, causing big changes in prices. In 2018, prices were 20-50% lower than the previous year due to a good harvest, but in 2019, when there was a period of dry weather, prices almost doubled reaching over $800 per kilogram in some parts of Japan today Japan imports more than 90% of its masaki from places like China and South Korea in 2019, only about 14 of the 1,000 metric tons consumed were harvested.

Mutaki imported into the country are more affordable compared to those grown in Japan, but some people find these mushrooms less fresh and not as tasty. Closed-lid matsutake are often considered the most valuable, but they are sold in different sizes. used in different types of dishes, a full dish at this end costs around $130 due to the decreased harvest. Mutaki mushrooms were listed as vulnerable in 2020, but the species is not yet extinct, but if its growth and environment are not sustained, this legendary mushroom probably won't get cheaper anytime soon. Heizo Manab takes 1-2 months to dye these yarns.

A deep indigo blue denim made with these yarns will maintain this intense color and so will the man's nails for 3 weeks. That's because Manab uses real indigo. Instead of the synthetic dyes that most genes are made with today, a pair of motaro jeans dyed with natural indigo can cost more than $2,000, but using real indigo is just one element that can increase the price of Japanese denim. Each stage of production requires meticulous attention, so what exactly is it? It makes Japanese denim different and that's enough to make it so expensive in basic terms. Japanese denim refers to denim made in Japan, but today it often implies salvaged denim.

The name comes from the way the fabric is woven on these old shuttle looms that weave the fabric with a sealed or self-finishing edge, hence the name Self-Finishing Edge, it means that the end of the fabric does not fray or fall apart. You'll notice a pair of Salvage Jeans next to the cuff. There is usually a colored line along the outside seam. This type of denim is made. Here in Kojima, Japan, Motaro is one of Kojima's most well-known denim brands, but before Momotaro makes denim, it must first dye the yarns. The company's most expensive jeans are hand-dyed with natural indigo.

Indigo has been a valued art form in Japan for centuries. Manab dies 60 rolls of cotton over several days. Lay out each roll and hang it to dry before dyeing. Another must dye each roll a total of about 30 times, otherwise the color will not fade. be jeans dark enough to be dyed blue. This way not only takes more time but also costs more. A kilogram of synthetic indigo can cost between $4 and $5 depending on the quality. Natural indigo can cost 10 times more than a bale that is only enough for dyeing. about 15 pairs of jeans, although the use of natural dyes increases the cost of production, it has unique effects on genes that cannot be produced by synthetic dyes, nowadays cheaper synthetic dyes have mostly replaced natural ones , so jeans that are still made with natural dyes are often considered premium quality. product which is part of the reason why mamot taro's Kinton or Gold Label jeans are worth over 2000.

The increased price of this pair is a nod to the extra effort, skill and money required to hand-dye the yarns and obtain the perfect color, not all Japanese jeans or Motaro jeans are made with indigonatural, but still the price is still high, around $200 to $300 for a pair like this and that goes back to the way Japanese denim was woven before Toyota made cars. It made looms like this one, originally introduced in the 1920s. These Toyota looms are no longer manufactured today and although they look and sound like they are working fast, weaving fabric this way takes five times as long as weaving on looms. of modern projectiles, even though the Lo s are automated, an experienced Mamaro technician has to monitor them closely.

As they run, check that each loom is running smoothly and that all the threads are aligned correctly, even if something may go wrong. In addition to weaving slowly, the looms produce fabric less than a yard wide, which is about the half the width of nonwoven looms. s Denim Salvage, so producers need more fabric to make a pair of Salvage jeans. This is another factor that increases the cost of production and ultimately the final price of the jeans. Shuttle looms are also less precise than projectile looms, but variations in the fabric make each yard unique and, ironically, that's what gives these genes one of their biggest appeal.

