Message from the Director

There are many companies today that work with Japan’s traditional craftsmanship.
And for a long time, we have been told that traditional industries must change—
that they should be “updated” to fit modern lifestyles.

But through my work, I have come to believe something different:
what truly needs to change is not the traditions themselves, but our own perception as people living in the present age.
Many of us accept these ideas without even realizing it.

We live in a time when information arrives instantly
and speed is celebrated above all else.
“If it cannot be understood in three seconds, it may as well not exist.”
“If it does not catch the eye in three seconds, it has no value.”
Many of us accept these ideas without even realizing it.

So what happens to the things that cannot be understood in three seconds—
the things that are born slowly?

There are moments in life when a beauty we once overlooked suddenly resonates deeply with us as we grow older.
We have all experienced this.
Yet today, even this quiet process of emotional maturity has become harder to notice.

There was a time when what we now call “traditional crafts” were simply part of daily life.
Back then, no one believed that “what cannot be grasped in three seconds has no value.”

Rather, people naturally enjoyed learning the background, and savoring the way beauty deepened with time, as part of the richness of everyday living.

We realized that the true essence of Japanese handwork lies not only in what the eye can see, but in the quiet richness one feels only by looking with the heart.

Of course, I am not saying that modern speed is wrong.
Our astonishingly advanced civilization has transformed our lives and brought many forms of abundance.
But at the same time—
without the capacity to slow down and truly see, we cannot encounter the real value of what stands before us.

When someone comes across Japanese tradition for the first time, they may feel unsure how to understand it.
In those moments, I want to say:
“It is perfectly fine if you do not understand it yet. There may come a day when you do.”

There is beauty that reveals itself only after time has passed and experience has deepened.
That kind of beauty is a personal, irreplaceable richness.

—The Japanese sense of beauty— is the sensitivity to yohaku:
the space and quietness behind what is visible.

And perhaps this sensitivity is exactly what we, living in an age of relentless speed, need to reclaim once again.

MIZEN aims to bridge these two worlds—
the world that demands “three-second comprehension” and the world that reveals its meaning slowly over time.
Through fashion, we propose a way of living that honors both.

We are drawn to handwork because there is always a person behind it— a life, a story.
And when we gently place our own experiences and emotions next to those stories, something begins to stir quietly within us.

In that moment, what we once perceived with our eyes begins to resonate within us— and quietly transforms into a richer, more heartfelt value.

This act—reading the yohaku, sensing what lies between the lines— is the heart of Japanese aesthetics, and the essence MIZEN hopes to share.

That is why we place artisans—and their craft—at the very center.

If a new kind of luxury is to emerge today, I believe it will not be material abundance, but this form of spiritual richness.

Together with Japan’s traditional craftsmanship, MIZEN will continue to explore this possibility— and walk forward with those who resonate with this vision, toward a future where traditional industries shine once again.