Interview with Yasuhiko Oshima, President and Representative Director
We interviewed Yasuhiko Oshima, President and Representative Director of Betty Smith, about the company’s initiatives to date and its future outlook.
Jeans brought back to Kojima shortly after the war
Why did jeans come to be made in Kojima?
Oshima
Jeans first came to Japan after World War II.
After the war, American-made secondhand jeans were sold at the black markets held in Ueno, Tokyo.
Jeans began to be made in Kojima around 1965.
Until then, Kojima had been a town with a great many school uniform manufacturers. As sales representatives from these manufacturers traveled around the country, a Big John sales representative came across jeans flying off the shelves at a black market in Ueno and brought them back to Kojima, saying, “Let’s make this our next industry!”
You had been making school uniforms for a long time, then started making jeans. The products changed—were there many challenges?
Oshima
Denim fabric is thick, so the sewing machines we had used for school uniforms couldn’t get the needles through it. The workers’ hands also turned deep blue, and they had to carry thick, heavy fabric. There were physical challenges.
First, we imported sewing machines from the United States so we could sew jeans properly, and somehow managed to create an environment where we could make them.
So that’s the background to the start of domestic jeans production.
Oshima
I think Kojima is called the “birthplace of domestically made jeans” because it succeeded in mass-producing them in Japan.
The emergence of a new industry—jeans—built on the sewing skills cultivated over the years is a rare example, even nationwide.
Personally, I think there are similarities with Sakai City in Osaka Prefecture, where guns were mass-produced during the Edo period. Sakai had made cast-metal goods and blades, then used those skills to start making something completely different... I feel it’s similar to Kojima’s jeans industry.
Why take on pioneering initiatives?
Why did you start making women’s jeans?
Oshima
The main goal was to differentiate ourselves from other manufacturers.
At the time, only men’s jeans were made in Kojima. Women wore men’s jeans too, but they didn’t fit women well. They weren’t particularly comfortable, either.
We thought that making women’s jeans tailored to women’s figures would allow more people to wear jeans.
As a result, women’s jeans sold like hotcakes, confirming that there was demand.
What prompted you to launch pioneering initiatives in the industry, such as Kurashiki custom-made jeans and jeans-making experiences?
Oshima
Kurashiki custom-made jeans began in response to customers asking us, “Please make jeans that fit my body.” Around that time, our company was also looking to develop new jeans, so we gradually began taking orders.
Then, when the Jeans Museum opened in 2003, more customers started saying, “I want to buy jeans in Kojima.”
At the time, there was nowhere to buy jeans in Kojima, so we officially launched Kurashiki custom-made jeans, where customers could have jeans made just for them. We thought that if people had come all the way to Kojima, they should enjoy not just buying jeans, but the process of getting them, too.
However, custom-made jeans are expensive, so we also started jeans-making experiences to make it easier for people to enjoy the process.
During the jeans-making experience, participants attach buttons and rivets (metal parts used for reinforcement) to a finished pair of jeans. The idea of having customers take part in one of the many stages of production came from self-service udon restaurants.
We wanted to offer new ways to enjoy jeans that had never existed before.
I think we have worked in manufacturing by responding to customer needs in each era.
The importance of nurturing makers
What initiatives are you undertaking to share the appeal of jeans in new ways?
Oshima
We believe that by approaching craftsmanship with sincerity, we can convey new value in jeans.
To do that, it’s important first to create an environment where craftspeople can devote themselves to their work. We invest in new machinery and support young craftspeople in earning textile master qualifications. We train each person to make jeans properly.
So you put a lot of effort into training craftspeople.
Oshima
Yes. For craftspeople who hope to become independent in the future, being able to sew a pair of jeans from start to finish is an extremely useful skill. A textile master qualification also adds prestige to their skills. In other words, it increases their income.
Many young craftspeople today have goals like “I want to become independent” or “I want to start my own brand,” so we want to meet those needs as much as we can.
Sewing skills can be put to use at any age.
We have a craftsperson who we hired at the age of 85, and it really showed me what it means to have a skill you can rely on. Being able to earn your own money at any age can also give you a sense of purpose.
Craftspeople aiming to become independent would presumably have to leave the company. Why do you still want to support them?
Oshima
Not just in the textile industry, but the number of makers is declining across manufacturing industries.
By supporting young people’s goals, I think we can bring new people into industries facing labor shortages.
And having a goal helps people improve faster. They work hard, thinking, “I want to become fully qualified as soon as possible!” and I think that ultimately leads to better craftsmanship.
Continuing to thrive in Kojima, a textile town
Please tell us about your efforts to promote the region through jeans.
Oshima
We created a town-walking map to help people enjoy Kojima from a variety of perspectives.
Kojima has much more than just jeans manufacturers. It has button shops, fabric shops, tatami-edging makers and other textile businesses, as well as attractions such as udon and Washuzan Hill. There are plenty of things that might make people think, “Maybe I’ll visit Kojima.”
After visiting Washuzan Hill, you might take a look around a jeans shop, or after eating udon, go in search of handmade items… I felt this was an initiative that lets people discover the region’s many attractions one after another.
What makes Kojima such a great place to live on as a town of textiles?
Oshima
I think it’s that the infrastructure for manufacturing textile products is in place. Being able to complete the entire manufacturing process in Kojima alone is its one-of-a-kind strength.
Also, although jeans production has been declining year by year, their quality has improved dramatically. I think it is this high quality that explains why Kojima is called the “Town of Jeans”. Around the world, there are places known as “the town of ___,” and the products made there are all high quality.
It feels like jeans have developed not just as an industry, but as a culture too.
Kojima is able to flexibly embrace new things in step with the times, isn’t it?
Oshima
One of Kojima’s attractions is its ability to make what people are looking for, in step with the times.
Rather than making crafts, the focus is on making products. It’s a town with many craftspeople, but I think it also had a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
Could you tell us about your outlook for the future?
Oshima
To ensure that the manufacturing industry that has supported Kojima does not disappear, I want to carefully nurture young craftspeople. I also want to do my best to bring the high-quality Kojima jeans made by our craftspeople to the world.
And, without forgetting the theme of “creating a Japanese jeans culture,” I want to expand the possibilities of jeans. We’ll work to create jeans that offer new ways to enjoy them, beyond simply wearing them.
From the Writer
A few times, friends visiting from outside the prefecture have told me, “I’d like to visit the Town of Jeans.”
The fact that the image of “Kojima as the Town of Jeans” has taken root among so many people may be proof that it has become part of the culture.
Labor shortages are seen as a problem in every industry today, but I thought Betty Smith’s approach to developing its workforce was very positive and admirable. I hope that the number of craftspeople involved in manufacturing in Kojima will grow, even if only by one.
Let’s keep an eye on Betty Smith’s future efforts and see what new value it creates for jeans.
Betty Smith Company Information
| Organization name | Betty Smith |
|---|---|
| Industry | Jeans and casual wear planning, manufacturing, and sales |
| Representative | Oshima Yasuhiro |
| Year established | 1962 |
| Address | 2-70, 5-chome, Kojima Shimonomachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-473-4460 |
| Website | Betty Smith Website |
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
Enter a search term to find articles on this site