While most other genes have a smooth surface, Japanese denim is a little rougher. While most momotaro genes are made on automatic looms, the more expensive Gold Label jeans are produced with an even slower and more traditional method, handmade on an antique loom, Kazuki aita takes 1 hour to weave just 10cm of fabric, while this process increases the price, the extra effort gives the jeans a distinctly different feel and for denim enthusiasts traveling from Thailand to Tokyo. It's worth the trip to purchase Momotaro's most expensive pair. Usually when you bring a new pair of jeans you feel like it's a little hot and you feel like it's a little hard to move at first, but this one even from the start, yes, it feels as comfortable as if you had worn it sometimes after After weaving the fabric by hand or with Shuttle Loom, it heads to the sewing room according to Hedel.

On average, most other types of denim weigh between 11 and 14 oz. While most denim from Japan weighs 20 ounces, a heavier fabric makes Naomi Tashi's work more challenging. The other cornerstone of Japanese denim is the artisanal nature of the way the jeans are ultimately formed into all motaro. The stitching is done by hand, so is the addition of each copper rivet. The final look and feel of a finished pair depends largely on T-bayashi's dedication to detail. Because shuttle looms are less precise, the fabric It will naturally have various imperfections, but if Momotaro retail stores find any problems with a pair of jeans, they mark it with a small sticker and ship it out. here to the quality control room tak berryhi examines the flagged jeans using a tweezer to repair each marked spot motaro is one of around 40 denim manufacturers in kojima, considered the birthplace of denim in japan, while This city's Japanese denim has found a luxury cat atory to call its own, the denim industry has not been prominent in Kojima for a long time in the decades since Japanese denim came very far from Japan, today it is considered one of the best types of denim in the world.

The labor-intensive steps required to make pottery Handmade ceramic tableware is not cheap, but porcelain tableware can be even more expensive. The price of porcelain varies, but some dishes like this can cost over $400, so how is pottery made and why is it porcelain? It's so expensive that you're likely to sit on porcelain every day. It's the most common material used to make toilets, so it's also a popular choice for dishes compared to other ceramics. Porcelain is more durable and non-porous, so it lasts a long time. over time and is easy to clean, it has a distinctive white color and, unlike the use of opaque stone, some porcelains are translucent, the secret of these differences is in the clay used for porcelain contains a high percentage of Kalin , this is what makes porcelain white.

Kalin is found everywhere. All over the world, but large deposits of high quality are rare. Porcelain is often referred to as China, which is where it was first created, but today it is manufactured all over the world. This is the Arita porcelain laboratory in Japan. Artisans, young and old, have made porcelain here for more than 200 years. Countless porcelain clay recipes have existed for years, but in addition to Kin they generally contain materials such as Feld Spar quartz and ball clay, each changing the properties of the clay. The clay in balls makes it more malleable and the feldspar helps it become glass-like when the whiter one is fired.

Translucent clays must be free of impurities and generally cost more than other ceramic clays, but even for experienced potters it can be difficult to work with porcelain to produce a large number of pieces, this workshop had an artisan for each specific step of the process. Although 10 people work on each piece, producing new plates can take over a month compared to other ceramics, many porcelain clays are difficult to shape by hand and are also more likely to crack when drying to help with this and produce larger pieces. uniforms in this workshop. uses molds for complex shapes katsumi Yamashita has been working with porcelain for 60 years one of those difficult steps is glazing, firing seals the clay but also adds color and patterns and is one of the reasons why ceramics can be so expensive In this workshop each design is delicately hand painted.

Another challenge in porcelain manufacturing is the temperature to achieve that glass-like surface. Porcelain is fired at a higher temperature than most other ceramics, usually around 1300° C. In this workshop, pieces are fired three times, a long but crucial process. the first firing is carried out without glazing at 950° for 2 days the slow firing ensures that the pieces do not break in the kiln once fired The artisans apply what is called underglazing the main firing at 1300° takes 3 days loading this Kil is A daunting task but it must be done carefully otherwise the parts could be destroyed inside. Fortunately, this baking was a success.

Now the final design begins to take shape. The price of porcelain varies depending on the size and complexity of the design. A simple bowl of rice costs around $7. but the most expensive plate in this workshop costs a few thousand. This blue and white design is a traditional aspect of porcelain, but to maintain interest in this ancient craft, the arita porcelain laboratory has attempted to create more contemporary designs that fit into a modern home. To make sake you need a lot of rice. Brewers polish the rice into pristine, pearl-like grains and blend it with COI mold to create the perfect flavor.

