Transcript for:
High Costs of Japanese Artisan Goods

[Music] foot stomped calligraphy ink from Nara will set you back over $1,000 matago areu from M prefecture a single cow Once Sold for about $330,000 and say you're in the market for a Bonsai Tree well many of those are considered Priceless Japan is full of people who've dedicated their lives to perfect ing their crafts but the skills resources and time needed to create Goods like these don't come cheap here's why 20 Japanese products and Delicacies are so expensive Japanese Chef's knives are world-renowned for their unique design and durability and just one can cost you over $900 from Heating and hammering the metal to sharpening The knife's Edge and polishing the final blade these are only a few of the skills a Japanese Artisan spends a lifetime learning to master so what makes these knives so coveted and why are they so [Applause] expensive terok Kazu has spent 37 years crafting chef knives at his family's Factory in Eisen each one goes through 100 production stages it's a process that requires over 10 years of practice compared to popular European Chef's knives Japanese blades are lighter and sharper allowing for more precise cuts on the low end most takamura blades cost a couple hundred but custommade pieces can sell for 15 times that one of the most expensive knives produced by the shop sold for $6,900 takam hono was one of the first knife makers to use a certain kind of stainless steel called high-speed powdered steel it was originally designed for power tools like saws and drills because of its durability and strength two qualities Japanese Chef's knives are known for today [Music] once the metal is cut it's heated in an electric oven to harden and strengthen the blade then the hammering begins at this point the Artisan relies on experience and instinct to guide them in producing a blade of Ideal strength and thinness hammering leaves behind circular indents something knife makers in the past typically polished away but 60 years ago T kazu's father and his colleagues discovered the benefit of knives with a textured surface like [Music] this [Music] this hammered finish called tuim allowed chefs to chop ingredients quickly and more efficiently it also added a beautiful aesthetic to each blade another element highly valued in Japanese [Music] knives but a Japanese chef's knife wouldn't be nearly as is valuable without a supremely sharp edge an artisan presses the blade against a rough grindstone made of natural rock a sharpening material you'll only see used in Japan this step distinguishes an Artisan's skill and ultimately sets a knife's final [Music] [Music] value it takes one full day to sharpen the blade and another full day to secure and polish the handle the final knife is totally unique each with its own distinct balance thickness and [Music] Design several of the world's best chefs use takamura's knives from Renee rppi at NoMa to masimo Bor at aeria francescana another one of those chefs is masakazu Fuji he uses takamura's knives to prepare fish at his restaurant in fuku [Music] AR [Music] Eden has been the center of high quality knife making since blacksmiths began crafting Chef's knives here 700 years ago ago and today the city is internationally recognized for its Cutlery production but before knives Artisans made swords another valuable trade in Japanese [Music] [Music] culture [Music] despite dedicating decades to this craft terukazu and his brothers weren't always set on becoming Master knife makers for professional chef or not getting your hands on one of takota's knives could take years with that kind of wait time coupled with the Decades of training required to master this craft it's likely these pieces will remain costly for years to come [Music] um this is ink okab is needing it until it's as soft as a rice cake it's imperative for him to be as thorough as possible because a well-needed mixture becomes high quality calligraphy ink it takes at least 4 years of Aging before these solid ink sticks can be sold and even longer for the most expensive ones a 200 g highgrade ink stick from this producer cor byen costs over $1,000 and for some other brands prices can reach almost $2,000 meanwhile almost double the amount of commercial liquid India ink can go for less than $9 so why are solid ink sticks so sought after and why are they so [Music] expensive it's January in Japan's Nara prefecture ink producer Ken has been making Japanese calligraphy ink for 450 years this type of ink also known as sui is traditionally sold in the form of handmade solid ink sticks to use the dry ink stick calligraphers rub it on an ink Stone to mix it with water sui ink is typically black but it can also be tinted brown or blue the ingredients are simple s animal glue and perfum fume but the quality of these materials and the time intensive techniques required to collect and process them have a large impact on the final [Music] price it starts in this room lit by 100 oil lamps this Workshop has four rooms like this where Artisans produce all the St they require to make ink two workers are in charge of this stage each overseeing two rooms and 200 oil lamps l s they carefully manage the vegetable oil in the lamps and gradually collect s throughout the day in Japan this process is called catching smoke every day Artisans light all 400 lamps and cover each with a lid the underside of which collects S as the oil burns but they can't just leave the lid in the same place for hours because overheating it will prevent such from accumulating the flame must be off center and The Artisans must rotate the lid every 20 minutes for 2 hours The Artisans scrape the soot off the top of the lid they replenish the oil and the process starts all over for a total of five times a day for each lamp these lamps contain rape seed oil the most common Choice when producing high grade ink sticks ink sticks made of s from even more expensive oils like poonia chamelia or Sesame can easily cost up to four times as much but Artisans must also consider other details like the containers that hold the oil and the material of the wig to ensure the quality of the CT they use non-porous earthernware containers crafts people in this Workshop even weave the wigs themselves to exacting specifications [Music] for the finess of the S grains determines the final price then there's the binding agent animal glue unlike most of its modern Liquid Ink counterparts which use shellac sui ink typically uses cattle glue for the most expensive ink sticks Artisans sometimes mix in other types of glue such as donkey deer and goat gayen says this improves the Ink's