Makita Shoten

A Jacquard Umbrella Maker at the Foot of Mt. Fuji

Makita Shoten was established 150 years ago in Yamanashi Prefecture, at the foot of Mt. Fuji, as a silk wholesaler. It is the only textile manufacturer in the world that handles every stage of umbrella production in-house — from Jacquard fabric weaving to final assembly. The company's fabrics have been recognized by the Japanese Imperial family.

The Makita Shoten factory, Yamanashi Prefecture

Most umbrella fabric is printed. Makita Shoten's is woven — thread by thread, on Jacquard looms, using yarn dyed with water drawn from Mt. Fuji. The difference is visible at a glance, and the process that produces it takes three to four months per umbrella.

Jacquard weaving on the loom

The Philosophy Behind the Product

For most of its history, Makita Shoten operated as a subcontractor — weaving fabric on commission for other brands. After the financial crisis of 2008 exposed the fragility of that model, Yoichi Makita, the sixth-generation director, made a decision: develop original products, and build something that did not depend on the priorities of others.

"Our philosophy puts it plainly: we must not act in a way that leads to sales supremacy. We think about our products from the customer's point of view, make things based on that thinking, and aim for satisfaction — not volume. A production area where people can see each other's faces creates the kind of relationships that lead to better products. That, I think, is why we have been able to keep making things here."
— Yoichi Makita, sixth-generation director

 

The Difference Weaving Makes

Thread, not ink

Printed umbrella fabric produces its pattern on the surface. Woven fabric builds its pattern into the structure — color and form emerge from the interlacing of threads, not from anything applied afterward. The result has depth and texture that print cannot replicate.

 

Jacquard-woven umbrella fabric

A pattern that crosses the panels

An umbrella canopy is divided into triangular panels. Designing a pattern that runs continuously across those panels — without interruption at the seams — requires the weaving to be calculated against the final three-dimensional form of the assembled umbrella. Makita Shoten is the only manufacturer in Japan, and likely the world, capable of producing this kind of continuous cross-panel Jacquard pattern at full production scale.

Pattern woven to cross the umbrella panels

An Object That Says Something

Makita describes a moment that has stayed with him: a mother gave her son one of their umbrellas as a gift to mark his first job. When he opened it in front of his manager, the manager stopped and commented on it. The mother heard about this later and called to say how happy it made her.

"An umbrella says something about the person carrying it. That is why what goes into making it matters."
— Yoichi Makita

From a Kai silk wholesaler to OEM weaving and, since 2010, an umbrella brand of its own, Makita Shoten has spent about 150 years refining what fabric can be at the foot of Mt. Fuji. Every umbrella still passes through the same hands, from the first thread on the loom to final assembly. What it offers is more than shelter from the rain: an object that carries those years of craft, and says something about the person who chooses it.

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Makita Shoten

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