You can buy a bottle of sake for less than $10, but the most expensive version of the highest grade called Junu can cost almost $10,000. Sake requires only four ingredients, but without careful attention. Beer can be ruined at any stage in the naawa brewery. Nanami wab watches the whole process. She is one of the youngest brewmasters in Japan, despite her age. Her sake has already won several awards. We spend a day with Nanami to discover how she brews sake and learn about what makes Juno so expensive It's a quiet morning in the mountain town of Kawasaki in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, but inside the brewery the hustle and bustle has already begun, Sake is classified by its ingredients and the degree of rice polishing, also known as the rice polishing ratio.

To be considered Juno, at least 50% of the grain must be removed by polishing. The more polished the rice, the longer it takes to make sake and the more expensive the final product is. The brewery uses about 12 metric tons of raw rice per week to polish the rice. Brewers run it through mills that remove the protein and fat-containing sides of the grain compared to the Umami flavor of sake made from less polished rice. Greater polishing usually means a cleaner taste and a more expensive price, but before it can be fermented it has to be washed and steamed, workers move quickly because every moment counts when washing rice.

Now it's time to steam the rice that the workers washed yesterday. Steaming takes between 40 and 45 minutes and, like washing, requires a lot of attention for E to promote Nanami to brewmaster at a young age was not a big risk nanami has been working at this brewery for seven years it takes approximately two kilos of rice to make a 1.8 liter bottle of sake. Many different types of rice can be used which affect the taste and price NWA The brewery sources most of its rice locally, while regular Jano sake uses at least 50% polished rice. Nwa's most expensive sake is polished to less than 1%.

Polishing the roice to 50% takes about 3 to 3 days, but to reach 1% it takes more than 200 days. The process requires more rice and slower, more careful polishing. NWA manufactures about 1,000 bottles of this type each year. and EO says they always run out, but polishing is just the beginning, once the rice is steamed, it's time to add the most important ingredient GGI Corgi mold spores is a type of mold that grows on rice by Steam as the spores grow, they convert the starches in the rice into sugars, but workers have to move quickly to maintain the correct temperature and humidity they feel in the warm and cold areas of the rice and move the clumps to keep the temperature even. once the CI is ready nanami combines everything in large fermentation tanks gorgi converts the starches into sugars and the yeast converts those sugars into alcohol this process is called multiple parallel fermentation it is what makes sake unique and it is also what makes making it so challenging nanami monitors this liquid called mash every day for a month there is a lot of anticipation waiting to taste the sake she takes samples and uses sensors to track the fermentation, after it ferments the mash is pressed and bottled as sake but no matter the price of the bottle Nanami makes sure every sip is delicious.

Bami training her palate is just as important as honing her brewing skills after work. She often tries sake from other breweries. Nami ordered nine types of sake but she doesn't know which one it is. which, despite sake's legacy in Japan, n n says it's not always a preferred drink for people his age, tasting sake at a restaurant while eating allows Nanami to experience it the same way a customer would. , now it's time to check how many you got right, naawa. The brewery has been around for 150 years. I naawa is the fifth generation to run it at the age of 25.

IA became brewmaster and dedicated himself to improving the brewery's sake quality and sales, but in 2011 disaster struck with a magnitude 9 earthquake and the resulting tsunami devastated Japan's northeastern coast since it was rebuilt. Naawa has won numerous awards for this reason and I have passed the role of brewmaster to nanami because this brown paste is the base of the most expensive soy sauce in the world and it will not be ready to be sold for another 20 years, while some popular brands of soy sauce cost less than bottled water. Gabi's 20 Year Soy Sauce can reach 99 for only 55ml.

It's thanks to this thick soy puree called GGI. It is the key to the flavor of this soy sauce here in the city of Kagawa Japan kamishi dries and ages Koji figs with a recipe that is more than two centuries old so what makes this method worth preserving and why the soy sauce Is kibishi soy so expensive? The complexity of this soy sauce is achieved by fermenting it for days and aging. For years, this traditional recipe has allowed the company to create flavors not possible in mass-produced soy sources. High quality soy sauce starts with its most basic ingredient, soybeans, this endless cloud flows from the machine that steams the soybeans inside.

