Bic Pentameter
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Most interestign quote: "Top-notch bootblacks can make an annual income of up to 20 million yen, according to Hasegawa." JPY20M is approximately USD190,000.
Young man buffs up a scruffy profession
03/01/2008
BY MAYUMI SAITO, STAFF WRITER
Impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, Yuya Hasegawa displays his colorful collection of tins, tubes, bottles and brushes over a little counter in the men's shoe section in Tokyo's Yurakucho Hankyu department store. It's Sunday, the day he holds his weekly shoeshining demonstration at the store.
The 24-year-old honed his shoeshine skills on the street and became the CEO of his own company, Boot Black Japan, last May.
"The shoe-polishing process is similar to a woman's makeover. First, I need to get rid of dirt, just as women wash their faces," he says as he works--first giving a pair of leather shoes a thorough brushing and then wiping them with a cleansing cream.
During the demonstrations, he eloquently explains his craft as he works on customers' shoes. He jokes as he shines, making the afternoons go quickly. The lines that often form testify to both his skill and his engaging personality.
Hasegawa spreads a milky substance over the leather: "This is a nutrition cream just like a woman's moisturizer. Good shoe care helps the shoes last longer." Next, he repeatedly swipes at the shoes with a hog-bristle brush, working on the excess cream until the shoes start to gleam. But, Hasegawa says, the process is only half over.
"The real professional skills start now," he says and smiles. "The polish is the finishing touch. Properly applied, it's what makes the shoes shine." Most important, he says, is to spread the polish in the open areas--the heel and the toe while avoiding the nooks and crannies that are likely to wrinkle and crack.
Hasegawa spreads the polish with an implement that resembles a toothbrush. To apply another substance, oil cream, he uses pieces of soft cloth wrapped around his fingertips.
He then "spit shines" the shoes--mixing a few drops of water and repeatedly spreading it over the leather with a cloth until the shoes begin to glow. Finally, he shines the entire shoe with soft brush made of horsehair. Thirty minutes since Hasegawa set to work, the shoes now sport the classic mirror polish.
"Anyone can do the basics. But the real skill depends on the way you spread the polish--its amount, the pressure you apply with your fingers, when to add water and so on," he says. "You also need to use 100-percent cotton polishing rags to make the shoes shine. I spent two years searching for the best wiping clothes."
Hasegawa recently developed his own style in shining the lower part of the vamp, or upper, to streamline the glow. "Whether the shoes are loafers or wingtips also makes a difference. I pick where to shine to best emphasize the glamour of each pair of shoes," he says. For a casual style, he chooses not to over polish the shoes and finishes with a hog-bristle brush.
He also has an antique polish technique to change the color of shoes. Effective in hiding a stain or for a new look, this process involves washing the shoes with a special shampoo and applying the pigment of a target color.
Hasegawa estimates that there are only 30 or so "true professionals" nationwide. He says that in Tokyo there are three real pros: one at the Hotel Okura and another at the Imperial Hotel. The third, "Chiba-san," works in the Yurakucho neighborhood and is, according to Hasegawa, "Japan's best." He says he has learned a great deal from Chiba-san.
Hasegawa seems determined to be No. 1. "I'm laying down a challenge by developing a new standard for shoe shiners," he says.
Most shoe shiners in Japan are past middle age and have carried on their trade on the streets since they were kids in the years following World War II. Japan's road regulations require that shoe shiners pay a fee to obtain a permit. With permits rarely granted these days, the regulations make it difficult for newcomers to join the trade.
While shoeshining immediately generates the image of poverty, the on-the-street business is actually lucrative in Japan. Top-notch bootblacks can make an annual income of up to 20 million yen, according to Hasegawa.
"Yet, many wear ragged clothing to generate sympathy. I didn't know what they were up to at first, so I tried to appear stylish," he says.
Born in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, and raised by a single mother who ran a bar, Hasegawa wanted to be his own boss.
