About HushTug Leather
HushTug uses leather sourced in Himeji, Japan.
Himeji is the city that produces about 90% of Japan's leather, ranking first in the country in terms of production.
The area has flourished as a leather industry since the Kamakura period, and Himeji leather was even used in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's armor.
The soft, high-quality Himeji leather is highly regarded around the world and is used by a variety of leather brands.
We are researching new ways to process leather every day, and we now have over a thousand different types of leather.
On this page, we will introduce some of the processes involved in processing the leather that reaches our customers.
The tannery we visited was Nakajima Kogyosho, which also produces leather for HushTug.
This is a long-established tannery with 67 years of history, producing 2,500 to 3,000 pieces of leather each month.
Washing the hide
The first step is to remove the hair and meat from the skin of the animal and then wash it thoroughly.
The skins taken from animals are transported in this condition (the image has been processed in black and white because it is shocking).
Since the skin would begin to rot even before it was washed, the entire skin is sprinkled with salt.
One of the reasons why Himeji became a bustling leather industry center was that it was close to the city of Ako, which is known in Japan as a famous salt producing area.
When cleaning, we put them in large drums like this for several days.
It takes between 1 and 3 tons of water to process one piece of leather.
Himeji is located between two rivers, the Ibo River and the Hayashida River, allowing it to secure a large amount of water.
The water is also soft, which allows for the production of more flexible, high-quality leather, which in turn encourages the leather industry to flourish.
Drying in the sun
The next step is to dry the wet skins in the sun.
Using heaters or other appliances will cause the leather to lose its original texture, so it is very important to dry it in a natural environment.
Himeji is a region in Japan that is particularly suited to sun drying due to its warm climate and low rainfall.
Relaxation
The next step is to use a machine to soften the dried and hardened skin.
If you listen closely, you can hear the very powerful sound of leather clashing against each other.
staining
Finally, the leather is colored.
Pass the leather through the dye that comes out of the spray.
At this point, the leather is finally processed into the leather that we are familiar with.
Himeji leather is carefully processed one piece at a time using this process.
Please enjoy the texture of the high-quality leather while reflecting on its long history.