It is a seemingly simple principle. step that can make or break the entire product after 18 hours of soaking and steaming the beans should be soft and ready to turn the steamed soybeans into a one-of-a-kind COI the beans should be combined with barley and mold spores First Tee brews the barley in a dry room sprinkled with finely ground wheat, unlike other breweries with soy sauce, gishi grinds it into a fine powder, mixes COI mold species with the ground barley, then the steamed soybeans are Mixed by hand with barley and CI powder, the mold produces enzymes. which break down the proteins and starches in beans and barley into amino acids and sugars, it is this natural fermentation process that gives artisanal Japanese soy sauce its dark color and itsdistinctive flavor.

Ki Okada is the current owner of gishi. She is the 18th generation of her family. She runs this business kamishi is one of the few breweries in the world that still uses the traditional mushiro Koji method. Workers monitor the temperature of the GGI every hour during that time on the first day. Depe heats the room to raise the temperature of the coi. The goal in this The first step is to heat the IC to stimulate fermentation for the second day. Fermentation must be so active that the COI generates its own heat as it grows. The CI becomes so large that it is necessary to shake it off the mats thrown on the floor and mix it again to be sure. the beans do not stick together the weevil ages in these barrels where it will be completely transformed mumi is the name of the paste-like mixture that will age into the finished soy sauce it is a mixture of COI salt and water, no added salt just for flavor, the salt protects the coi from microorganisms and bacteria while it ages in cedarwood barrels, but as it ages, it is left alone except for occasional stirring during the hottest months, as kamishi ages all their soy sources.

The longer they age, the more complex the flavors become. And the more expensive the final product is, Kamishi even has plans for a 50-year-old soy sauce that won't be ready until around 2032, but before the sauce can be bottled and sold, the mature moromi must first be pressed. less than 10 years old. on cloth and stacked in layers, then a machine squeezes the soy sauce into a bucket below, but anything more than 10 years old is too dry to press this way, then the finished sauce is heated to stop the formation and pasteurize it for bottling, so when she replaced her sister in 2001.

G began innovating to strengthen the historic company, they even make pizza. The company's roots are incorporated into her name because she felt the same way about Fay herself in the business. This is one of the rarest steaks in the world. Such as Olive wagu costs over $500 a pound, which is almost 60% more expensive than other high-quality wagu cuts produced by feeding wagu cows a special feed made from olives. It is one of the most expensive meats that can be purchased with the olive feeding technique. Wu cows were really only developed in the last few decades and the steak wasn't always so expensive, so what sets Olive wagu apart from other wagu and why is it so expensive?

The sun is rising over Shodoshima in Japan's Inland Sea. Masaki Isi has been raising cattle. Here for half a century, Shima, literally Little Bean Island, was once famous for its Zuki beans, but after olive trees were introduced from Greece a little over a century ago, it became more famous as home to the oldest olive groves. from Japan. Wagu beef is already known for its intense marbling and high levels of allic acid, both of which make the meat more tender and flavorful. Masaki set out to create a wagu even richer in OIC acid, but instead of using fresh olives, Masaki turned to olive pomas, the waste from olive oil production. she allowed him to recycle a waste product from one of Shima's most important industries.

The olive pomus still contains a lot of drying oil. It's a difficult and expensive process that took Masaki almost six years to perfect and about 2 months before the cattle were shipped. Mixing the dried pomas with her feed every day, every morning, Masaki comes to check on her cows while they are still sleeping, while other varieties of wagu are generally sold to be processed between 24 and 26 months. Olive wagu is not shipped until 30 months, the longer aging time and high cost of feed make Olive Wu difficult to obtain, but despite the limited supply, it has become especially popular with chefs, since when Masaki began experimenting with olives, keeping it a secret from his buyers, but in 2010 a foot-and-mouth outbreak in Miyasaki Prefecture devastated Japan's livestock industry despite successful efforts to contain the disease locally.