After graduating from high school in 2002, he worked at a steel company in Kimitsu in the prefecture and later did a stint as a salesman of English-language teaching materials.
He says he did well at sales, but the commission-only job was unforgiving and it was difficult for him to save money.
He wanted to start his own business, but was short of ideas that didn't require significant resources. It came down to shining shoes or massage therapy. Hasegawa went with the shoes.
Hasegawa convinced a friend to join him for a test run, bought a shoe-shining kit and a towel at a 99-yen store and put up a "500 yen" cardboard sign at JR Tokyo Station's Yaesu exit in May 2004. "We didn't know where to set the price at the beginning. But by the end of the day, we'd raked in about 7,500 yen and were ecstatic," he says.
His friend was gone the next day, but Hasegawa continued to return to the same spot. He worked there for over a month. But because he kept using the same cheap polishes and materials, customers began to complain that his work was subpar. Told to go check out how the competition did it, he visited another shoe shine stand about 100 meters away. Hasegawa says he was dumbfounded.
"The shine on his shoes was totally different. I was shocked to see him use water," he says. Hasegawa tried the water method at home and confirmed the difference in the shine.
While he says, "The professional's job is not something to be taught but something to steal," just observing skilled bootblacks wasn't enough. He bought himself trial shoes and experimented with a variety of washing and polishing techniques.
After taking a job selling men's clothing, he continued with his shoe-shining craft, studying leather composition and construction at a municipal vocational training school.
"Although I have access to the Internet now, there is a lot of incorrect information online. Personal experience is what counts most."
While continuing with the apparel sales job, Hasegawa moved his shoeshine business to the Kowan exit at JR Shinagawa Station in February 2005. He operated the unlicensed business once a week, dodging the police as required.
In April the same year, he began a home-visit service. Hasegawa has made about 30 to 40 house calls. About 20 of them are now regular customers.
He also has client companies, including online research firm Macromill, consulting company CK Plat, insurance providers Prudential and Axa Direct. He says he usually polishes the account executives' shoes during their morning meeting.
In July 2006, Hasegawa opened his Web site < www.kutsumigaki.com > and started a shoe-polish delivery service in August. He quit his apparel job the same month.
In September 2006, he started shining shoes at Shinagawa Station three days a week.
The next month he embarked on a one-month shoeshining tour of large train stations throughout western Japan. It was during this trip, he says, that his goals for his profession began to change.
"It wasn't just the money. I started to consider it my mission to upgrade Japan, literally from the feet up," he says. Maybe it was luck or maybe he just had a good soul--but while traveling in Kyushu he got a call from Shinjuku Isetan department store. The store wanted Hasegawa to demonstrate his skills at a VIP event.
Requests for Hasegawa to appear at events and lectures increased, along with interviews with fashion magazines and radio shows. Now, about half of his income is from appearance fees, he says.
Considering the street as his roots, Hasegawa says he was upset when the police and the ward office evicted him from Shinagawa Station last November. But two days after the bureaucratic hammer came down, he won a contract for a shoeshine delivery service at the glittering Tokyo Midtown residence in Roppongi. The service will begin in April.
Hasegawa says that his passion for fashion is largely due to his previous sales experience in the apparel business. He also appreciates the many business owners and consultants he's met during his shoeshining career. "Although I work hard at my craft, I consider myself more of an entrepreneur."
Hasegawa is getting ready to open a shoe polish store in Aoyama, Minato Ward, collaborating with an established manufacturer of shoe-care products.
The store will feature demonstrations by Hasegawa, a polishing service and a variety of shoe-polish items for sale.
"The street eviction ended up motivating me to commit to a store opening," he says. "It will set a new standard for shoe polishing." Instead of the image of a poor man looking up at the customer, Hasegawa will stand as an equal across the counter from the client.
