Japanese Shoes: Bespoke & RTW Super Thread

[nutcracker]



Thanks for the info. Yes I was refering to Saion MTO, the prices are comparable with QC.

I have a pair of pattern order QC boots that are Goodyear welted, made in Japan, 28.5. Bought several years ago though, perhaps things have changed.

I believe their MTO goodyear welted shoes are made by Miyagi Kogyo, based on QC design. Miyagi Kogyo also makes the Arai Hiroshi MTO I told you about.

 

[nutcracker]

The newest issue of LAST on sale today...YUM

 

[nutcracker]

Trickers? or are these Aldens? No, they are MTO shoes from Miyagi Kogyo, based on their 'oblique' shaped MD last. This last is clearly inspired by the Modified Last (at least they admit to it openly), but with a less edge to it, IMO.

Even the bottom looks like its American cousin

Miyagi Kogyo's factory MTOs are available with a slew of designs, leathers (+cordovan, exotics) and lasts to choose from. They even allow last customization. Not happy with Alden's Modified Last offering? this may be the answer

Alden's V-tip in Modified Last? Nope, but I won't blame you. They do look alike.

 

[Fang66]



I believe their MTO goodyear welted shoes are made by Miyagi Kogyo, based on QC design. Miyagi Kogyo also makes the Arai Hiroshi MTO I told you about.

Yes, that's the information I have. So if the leather quality is on par the QC pattern order would be better value than the Sion MTO?

 

[nutcracker]



Yes, that's the information I have. So if the leather quality is on par the QC pattern order would be better value than the Sion MTO?

Saion uses better quality leather (mostly imported, Italian or French). Smooth leathers are Ilcea and Annonay, Suedes are from Sciararda. QC/Miyagi Kogyo uses domestic leather for their basic price (you can pay extra ¥14,000 for Annonay leather).

I also think you will find more hand finished quality from Saion (they are hand lasted etc...). The soles on Saion looked decent too, with hidden channels.

But the distinct, sharp looking profile may not suit everyone. There are only 6 styles to choose from. so I'm not certain if you will dig them, both in fit and style. They are also McKay/Blake constructed, and some feel that the method is inferior to Goodyear Welted construction. And of course, QC Pattern has a huge selection to choose (like the Alden looking shoes above), and they are solidly made by Miyagi Kogyo.

At ¥40,000, personally I would say Saion is a better deal, but you should probably hold your judgement and see them in person

 

[nutcracker]



Saion uses better quality leather (mostly imported, Italian or French). Smooth leathers are Ilcea and Annonay, Suedes are from Sciararda. QC/Miyagi Kogyo uses domestic leather for their basic price (you can pay extra ¥14,000 for Annonay leather).

I also think you will find more hand finished quality from Saion (they are hand lasted etc...). The soles on Saion looked decent too, with hidden channels.

But the distinct, sharp looking profile may not suit everyone. There are only 6 styles to choose from. so I'm not certain if you will dig them, both in fit and style. They are also McKay/Blake constructed, and some feel that the method is inferior to Goodyear Welted construction. And of course, QC Pattern has a huge selection to choose (like the Alden looking shoes above), and they are solidly made by Miyagi Kogyo.

At ¥40,000, personally I would say Saion is a better deal, but you should probably hold your judgement and see them in person

 

[BespokeMakers]

Well, here it is, finally (or another?), a thread devoted to shoemaking from the Land of the Rising Sun

Unfortunately there is very limited information in English about the vibrant world of Bespoke shoemaking in Japan. As some of you know, there are quite a few Japanese bespoke shoemakers out there, and for me personally, living in Tokyo has provided me with lotsa eye(shoe)candies

I've also seen some forum members interested in the RTW brands, what is there, are they good? etc....and not getting answers

Lets have this thread change that, because honestly, we're missing out on some serious Japanese Appreciation! Discuss and share!

In order to remove the clout of mystery (frankly from the lack of available information in English), I'll do the honour of listing all the decent Japanese shoemakers RTW and Bespoke that I know.