glossiness and texture the company buys glue specially made for sui ink which comes in a dry board-like form Artisans dissolve it by mixing it with 70° C water which takes over an hour and a half according to kayen dissolving the glue slowly at a low temperature is key to producing quality ink but animal glue can have a bad smell so sui ink makers add fragrance like Boral and musk to counteract [Music] it the next step is to knead the S glue and fragrance into a soft dough the dough is needeed every morning by hand and foot doitsu takes care to need it thoroughly so the S and glow are evenly distributed that way the solid stick can eventually dissolve into homogeneous Liquid Ink once he's properly kneaded the dough doid sugu cuts it into bowls and weighs them for consistency then he places the balls into molds and uses a machine to press them into shape improperly needed dough results in ink sticks that don't produce rich [Music] [Music] color corbyn makes about 6,000 of its smallest highest quality ink sticks a month it employs a handful of artisans for this and the ones tasked with needing require the most experience it takes 5 years to train as a sui Inc crafts person but 10 years before they're allowed to make high quality ink coren produces almost 40,000 of its smallest sui ink sticks between October and April when the cooler weather of winter ensures the glue can Harden during shaping but the work isn't done yet drying the ink sticks too quickly will cause them to crack making them unsellable so Artisans rely on a traditional technique using Oak as to slowly absorb moisture from the sticks over a long period of time they start by covering the sticks in moist ashes each day they swap yesterday's ashes with drier ones they repeat this process for up to 40 days until the ink sticks are about 70% dry after they hang the sticks with straw and air dry them inhouse for up to 6 months properly drying and maturing an ink stick takes at least 4 years the longer the sticks dry and age the better they perform and the more expensive they become coren itself has ink sticks that are hundreds of years old finally Artisans polish them and apply the finishing touches now they're ready to be sold to calligraphers like sha aaki calligraphers like show traditionally prefer ink sticks to liquid ink but in order to write with a sui ink stick he must first transform it into a liquid this requires an ink Stone and water Shaw adds a small amount of water and rubs the ink stick on the stone breaking it apart he mixes the two to make the Liquid Ink adding more water or more dry ink until he gets the consistency he needs but not all sui inks provide him with the same writing experience 95% of Japan's sui ink is made here in N prefecture sui ink production in Japan is set to begun in the 7th century when Chinese ink making methods were introduced by monks by the 14th century sui ink use was flourishing in Japan though its primary use is for calligraphy it's also often used for ink paintings known as suier and because coren must age its ink sticks for several years before it can sell them consistent production is necessary or else its Supply won't meet the demand but but that doesn't mean the company wants to ramp up its production core byn strives to continue making calligraphy ink using the same techniques and of the same quality as its founders the fat in this Matsu Saka wagu is so soft it melts as soon as you touch [Music] it the finest cuts of matsusaka wagu have a melting point of 12° cus that's 8° less than cor and while prices for fine diners in Tokyo have never been low for the first time this beef is being sold outside of Japan in Paris where just 100 G sells for $530 these cows are so valuable that in 2002 one fetched 50 million yen over $330,000 at auction to reach that low melting point farmers in matsusaka painstakingly raise these cows and keep them alive longer than their average lifespan with modern and ancient practices so how do you raise the most expensive beef in the world and why is matsusaka Wu so expensive [Music] is a third generation Matsu Saka wagi Farmer on his farm in M prefecture you will find only virgin female cows it's the primary requirement for any of the 80 Matsu Saka wagu Farms here in the Mi [Music] prefecture matsusaka beef has long been praised for its extremely low melting point which is half that of the types of wagu this means that when cooking the fat melts in a shorter [Music] time to reach this intense marbling old generations of farmers like hio hii's Dad used to feed cows with bear for although there's no evidence that this practice increases a cow's appetite many associate Matsu Saka wagi with it the fact that matsusaka has kept a relatively low profile internationally has almost transformed this practice into a [Music] hiroi doesn't practice this anymore instead he has perfected the feed and is practicing circular agriculture [Music] the cost of feed is an important factor that drives the prices up to reach that soft marbling matsusaka cows need to eat a lot they also need to eat for a much longer time than other cows matsusaka cows are raised for 30 to 32 months 6 months longer than other Japanese black cattle everything adds up over time for hiroi the costs of feeding temperature control air circulation and cleaning the enclosures regularly to avoid flies Farmers here call this raising period fattening for the first 3 to 4 months cattle eat grass to develop a strong digestive system this is called the belly creation period then comes the finishing period where cattle gradually switch to concentrated feed and rice straw to fatten up hoki is now experimenting with even longer periods of fattening raising his cattle from 35 up to 40 months but raising cows for such a long time can also be dangerous for hioki as a cow could get sick and die [Music] a cow at the end of its fattening period is a true treasure every year matsusaka cows get auctioned off and one gets crowned queen of matsusaka while the highest ever price for one of these cows was 50 million yen in 2002 this auction has never really seen a low price averaging around 20 million yen events like the auction have also fostered another legend that farmers in matsusaka massage their cows with alcohol this time it is not to improve their appetite but their [Music] appearance [Music] [Music] [Music] it's not just adult cows that cost a lot cares can be very [Music] expensive R hioki doesn't raise his cattle from birth at 10 months old carves are also sold at auctions throughout Japan hioki spends almost half of his time at work buying carves and he's very [Music] [Music] demanding