He adds: "I'd like our customers to become aware that shoe shining could be a stylish hobby, not a chore. It could be something you could enjoy doing at night alone while listening to your favorite music."(IHT/Asahi: March 1,2008)
Young man buffs up a scruffy profession
03/01/2008
BY MAYUMI SAITO, STAFF WRITER
Impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, Yuya Hasegawa displays his colorful collection of tins, tubes, bottles and brushes over a little counter in the men's shoe section in Tokyo's Yurakucho Hankyu department store. It's Sunday, the day he holds his weekly shoeshining demonstration at the store.
The 24-year-old honed his shoeshine skills on the street and became the CEO of his own company, Boot Black Japan, last May.
"The shoe-polishing process is similar to a woman's makeover. First, I need to get rid of dirt, just as women wash their faces," he says as he works--first giving a pair of leather shoes a thorough brushing and then wiping them with a cleansing cream.
During the demonstrations, he eloquently explains his craft as he works on customers' shoes. He jokes as he shines, making the afternoons go quickly. The lines that often form testify to both his skill and his engaging personality.
Hasegawa spreads a milky substance over the leather: "This is a nutrition cream just like a woman's moisturizer. Good shoe care helps the shoes last longer." Next, he repeatedly swipes at the shoes with a hog-bristle brush, working on the excess cream until the shoes start to gleam. But, Hasegawa says, the process is only half over.
"The real professional skills start now," he says and smiles. "The polish is the finishing touch. Properly applied, it's what makes the shoes shine." Most important, he says, is to spread the polish in the open areas--the heel and the toe while avoiding the nooks and crannies that are likely to wrinkle and crack.
Hasegawa spreads the polish with an implement that resembles a toothbrush. To apply another substance, oil cream, he uses pieces of soft cloth wrapped around his fingertips.
He then "spit shines" the shoes--mixing a few drops of water and repeatedly spreading it over the leather with a cloth until the shoes begin to glow. Finally, he shines the entire shoe with soft brush made of horsehair. Thirty minutes since Hasegawa set to work, the shoes now sport the classic mirror polish.
"Anyone can do the basics. But the real skill depends on the way you spread the polish--its amount, the pressure you apply with your fingers, when to add water and so on," he says. "You also need to use 100-percent cotton polishing rags to make the shoes shine. I spent two years searching for the best wiping clothes."
Hasegawa recently developed his own style in shining the lower part of the vamp, or upper, to streamline the glow. "Whether the shoes are loafers or wingtips also makes a difference. I pick where to shine to best emphasize the glamour of each pair of shoes," he says. For a casual style, he chooses not to over polish the shoes and finishes with a hog-bristle brush.
He also has an antique polish technique to change the color of shoes. Effective in hiding a stain or for a new look, this process involves washing the shoes with a special shampoo and applying the pigment of a target color.
Hasegawa estimates that there are only 30 or so "true professionals" nationwide. He says that in Tokyo there are three real pros: one at the Hotel Okura and another at the Imperial Hotel. The third, "Chiba-san," works in the Yurakucho neighborhood and is, according to Hasegawa, "Japan's best." He says he has learned a great deal from Chiba-san.
Hasegawa seems determined to be No. 1. "I'm laying down a challenge by developing a new standard for shoe shiners," he says.
Most shoe shiners in Japan are past middle age and have carried on their trade on the streets since they were kids in the years following World War II. Japan's road regulations require that shoe shiners pay a fee to obtain a permit. With permits rarely granted these days, the regulations make it difficult for newcomers to join the trade.
While shoeshining immediately generates the image of poverty, the on-the-street business is actually lucrative in Japan. Top-notch bootblacks can make an annual income of up to 20 million yen, according to Hasegawa.
"Yet, many wear ragged clothing to generate sympathy. I didn't know what they were up to at first, so I tried to appear stylish," he says.
Born in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, and raised by a single mother who ran a bar, Hasegawa wanted to be his own boss.
After graduating from high school in 2002, he worked at a steel company in Kimitsu in the prefecture and later did a stint as a salesman of English-language teaching materials.