List of notable Bespoke Shoemakers in Japan 2013

Tokyo and Kanto Area

Marquess (Kawaguchi Shoji): http://marquess-bespoke.blogspot.jp/
Yohei Fukuda: http://yoheifukuda.jp/
Benchwork Study (Yukiko Bassett-Okawa): http://www.benchmade.jp/
o.e. (Egawa Osamu): http://www.h6.dion.ne.jp/~snug/
Hiro Yanagimachi: http://www.hiroyanagimachi.com/
Tsukui Reiko (Lecott): http://lecott.blogspot.jp/
Misawa & Workshop (Misawa Noriyuki): http://www.misawa-and-workshop.com/
Clematis (Takano Keitaro): http://www.clematis-ginza.com/
Arai Hiroshi: http://h-arai.com
Guild of Crafts (Yamaguchi Chihiro): http://www.footwear.co.jp/
Tetsujiya (Ueda Tetsuji): http://tetsujiya.com/
Ogasawara Shoes / συναντω: http://sinando.jp/
Otsuka Shoes: http://www.otsuka-shoe.com/
Ginza Yoshinoya: http://www.ginza-yoshinoya.co.jp/
Saion (Yokoyama Naoto):
Emori Custom Shoemaker (Emori Daizo): http://web.mac.com/shoemaker_emori/emori/Top.html
Inamori Kutsuten (Tohohiro Inamori): http://inakutsu.com/
Le Scarpe Di Cabiria (Wada Yoshiaki): http://www.yo.rim.or.jp/~local/index.html
Rikhugi (Okubo Takauji): http://bespoker.exblog.jp/
Shoe Republic (Takayama Junichi): http://shoe-republic.com/
Furuhata Masahito: http://m-furuhata.com/
T. Shirakashi (Shirakashi Tetsuya): http://www.shirakashi.jp/index.html
Takayuki Maruyama Handmade Shoes:
Cool Strutting (Yokoo Tadashi): http://www.coolstrutting.com
Anonymous (Akasaka Hidenori): www.anonymous-shoe.com
REGAL TOKYO: http://www.regal.co.jp/regaltokyo/
Bottega Tramoda (Okayasu Keisuke): http://bottegatramoda.web.fc2.com/
TYE Shoemaker (Ohno Tsuyoshi): http://www.tyeshoemaker.com/
Main D'or (Murata Eiji):
Ameno Spazio (Nakagaki Tomohiro): http://www.amenospazio.com
gentille (Endo Koji): http://www.geocities.jp/gentille_79/
Atelier Matsumoto: http://gguild.s300.xrea.com/matsumotoshoes/


Nagoya and Central Japan

Bolero Bespoke Shoe & Bootmaker (Watanabe Tomoyuki): www.boleroshoe.jimdo.com
Shoes Bonanza: http://shoesbonanza.com/
Yamazaki Kutsuten: http://www.yamazaki1927.jp
Nagomigutsu (Ota Katsuhisa): http://katsu-bespoke.com/pg26.html
KOKON: http://kanazawakokon.com/page3.html


Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe

Spigola (Suzuki Koji): http://www.spigola.jp
Sforzo. Opera (Yoshida Tsutomu): http://www.sforzo-opera.com/
Ryuta Gutsu: http://ryuta-gutsu.com/
Atelier Grandpa (Yada Atsuki): http://www.ateliergrandpa.com
Shoe Scape (Hagihara Hiroyuki): http://shoe-scape.jugem.jp/
Shoe & Sewn: http://shoe-and-sewn.jp/
Il Quadrifoglio (Qnai Atsushi): http://ilquadrifoglio.tumblr.com
Il Vagabundo (Suga Motoji): http://miescarpe.exblog.jp/
Bonta (Hasegawa Ippei): http://bonta-bonta.com/
Atsuta Kutsuten (Atsuta Koji):


KYUSHU

Corno Blu (Seikaku Yutaka): http://cornoblu.ciao.jp/wordpress/
Yuki Shirahama Bottier: http://ys-bottier.com/
Nihil Bespoke Shoe: http://nihil-bs.com
Matsuda Akinobu
Yamamura Seikaten (Yamamura Koji): http://www.yamamuraseikaten.com/

HOKKAIDO

Cagra: http://www.k5.dion.ne.jp/~cagra/


OVERSEAS
Il Micio (Fukaya Hidetaka): @ Florence
Hayafuji Ryota: @ Munich
Masaru Okuyama: @ Hong Kong http://www.masaruokuyama.com
Emiko Matsuda: @ Foster & Sons
Kuroki Satoshi: @ John Lobb Paris


Dress Shoe Manufactures (Ready Made)