BMS ms12 is the highest marbling grade for Wu in Japan the more intense the marbling the higher the price for customers in Tokyo 100 G of sirloin costs 10,000 Yen but that's still much less than what parisians are paying at marak Ania where the same cut is sold at €360 the most premium cut tenderloin sells for €5,000 per [Music] [Music] [Music] kilogram [Music] the Paris restaurant was the first to successfully export Matsu Saka wagu out of Japan and include it on its menu its most expensive tasting menu costs € 520 matsusaka wagu is heavily regulated to include matsusaka beef on the menu the restaurant had to follow strict rules the Paris restaurant needed to apply for a license which took a year to be accredited to maintain it the restaurant needs to have a high rating on Google Maps and there can't be another restaurant serving Matsu Saka wagu within an 840 M radius as of 2023 hiroi has shipped only three cows to Maria Cara due to this Limited Supply the 520 menu with ethor ranch's premium tenderloin is served to only one table per day this exclusivity is set to get a little bit looser in the last 10 years Japan has been a major importer of us beef importing an average of $1.83 billion a year meanwhile Millions worth of Wu made the opposite Journey as it reached International Fame a decline in in tourism after the covid-19 outbreak and a change in consumer Behavior toward cheaper Meats exacerbated this and now Japanese cattle farmers are looking outside the country's borders the export quot for Matsu Saka has jumped from 24 in 2022 to 700 in 2024 of those it's the most Premium Cuts that are exported going to high-end restaurants like Maria Cana in Paris this is pushing farmers who want to ship abroad to bet on those lucrative but dangerous long fattening periods M this is Kenji he's using centuries old technique to dye silk for a kimono it's physically demanding but that's not the only challenge he has to match this color exactly making adjustments by eye and it's essential that the fabric inside this Barrel remains white Kenji won't know if he's successful until he opens the lid this is one of over 20 steps required to make a kimono you can buy a cotton kimono for $300 but a handmade chiso kimono can cost over $10,000 and the company's most expensive kimonos cost 10 times that we followed 10 Artisans step by step to find out what makes these kimonos so expensive versions of the kimono have been worn for centuries today the kimono is viewed as formal Weare worn on special occasions like weddings or coming of age ceremonies part of the the reason why chisos kimonos are so expensive is that they're made entirely out of silk it takes around 12 M of silk to make a single kimono chiso collaborates with a network of Highly skilled Artisans each step is done by hand and can take weeks to complete this intricate design starts out as a simple sketch [Music] once the design is ready Hiroshi transfers it to the silk this step is called Drafting and it can take up to 2 weeks Hiroshi ensures that the design looks good when the kimona is worn not just on a flat surface these lines are critical to the design process but you won't see them on the finished kimono this paint is washed away after acting as a guide for other Artisans Hoshi has 37 years of experience but he's still very critical of his [Music] work Jos kimonos are known for their complex patterns painted using a technique called Yen Artisans trace the design with a glue like paste that separates colors when the silk is painted it also gives a characteristic white outline to parts of the design it's patient work but AI says it's all worth it when she sees the finished kimon [Music] this is just the start of a monthlong process pieces of the kimono are sent off to different Artisans across Kyoto each Artisan must perfect their section while keeping in mind the final design at yoko's Workshop she dyes the base of the kimono with these large [Music] brushes Yoko and her assistant blend the edges working around the design but this isn't the only way kimono are died some are dyed using a technique called shibori which creates bold colors and distinct shapes but it's very tedious work before Kenji starts working Artisans sew up the silk and bind this [Music] [Music] barel the seam homi is sewing forms the edge of the design then Matsuyama wraps the silk along this wooden tub and tacks it into place before he attaches the lid this step is key to preventing dye from bleeding [Music] inside now it's time for Kenji to dip the silk he works quickly but constantly monitors the silk to ensure it's dyed correctly if the barrel remains in the dye for too long the colors will start to bleed Kenji cuts a strip of fabric Compares it to the Swatch and adjusts its dye accordingly [Applause] after the dying is complete Kenji lifts the lid and examines his work all of these steps combine to tell a story through the design of the kimono themes of nature or the seasons are common while some designs reference poems or plays one of the most skilled and delicate steps is the US and dying Tomo has 25 years of experience making [Music] kimonos us and tying has been practiced for centuries and has become an iconic feature of high-end kimonos the technique is more expensive and timec consuming than screen printing but Cho's customers are willing to pay a premium for the result longsleeve kimonos with complicated designs can take two to three weeks to paint [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] the final step in the process is for Artisans to apply gold leaf and embroider complex designs embroidery alone can take weeks to months depending on the design the more embroidery a kimono has the more expensive it will be when all the pieces fall into place the finished kimono is a work of art a testament to the skill of each Artisan who has worked on the silk Jos kimonos take six to 12 months to make and those hundreds of hours of Labor are reflected in the price most range from 7 ,000 to $14,000 but some of Cho's elaborate designs cost over $100,000 and the accessories traditionally worn with a kimono increase the price even [Music] more customers looking for less expensive kimonos might choose to rent or to buy refurbished ones which usually cost a few hundred do but still provide good quality buying a cotton kimono or one without complex Us in is much more affordable these kimonos are often worn for Less formal events but current demand for expensive complex kimonos is low kimono sales declined dramatically in the 9s during Japan's economic crash and the industry has continued to shrink today it's around 14% of the size it was