The damage has already been done. Countries like the United States suspended beef imports from Japan. Disaster struck again with the 2011 Thor Hoku earthquake and tsunami as Japan struggled. To recover and rebuild his economy, Maraki sought to strengthen his prefecture's beef production, he led the initiative to work with more local olive farmers in 2012, other Shima farmers began to follow Masaki's methods to raise beef-fed cattle. olive trees just a year later, Olive wagu started shipping to other places. Outside of the perfection of Shima and Kagawa today there are around 2,500 head of olive-fed cattle in Shima, but this is nothing compared to places like Kagoshima or Miyasaki where high-quality wagu production has occurred for decades.

On Masaki's farm there are only 20 head of cattle left to reach. To achieve this goal, Shodoshima ranchers need the help of local olive producers after crafting the hand-designed head and customizing the shaft. There is still one step that could make the work on these Honma golf clubs wasted if they make a mistake during assembly on the spot. The adhesive will dry immediately, meaning countless hours of work and thousands of dollars will be wasted on a single golf club. A complete set can sell for more than $50,000 compared to the estimated $4,400 it would cost to buy a set that matches Tiger Woods, as well as the small ones.

Enough custom details to improve a golfer's game and that is why these golf clubs are so expensive. At Hon's Factory in Sakata, Japan, there were approximately 200 specialized craftsmen, but the most skilled are called mow or Master Craftsman and there are only 33 with this title. earn it, a craftsman has to train for 5 years and then pass an exam. AO has the ability to create monstrous new elements of a golf club that can be customized down to the smallest detail, for example, the five-star model of hma's beige clubs includes materials such as platinum and 24-karat gold, but before those fancy trappings are added, Honma sets itself apart in its modeling process.

All golf clubs are divided into three main parts: the head, the shaft and the grip. Creating a Master model is the first and most important step in producing a club head, satu hatanaka, is to use a more traditional material to create the template for a driver, while historically drivers were made of ponwood, today in Today they are made with lightweight carbon and titanium, but right now the model the driver is based on is still made of Pon, why can a craftsman like Satoru, who has been making driver models for 35 years, sculpt the club head at hand?

An iron head needs a different process. Master craftsman dumi sat is making the model for a Bara Series 7 iron when he completes this. The iron can cost more than $1,000 alone. His model will be used to make the final irons, which are made from top-of-the-line carbon steel. Satoru and Tumi can visualize what the shape of the final stick will look like, but they can't see it. All for this man needs to bring a different type of expert CAD or computer DEA design allows specialists to design the parts of a stick that a human cannot see on the outside.

CAD creates a 3D scan of the club head and then specialists will determine the thickness of carbon and titanium needed and run simulations to test the club's integrity, meanwhile, in a different part of the Saka factory, craftsmen create the shafts Baris clubs are designed to recover as quickly as possible to their original shape after swinging. The shaft starts with a strong material called high modulus carbon fiber. This is the highest grade of carbon fiber often used to make professional racing bikes. It is cut and wrapped. a metal rod called a mandrel, Even at this stage of the process, the handmade design elements are highly customizable and an expert human eye is required for every last detail, including the paint.

HMA invented its own extraction method for this step, a unique skill that allows craftsmen to have complete control over the outcome of the shaft's appearance. This method is not just about appearance. Once every last detail of the club is perfected, there is one more step that must be done correctly if the assembly goes wrong. of the Master Craftsman above might be in vain when a shaft is completed, balanced and tested to ensure the spine or rigid inner core is set to a 6:00 angle on each club, but there is still room for customization up to the same end to make sure the measurements are exactly correct honma uses a robotic arm to test its clubs golf started in 1958 as a driving range in surumi yokohama at that time most golf clubs sold in japan were foreign clubs in 1982 they began manufacturing their own clubs at Sak Factory in response to domestic demand around 2015, hmer made an effort to gain popularity in the North American market, but the company's clientele in Japan will always have the added advantage of customizing the clubs in The Sakata factory and professional golfers in Japan know this well.