Regal Shoes: www.regalshoes.co.jp
Otsuka Shoes: www.otsuka-shoe.com
Ginza Yoshinoya: www.ginza-yoshinoya.co.jp
Miyagi Kogyo: www.miyagikogyo.co.jp
Scotch Grain: www.scotchgrain.co.jp
Union Imperial: www.union-royal.jp
Madras: www.madras.co.jp
Sanyo Yamacho: www.sanyoyamacho.com
forme: www.formeofficial.com
Yoshiharu Hasegawa
Central Shoes
Perfetto: www.vinaseiko.com
Artistocrat: http://www.daiwa-kk.jp
Chausser: www.chausser.net
Foot the Coacher: www.galleryofauthentic.jp
Authentic Shoes & Co.: www.galleryofauthentic.jp
H? Katsukawa from Tokyo: www.hkatsukawafromtokyo.net
Hiroshi Tsubouchi: www.id-limited.com
Pegman: www.lacota.co.jp/pegman
Hall & Marks (RTW): http://www.footwear.co.jp/
Corno Blu (RTW): http://cornoblu.ciao.jp/wordpress/
Spigola (RTW): http://www.spigola.jp

add to list: Tokyo

Zootie-ide (Yosuke Ide): http://www.zootie-styling.com/?mode=f1

 

[nutcracker]



add to list: Tokyo Zootie-ide (Yosuke Ide): http://www.zootie-styling.com/?mode=f1

Those are some tight fiddle backs Unfortunately I can't edit the first post anymore, so I'm asking the admin for a possible solution....

 

[Fang66]



Saion uses better quality leather (mostly imported, Italian or French). Smooth leathers are Ilcea and Annonay, Suedes are from Sciararda. QC/Miyagi Kogyo uses domestic leather for their basic price (you can pay extra ¥14,000 for Annonay leather).

I also think you will find more hand finished quality from Saion (they are hand lasted etc...). The soles on Saion looked decent too, with hidden channels.

But the distinct, sharp looking profile may not suit everyone. There are only 6 styles to choose from. so I'm not certain if you will dig them, both in fit and style. They are also McKay/Blake constructed, and some feel that the method is inferior to Goodyear Welted construction. And of course, QC Pattern has a huge selection to choose (like the Alden looking shoes above), and they are solidly made by Miyagi Kogyo.

At ¥40,000, personally I would say Saion is a better deal, but you should probably hold your judgement and see them in person

Thanks nutcracker.

 

[SoGent]

these two from Clematis are on the favorites list so far



the elephant for the texture & color not necessarily the style



can someone translate the currency for me, i'm having absolutely no luck . . . . Price：10分仕立のみ

 

[nutcracker]



these two from Clematis are on the favorites list so far the elephant for the texture & color not necessarily the style can someone translate the currency for me, i'm having absolutely no luck . . . . Price：10分仕立のみ

The lizard: ￥346,500 = $3480 USD The elephant(!!): ￥396,900 = $3983 USD The words "10分仕立のみ" means "10/10 Hand Made" (hand lasted, handsewn welted, hand bottomed), as opposed to their cheaper 9.5/10 hand made models (the bottom is partially machine stitched). Also note that these are full handmade MTO shoes using Clematis's house last, they are not Bespoke.

 

[SoGent]

The lizard: ￥346,500 = $3480 USD

The elephant(!!): ￥396,900 = $3983 USD

The words "10分仕立のみ" means "10/10 Hand Made" (hand lasted, handsewn welted, hand bottomed), as opposed to their cheaper 9.5/10 hand made models (the bottom is partially machine stitched).
Also note that these are full handmade MTO shoes using Clematis's house last, they are not Bespoke.

thanks, i finally figured out what i was doing. those lizard are simply jaw dropping & i love the novelty of the elephant in that color

 

[nutcracker]



   thanks, i finally figured out what i was doing. those lizard are simply jaw dropping & i love the novelty of the elephant in that color

looks like the elephant is a ¥100K yen up charge, not nearly as bad as crocs. Yeah, the lizard skin has an antique finish to its, looks great.
From the pictures I've seen, Clematis's fit & finish seems top notch. I hope to see one in person.

 

[nutcracker]

Talkin' about Clematis..... these booties have been posted a few times before, but I think they're worth another round!

Clematis full handmade MTO. They look eggplant-ish but the owner says they're Dark Brown.

I'm not sure how you call this, but I love how they're both folded in at the top line

from zenobia_bengal's blog

 

[clee1982]



Talkin' about Clematis..... these booties have been posted a few times before, but I think they're worth another round!

Clematis full handmade MTO. They look eggplant-ish but the owner says they're Dark Brown.

I'm not sure how you call this, but I love how they're both folded in at the top line

from zenobia_bengal's blog

I like the shape, I would have done it in burgundy or oxblood instead of dark brown. Yea, it doesn't look like dark brown in the photo for sure...