in 1975 chiso sells around 4,000 kimonos each year but the relevance of the Garment in Modern Life is limited further complicating matters the artist hands it relies upon to maintain production are getting [Music] [Music] older [Music] the future of this centuries old clothing tradition depends on the skill of The Artisans who practice [Music] it Japanese sword making is a tradition that goes back centuries and one that's carried on to this day each sword requires dedication skill and can take over 18 months to create the resulting blades can be worth thousands of dollars so what makes them so expensive master akihira has been making swords for 21 years he was inspired by a sword crafted by the legendary 13th century swordsmith masamune and after a 5-year apprenticeship and years of training he became became one of the 180 swordsmiths working across Japan Japanese swords have always been more than just weapons they were artworks status symbols and throughout history held a huge spiritual importance [Music] for [Music] [Music] for [Music] each sword is a unique artwork and one that is made to be admired as you would a painting as sheets of Steel are folded into each other again and again wood grain likee patterns form and these patterns coupled with the skill of the swordmaster create a completely unique [Music] blade knowing what to look for in each sword is important characteristics like the angle and length of the blade or the way the metal is folded could give away the era in which it was made and even who made [Music] it [Music] [Music] looking at the m of work that go into creating each blade it's easy to see why these swords command such a high price and as there are less and less sword Masters across Japan these works of art are only going to become more [Music] valuable [Music] this is the most expensive fish in Japan in January 2018 a kilogram of these baby eels cost around $35 ,000 that's more than blue fin tuna and almost as much as the price of gold at the time but catching these eels is just the beginning it can take a year of work until they're large enough to be sold so what makes these eels so popular and why are they so expensive people in Japan have eaten eel for thousands of years restaurants like this can sell 40 to 50 tons of E e each year Japanese eel or anguila japanica can be found across East Asia but over fishing and changing habitats have caused a huge decline in eel populations since 1980 the global catch of eel has declined by more than 75% which has had a huge effect on price unlike other types of fishing the majority of eels are raised not caught as adults young eels called glass eels are caught in the wild and raised on farms like this no Farms have been able to efficiently breed the eels in captivity so farmers depend on the catch of young eels to make a profit raising this many eels requires constant attention miio has been working as an eel Farmer for almost 40 years after the cost of the eels themselves feeding them is the most expensive part two to three times a day workers feed eels this it's a mixture of fish meal wheat soybean meal and fish oil [Music] for [Music] after 6 to 12 months of work eels are big enough to be sold workers unload the eels and sort them by size to determine where they'll be sold experienced workers can quickly tell the difference just by feel some of these eels will end up at restaurants like cuga which has been serving eel for over 150 years that high demand is part of the reason young eels are so expensive the final dish is called kabayaki it may look simple but preparing it takes years to [Music] master workers prepare eel live to maintain freshness but this makes handling much more difficult workers remove the bones and cut eels to the proper size for the skewers yel has to be constantly monitored while it's cooking to achieve even grilling Chef steam then Grill each eel three times dipping it into sauce between each [Music] grilling kabayaki presented in a lacquer box with rice is called unaju it can cost up to $91 depending on the price of adult eel if prices are too high restaurants struggle to make a profit [Music] in Japan eels are eaten year round but consumption peaks in the summer and it's become a big part of some local economies but the high demand has caused concern in 2014 Japanese eels were classified as endangered and because of low domestic catch the majority of eels eaten in Japan are imported from China and [Music] Taiwan there have been efforts to improve the eel population like regulating fishing releasing adult eels back into the water and researching how to hatch eels in farms but the future of Japanese eels remains unclear and the price is likely to increase with [Music] demand bons site is an art form that requires years of training and centuries of dedication at the 2012 International Bonsai convention a tree was on sale for 100 million yen just under a million dollar and many more of these trees are considered completely Priceless so what is it that makes bonai so [Music] expensive Bonsai is the art of dwarfing a regular tree to create a perfect miniature repres presentation of nature in a small pot it has a long history originating in China the practice of creating tiny trees and Landscapes appeared as far back as the 6th Century the trees growth is restricted by years of pruning wiring repotting and grafting and the plants need to be checked on and often watered every day the skills required to grow these trees plays a huge part in their value they are often bent and twisted into shape positioned around rocks or even placed with other trees to simulate a tiny Forest many of these techniques require years to master and any errors made can result in permanently ruining the shape or even killing a plant that has been growing for centuries chako Yamamoto is a fourth generation Bonsai Master based in central Japan she's been creating and selling Bonsai for the last 51 years and one of the hardest skills to master when growing these plants is [Music] patience [Music] for [Music] [Music] for the time and devotion this process requires is unlike almost any other form of artwork while the work is almost a form of sculpture the plants are living things and will always react in their own [Music] way [Music] [Music] the extraordinary time this process takes means that there just aren't that many trees around some of the most valuable Bonsai are over 800 years old and so the Supply isn't going to increase anytime soon [Music] other factors can contribute to the cost the Bonsai pots and the tools use are often handmade and can cost thousands of dollars themselves certain types of