He says he did well at sales, but the commission-only job was unforgiving and it was difficult for him to save money.
He wanted to start his own business, but was short of ideas that didn't require significant resources. It came down to shining shoes or massage therapy. Hasegawa went with the shoes.
Hasegawa convinced a friend to join him for a test run, bought a shoe-shining kit and a towel at a 99-yen store and put up a "500 yen" cardboard sign at JR Tokyo Station's Yaesu exit in May 2004. "We didn't know where to set the price at the beginning. But by the end of the day, we'd raked in about 7,500 yen and were ecstatic," he says.
His friend was gone the next day, but Hasegawa continued to return to the same spot. He worked there for over a month. But because he kept using the same cheap polishes and materials, customers began to complain that his work was subpar. Told to go check out how the competition did it, he visited another shoe shine stand about 100 meters away. Hasegawa says he was dumbfounded.
"The shine on his shoes was totally different. I was shocked to see him use water," he says. Hasegawa tried the water method at home and confirmed the difference in the shine.
While he says, "The professional's job is not something to be taught but something to steal," just observing skilled bootblacks wasn't enough. He bought himself trial shoes and experimented with a variety of washing and polishing techniques.
After taking a job selling men's clothing, he continued with his shoe-shining craft, studying leather composition and construction at a municipal vocational training school.
"Although I have access to the Internet now, there is a lot of incorrect information online. Personal experience is what counts most."
While continuing with the apparel sales job, Hasegawa moved his shoeshine business to the Kowan exit at JR Shinagawa Station in February 2005. He operated the unlicensed business once a week, dodging the police as required.
In April the same year, he began a home-visit service. Hasegawa has made about 30 to 40 house calls. About 20 of them are now regular customers.
He also has client companies, including online research firm Macromill, consulting company CK Plat, insurance providers Prudential and Axa Direct. He says he usually polishes the account executives' shoes during their morning meeting.
In July 2006, Hasegawa opened his Web site < www.kutsumigaki.com > and started a shoe-polish delivery service in August. He quit his apparel job the same month.
In September 2006, he started shining shoes at Shinagawa Station three days a week.
The next month he embarked on a one-month shoeshining tour of large train stations throughout western Japan. It was during this trip, he says, that his goals for his profession began to change.
"It wasn't just the money. I started to consider it my mission to upgrade Japan, literally from the feet up," he says. Maybe it was luck or maybe he just had a good soul--but while traveling in Kyushu he got a call from Shinjuku Isetan department store. The store wanted Hasegawa to demonstrate his skills at a VIP event.
Requests for Hasegawa to appear at events and lectures increased, along with interviews with fashion magazines and radio shows. Now, about half of his income is from appearance fees, he says.
Considering the street as his roots, Hasegawa says he was upset when the police and the ward office evicted him from Shinagawa Station last November. But two days after the bureaucratic hammer came down, he won a contract for a shoeshine delivery service at the glittering Tokyo Midtown residence in Roppongi. The service will begin in April.
Hasegawa says that his passion for fashion is largely due to his previous sales experience in the apparel business. He also appreciates the many business owners and consultants he's met during his shoeshining career. "Although I work hard at my craft, I consider myself more of an entrepreneur."
Hasegawa is getting ready to open a shoe polish store in Aoyama, Minato Ward, collaborating with an established manufacturer of shoe-care products.
The store will feature demonstrations by Hasegawa, a polishing service and a variety of shoe-polish items for sale.
"The street eviction ended up motivating me to commit to a store opening," he says. "It will set a new standard for shoe polishing." Instead of the image of a poor man looking up at the customer, Hasegawa will stand as an equal across the counter from the client.
He adds: "I'd like our customers to become aware that shoe shining could be a stylish hobby, not a chore. It could be something you could enjoy doing at night alone while listening to your favorite music."(IHT/Asahi: March 1,2008)