This pair of Prof professional hair scissors costs almost $2,200; when customized further, they can reach almost $3,000 compared to a standard pair of scissors. Hair scissors that cost less than $10 The main reason for this Stark difference is a specialized design that ensures the blades do not wear out and can last for decades. Artisans spend hours shaping, hammering and adjusting two blades by hand to create scissors that rarely need to be sharpened. So how do they create a pair of scissors that stay so sharp for so long and what makes them so expensive? You don't know either. She has been a professional hairstylist for 10 years and during this time has invested thousands of dollars in high-end products. hair scissors, but those manufactured by Naruto Scissors in the Japanese prefecture of Hogo stand out.

When selecting scissors, professional stylists look for three qualities: sharpness, longevity and ergonomic fit, scissors need precision to allow for various techniques such as blending or blunt cuts, while making the experience comfortable for the stylist and should not require maintenance frequent. Producers of high-end hair scissors like Naruto have solved all three problems by ensuring that the blades have only one point of contact, the exact location where the user wants to make a cut when using a standard pair of scissors, the hinge that The two flat blades can wear over time, altering the alignment, meaning the user sometimes has to grind the blades against each other to achieve a clean cut.

Constant metal-to-metal contact wears down the blade. Over time, a damaged edge has to wear down. They must be sharpened more frequently, further thinning the blade and eventually rendering the scissors useless to prevent this type of damage. Producers of high-quality hair scissors ensure that the blades only have a touch where they need to make a cut. One way to achieve it. The precision is by deforming the leaves. Building blades with the correct warp and twist requires careful shaping. Craftsmen shape the outer blade at a fixed 45° angle from base to tip. The angle is the same throughout the blade, allowing for consistent cuts without deviations or snags as occurs with the entire process.

When making these scissors, the craftsmen judge when they are ready after the first round of shaping, the blades are polished and polished and then they are ready to be deformed. Warp adjustment requires iCal's mathematical precision and full attention. Deformation is achieved by delicate hammer blows. The inside of the blade, the high-quality metal that Naruto uses, a special Martin CTIC alloy is strong but elastic, allowing craftsmen to use the blades as needed. The curve of each blade is about 03mm, small enough to catch a single hair, but craftsmen do not use it. Instead, any measuring instrument is based solely on experience.

The blade is then sharpened in increments in the first round. Craftsmen sharpen the edge to 70% and repeat it two or three times until the blade reaches its optimal sharpness, but this can alter the deformation of the blade. so they must continually address any defects with careful hammer blows between rounds of sharpening. Shintaro has been working on Naruto for 19 years, 18 of which have been spent in the Tuning Department working on warping blades, even with all this experience, Shino doesn't see himself as an expert, but his skill to deform the blades contributes directly to the high price of the scissors it produces.

In fact, the cost of labor represents up to 40% of Naruto's expenses. This is where themechanism that connects the leaves. crucial part of the scissors design that also ensures a single point of contact while cutting, in Naruto's case the mechanism is called a three-dimensional circular path when the rod is installed. Craftsmen prepare to test the scissors, all this meticulous attention pays off not only in the cut. performance of the scissors, but also in their longevity, because the Naruto design applies less force to the blades, the scissors do not need to be sharpened as often and last longer compared to regular scissors.

Naruto says that well-designed scissors last so long that some customers still bring them back. In maintenance scissors that are decades old, but Hiromi's sharpness and longevity aren't the only reasons professional hair scissors are worth the price, stylists request types and shapes of scissors tailored to their specific needs and Ergonomics are paramount, some producers even adjust the handles to the exact measurements of their customers' hands and their cutting style, while Naruto's most expensive base model costs around $2,000, he only requested an arabesque pattern that carries more time to design and which raised the price of its scissors to almost $3,000, but there is no shortage of customers willing to pay.

Naruto sells about 6,000 of his scissors a year and sales are increasing; In fact, the global hair scissors market will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 5.5% between now and 2030, but the biggest threat to the professional hair scissors industry is imitations, but these fakes do not. They work just as well as the originals and producers of professional hair scissors know that their buyers appreciate the difference.