tree are also harder to grow or require certain techniques and may fetch a higher price but more than anything these trees are works of art valued for their beauty and the vision of the [Music] [Music] artist [Music] the most distinct aspect of a Japanese bow is the length at over 2 m tall these bows are difficult to handle and making them is just as challenging bow makers file raw bamboo and insert over 100 wedges to curve the bow depending on the materials these bows can cost over $2,000 so how are these bows made and why are they so expensive long bows have been used in Japan for centuries but today you'll mostly find them in a martial art called [Music] Kudo you can buy a synthetic bow for around $400 but many experienced archers prefer the feel of handmade bamboo bows kuto shibata's family has been making bows for over 450 years it all starts with raw bamboo Kido tries to obtain most of his bamboo locally from around kiyoto but it has to dry for 3 years before it's ready to be used kuto shaves the dried bamboo down to a thickness of 4 to 5 mm this is one of the most physically demanding parts of the process C because the bamboo is dense and [Music] fibrous a Japanese bow consists of three main layers two pieces of bamboo and an inner core called nakauchi the nakauchi is made out of laminated bamboo and wax tree wood and it's much harder than the bamboo on the outside there [Music] glues filed bamboo on either side of the nakauchi to form the bow for some bows he uses a natural glue called neb which is harder to work with making the final product more expensive than the bows that use synthetic glue but the hardest part is bending this straight bamboo into the shape of a bow canotto winds rope around the bamboo and inserts over 100 wedges while bending curves into the bow because of the Bow's length this process is extremely tedious but it must be done quickly before the glue dries thanks to Decades of practice it takes Koro around 10 to 15 minutes despite the importance of this step kto only shapes his bows by eye for after the glue dries kto removes the wedges and bends the bow into its final [Music] shape Cano's bows cost anywhere from 900 to around $2,200 depending on the materials used but bows made for display can cost a lot [Music] more more his family's clients include everyone from local Kudo practitioners to the Imperial family but Koto wants his bows to be accessible to more people as long as it doesn't affect the final quality he tries to make the process as efficient as he can for despite the high price using a well-made bow that feels good is essential for Archers [Music] if a single hair is out of place on a high-end calligraphy brush it must be removed this intense attention to detail is part of why these brushes can cost over $1,000 you can find a beginner brush for less than $15 but for handmade brushes custom designed for a master calligrapher Artisans spend months turning raw hair into a perfect brush tip but what makes these brushes unique and why are they so [Music] expensive calligraphy is a respected art form in Japan and has been practiced for for centuries but today there aren't many skilled brush makers left yoshiyuki ha is a third generation brush maker and has been making calligraphy brushes since he was a teenager his family's Workshop in kawajiri focuses on what they call no compromise craftsmanship each brush tip is Handmade by a single Artisan but making these brushes isn't easy for a master calligrapher like Dao kanako small differences in a brush's hardness or ink retention can drastically affect the lines it can produce for the dozens of steps involved in Brush making start with selecting the hair different types of hair have a big impact on the price of a brush yoshiyuki's specialty is one of the priciest goat hair this hair was collected 50 years ago from the chest of yangzi River delta white goats hair from this specific breed of goat is classified as type three hair based on its size luster and elasticity it's a highly sought after hair for brush making because it's soft yet durable and retains ink well but today this type of hair is hard to find in large quantities and can cost thousands of dollars per kilogram selecting high quality hair is done entirely by ey and it's one of the hardest skills for a new brush maker to [Music] learn [Music] but this long process is just beginning once the hairs are chosen they're boiled and combed to remove any fluff this process separates straight long hairs which are ideal for brush making one of the most time-consuming steps is aligning all of these hairs this delicate work is key to making a a uniform brush but it's largely based on experience and Instinct throughout the process brush makers patiently remove any imperfect or damaged [Music] hairs [Music] [Music] for [Music] at this stage Yoshi Yuki's vision for a brush starts to take shape after trimming he wets the hair and combines different bundles to create a brush that is dense and [Music] durable then he dips the hair in funori an adhesive liquid made from seaweed to hold the hairs [Music] together the finished brush tip is almost unrecognizable from the Raw Hair but the precise work isn't over yet once the hair dries yoshiyuki ties up the ends and burns each one with a hot iron binding the hairs together any mistake here could ruin a month of work finally it's time to assemble the brush light the brush tip each handle is custom made [Music] this timec consuming process along with the materials used means these brushes can cost a 100 times more than a mass-produced brush the price varies based on the size and type of brush a larger brush requires more hair which naturally increases the price hatab bunino brushes often cost around $1,300 but some brushes can cost a lot more despite the high price these brushes are essential tools for calligraphers like Dao he followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and has been practicing calligraphy for 20 years [Music] [Music] [Music] e some brush makers mix natural and synthetic hair to make brushes more affordable but yoshiyuki remains committed to using only the highest quality materials Koo yoshiyuki's son will be the workshop's fourth generation brush [Music] maker [Music] but like many traditional crafts the future of brush making is unclear demand for handmade brushes is in Decline some brushmakers have started selling makeup brushes to bring in new customers but the main concern for yoshiyuki and his family is the lack of raw materials [Music] you've probably heard of fugu the deadly puffer fish delicacy served across Japan the Japanese eat 10,000 tons of the fish every year but in High season it could cost you $265 per kilo so what makes this dish so expensive this video contains footage of a fish being killed there are over 12 species of puffer fish 22 different kinds were approved by the Japanese government for use in restaurants but one is more prized and more poisonous than the others torafugu or tiger puffer fish wild tofugu is often found at high-end restaurants where it's served as a perfectly thinly sliced Sashimi deep fried and even used to make hot sake called hirake yamad has been serving puffer fish for over a 100 years their Fugu is caught in southern Japan and airlifted alive to their Tokyo restaurants sourcing the fish can be tricky in he deari Market Fugu is auctioned off using a bag and hidden hand signals each potential buyer puts their hand in the bag and makes their bid secretly before a successful bidder is chosen when selling such a dangerous food safety is Paramount in 2018 when a supermarket accidentally sold five packets of the fish that hadn't had the poisonous liver removed the town used its missile alert system to warn residents the tetrodoxin found in Fugu is more toxic than Cyanide and each year about 20 people are poisoned from badly prepared fish it takes a lot of skill and training to prepare the fish safely and know which parts are poisonous we got we [Music] got the poisonous Parts can vary by species and hybrid species are appearing now that are even harder to tell apart one of the hardest things to distinguish between can be the female fugu's ovaries which are extremely toxic and the male's testicles which are a delicacy the Japanese government tightly control who can prepare Fugu and chefs need to take an extensive exam before they're legally allowed to serve the fish this rigorous regulation means that while the fish can can be lethal far more people die from eating oysters than Fugu each [Music] [Music] [Music] year for all of the skill and training that goes into preparing this fish increases its price the fish is killed seconds before preparation and while the process looks gruesome as the muscles continue to spasm the fish is technically brain [Music] [Music] dead this method of killing the fish means that the meat stays fresh for longer and at yamadaa the fugu is aged for 24 hours before it's served so what does it actually taste [Music] like for how transparent it is I didn't particularly expect it to have such a chewy texture it really is much chewier than I expected but it's really very subtle taste it's just a really fresh sort of clean taste and really really nice there's another reason tiger Fugu is getting more expensive over fishing tiger puffer fish is near threatened and in 2005 the Japanese government limited its fishing quotas and seasons and another popular edible species across Japan the Chinese puffer fish has declined in population by 99.9% over the last 45 years farmed versions of these fish are much cheaper and many more affordable chain Fugu restaurants are starting to appear but the farmed version is difficult to raise and Japanese consumers say it just doesn't taste as good wild fugu's high price guarantees that it's safely prepared by an expert chef and when you're dealing with a potentially deadly fish that price is reassuringly [Music] expensive this is a handmade made Iron Kettle for centuries Artisans have made kettles by pouring Molen iron through a small opening in molds like this once the iron hardens they continue the tedious work of hammering the kettle free it's only used to boil water but that doesn't make it cheap you can buy a mass-produced kettle for $20 but a handmade Iron Kettle can cost over $300 so who makes these kettles and why are they so expensive this is iwat prefecture in Japan iron kettles have been made here for hundreds of years each one starts with a sketch Nobu Mia Runs kamada a workshop founded by his grandfather designing a new Kettle takes him two to 3 years at this Workshop every single Kettle is made by hand but before you start melting iron you need a mold the mold is made from three parts that form a gap where the iron is poured in [Music] the core is destroyed with each use but the outer molds are reused two to three times depending on the design of the [Music] [Music] kettle according to noou around 70% of the work is making the mold this process also creates the most recognizable aspect of the design this bumpy pattern called AR this mold has around 2,000 dots all placed by [Music] hand [Music] Artisans coat the core with charcoal dust to make it easier to separate from the iron then shitaro delicately places it inside the outer mold but he won't know if something went wrong until the iron has cooled there's a lot of anticipation waiting for the iron to melt shitao has to mentally prepare for the poor a dangerous and physically demanding [Music] task a mistake here could ruin the kettle so experience and confidence are [Music] essential [Music] once the iron cools shitaro finally sees the result of his hard [Music] work [Music] for foree [Music] traditional iron kettles like this one don't have any enamel coating inside instead Artisans heat the kettle to 900° C on a bed of charcoal this creates an oxidized layer which helps prevent rust without an enamel coating the iron subtly changes the taste of boiled water but this Kettle isn't done yet the final stage is one of the most skill intensive [Music] steps noou heats up the kettle and brushes on lacquer coating and coloring the outside [Music] for [Music] [Laughter] [Music] most kettles from kamada cost $3 to $400 but prices can be as high as $22,000 despite the high price customers appreciate the slow paced nature of these kettles the design is considered wabisabi which is difficult to translate literally but refers to the concept of appreciating imperfection and practicing [Music] mindfulness [Music] [Music] iron kettles were common in Japan in the 17th and 18th centuries when they were used in tea ceremonies but they struggled to compete with convenient mass-produced options after World War II in recent years interest in their aesthetic qualities has reignited demand but that demand has brought on many knockoffs that can be bought for a fraction of the price these kettles imitate the a pattern but usually aren't made in Japan they also have an enameled interior instead of the bare iron used in the traditional version but the original uncoated interior is actually one of the main selling points customers say they like the taste of water boiled in these kettles and some also value the small amount of iron content it adds to their water [Music] despite an increase in popularity Nabu says that demand for this type of kettle isn't enough to sustain the business on its [Music] [Music] own sharo nabu's son has trained in making iron kettles and plans on taking over the business to continue the centuries old craft after these leaves are plucked dried and ground they will turn into the finest matcher but not all matcha is the same The Greener matcha is the smoother and more complex its flavor highquality jade green matcher can cost 20 times as much as pale green matcher and while this bright green powder takes a few seconds to dissolve in water it takes an entire year to grow the plant it comes from so what makes ceremonial grade matcha so exceptional and why is it so expensive matcha at its highest quality is referred to as ceremonial grade because of the central role it plays in Japanese tea ceremonies lower quality matcha also called culinary grade matcha can be made sweet with sugar and cream in desserts but in its tea form it's very bitter gintaro is a sixth generation matcha producer he runs a 180 year old tea Farm one of the oldest in uji Japan city with a centuries old tea history in Spring they sprout young tender leaves and that's the sign that match season has begun [Music] to make matcher he only needs the very first leaves of the plant it's there that there's a higher concentration of nutrients and they will make the best quality tea so at Peak Harvest cting leaves can take hours but the reason why the plants are in the shade is not to protect those plucking them from the Sun but to protect the plants themselves extensive exposure to sunlight develops bitterness in the leaves blocking the sunlight preserves their flavor and gives them a bright green color before harvest in the spring the plants spend 30 to 40 days in the shade gintaro uses rice straw panels to shade his plants a method that's become extremely rare among tee Farmers most Farmers now use plastic Nets they're more convenient and can be reused gintaro plants spend double the time in the shade of what is recommended to make matcha which is 20 days while plants that make lower grades of matcha are harvested two or three times a year ceremonial GR matcha is made from plants that have been plucked only once after an entire day of picking genta's work is just getting [Music] started [Music] fore [Music] the first step of processing of the leaves is steaming steaming locks in the flavor and preserves their bright green color but most of all it prevents oxidation which would turn them into black tea after steaming the leaves go into this Leaf spreader a series of four mesh tubes where they're rapidly cooled by the wind this eliminates the water on the leaves and prepares them for the next step drying the tea leaves at genta's Farm are dried using a 97-year-old furnace which gives them a unique roasted Aroma after drawing stems are removed and the leaves are sorted leaves up until this point are called tenture and they will only become mature after they turned into a green powder but before doing that gintaro usually tastes the unrefined leaves he's very critical of his work [Music] for ceremonial grade matcha is ground using a Stone Mill it's designed to grind counterclockwise only this traditional method grinds a fine powder that preserves the nutrients of the leaf but it's very slow it takes gentaro an entire hour to grind just 40 grams of matcha with an automated Crusher this would happen in seconds the mattress Stone Mills are some of the most traditional instruments in Japan they're made of granite and are entirely handcarved just one of these Stone Mills can cost over $1,300 it grinds the matcher into a fine glossy powder but once matcha is ground the fragrance slowly disappears and becomes more delicate so gentaro usually grinds it one more time before selling it [Music] ceremonial grade matcha contains a higher level of an antioxidant called kaken and more chlorophyll than other green te this is as a result of the shading process and the slow grinding while the Japanese public has long been familiar with the distinction between ceremonial grade and culinary grade matcha it's relatively new to the rest of the world but matcha's popularity has been soaring in 2020 the global matro market was worth $3 billion and it's expected to exceed $5.5 billion by 2027 in the last 10 years exports of matcha from Japan have doubled compared compared to 30 years ago they've quadrupled but these numbers barely refer to ceremonial grade matcher the lower costs of production faster turnaround and the ability to harvest leaves up to three times a year have made culry grade matcher a more popular choice for farmers in uji only 60 families are left growing ceremonial grade matcher for gintaro taking over the family business wasn't an obvious choice once all this year's young leaves are picked and ground into matcha powder gentara will spend the fall pruning the trees plowing and fertilizing the soil come winter he will weave the rice straw to shade his plants and new leaves will Sprout again ready to be turned into [Music] matcha there every year GUI fuar goes into the mountains hunting for this a mutaki mushroom if the Harvest is low wholesale mutaki can cost over $500 per kilogram and over the past 70 years Japan's Harvest has declined by over 95% now the mushrooms future is unclear so what makes these mushrooms so expensive and why have they almost disappeared matsutake can't exist without trees they grow connected to the roots of red pine trees in a symbiotic relationship mutaki grow in several countries including China and South Korea but Japan fetch the highest price in 2021 The Season's first mutaki were auctioned off for over $7,000 they're harvested once a year from around September to November but because the domestic harvest in Japan has plummeted the price is volatile unlike other prized Foods it's not a problem of over harvesting it's a problem of changing habitat mutaki can't be grown on farms they have to be foraged by hand but foraging is no easy task giii fujara has been foraging matsutake for over 60 years there's a lot of anticipation leading up to each harvest season [Music] G forges From Dawn till Dusk returning home around midday to empty out his baskets even for someone with his experience it can be hard to predict the quality of of a harvest even with a good harvest these mushrooms are difficult to find they blend in with the forest floor and often don't grow at the base of a tree knowing where to look is a result of Decades of foraging on this [Music] [Music] mountain [Music] it's exhausting work but today G is rewarded filling several baskets each trip but his work isn't over when the Harvest ends in the offseason gu goes back to the mountain and tries to cultivate matsutake gii also tries to spread the spores of mutaki to help them grow but cultivating matsutake this way takes around 5 years and success isn't guaranteed even though this year was a big harvest the long-term trend is in decline in 1953 Japan harvested around 6400 metric tons of mutaki but in 2019 it harvested only 14 metric tons one of the biggest reasons for this decline is a change in how forests are [Music] maintained [Music] [Music] [Music] Taki also grows best with red pine trees that are a few decades old but over the past Century an invasive pest called Pinewood nematode has been hurting the growth of red pine trees throughout Japan without the trees mutaki won't be able to survive the mushrooms also need ample rainfall and cool temperatures early in the season all of these factors create a delicate balance for mutaki harest vary widely each year which causes big changes in price in 2018 prices were 20 to 50% lower than the year before because of a good Harvest but in 2019 when there was a period of dry weather prices almost doubled reaching over $800 per kilogram in some parts of [Music] Japan today Japan Imports over 90% of its masaki from place like China and South Korea in 2019 only around 14 of the 1,000 metric tons consumed were harvested domestically imported mutaki are more affordable compared to the ones grown in Japan but some people consider these mushrooms to be less fresh and not as flavorful matsutake with a closed cap are often considered to be the most valuable but different sizes are used in different types of dishes [Music] a full course meal at this end costs around $130 due to the declining Harvest mutaki mushrooms were listed as vulnerable in 2020 but the species isn't gone [Music] yet [Music] but if its growth and environment aren't sustained this legendary mushroom likely won't get cheaper anytime soon it takes between 1 to 2 months for heizo manab to dye these threads a deep indigo blue denim made from these threads will maintain this Rich color and so will man's nails for 3 weeks that's because manab uses real Indigo instead of the synthetic dyes most genes are made with today a pair of motaro jeans dyed with natural Indigo can cost over $2,000 but using real indigo is just one element that can raise the price of Japanese denim each stage of production requires meticulous attention so what exactly makes Japanese denim different and is that enough to make it so expensive in basic terms Japanese denim refers to denim made in Japan but today it often implies Salvage denim the name comes from the way fabric is woven on these old shuttle Looms they weave fabric with a sealed or self- finished Edge hence the name self Edge it means the end of the fabric won't Fray or Unravel you'll notice a pair of Salvage Jeans by the cuff there's typically a colored line along the [Music] outseam this type of denim is made here in Kojima Japan [Music] motaro is one of kojima's most well-known denim Brands but before momotaro makes denim it must first dye the threads the company's most expensive jees are handdyed with natural Indigo natural Indigo comes from the leaves of the indigo plant dying fabric with natural Indigo has been a valued art form in Japan for [Music] [Music] centuries manab dies 60 rolls of cotton over several days he Rings each roll out and hangs it up to dry before dying [Music] another must dye each roll a total of about 30 times otherwise the color won't be a dark enough blue dying jeans This Way doesn't only take longer it also costs more a kilogram of some synthetic Indigo can cost between $4 and $5 depending on the quality natural indigo might cost 10 times [Music] that that one bale is only enough to dye about 15 pairs of jeans although using natural dye raises the cost of production it has unique effects on genes that can't be produced by synthetic dyes [Music] today cheaper synthetic dyes have mostly replaced natural ones so jeans still made with natural dyes are often considered a premium product which is partly why mamot taro's Kinton or Gold Label jeans are worth over 2,000 The increased price of this pair is a nod to the extra effort skill and money needed to dye the threads by hand and get the color just right not all Japanese denim or motaro jeans are made with natural Indigo but even so the price remains high around $200 to $300 for a pair like this and that goes back to the way Japanese denim is [Music] woven before Toyota made cars it made looms like this originally introduced in the 1920s these Toyota looms are no longer made today and although they look and sound like they're working fast weaving fabric this way takes five times longer than weaving on Modern projectile [Music] [Music] looms despite the Lo s being automated an experienced mamaro technician has to keep a close eye on them as they run he checks to see each Loom is working smoothly and that all the threads are aligned correctly even so it's possible something will go [Music] wrong on top of weaving slowly the Looms produce fabric less than a yard wide that's about half the width of non-s Salvage denim so producers need more fabric to make a pair of Salvage jeans this is yet another factor that increases the cost of production and ultimately the final price of the jeans shuttle looms are also less precise than projectile looms but variations in in the fabric make each yard unique and ironically that's what gives these genes one of their biggest appeals While most other genes have a smooth surface Japanese denim is a little bit rougher While most momotaro genes are made on the automated looms the most expensive Gold Label jeans are produced with an even slower more traditional method by hand with an antique Loom it takes 1 hour for Kazuki aita to weave just 10 cm of fabric while this process raises the price the extra effort gives the jeans a distinctly different feel and for denim enthusiasts traveling from Thailand to Tokyo is worth the trip to buy momotaro's most expensive pair usually when you brought a new pair of jeans you feel it's a little bit hot and you you feel like a little bit it's a little bit hard to move at first right but this one even from the start yeah it feels so comfortable like you have wore it for sometimes after the fabric is woven by hand or Shuttle Loom it heads to the sewing room according to hedel on average most other types of denim weigh between 11 and 14 oz While most denim from Japan weighs 20 oz a heavier fabric makes Naomi tashi's job more challenging the [Music] another Cornerstone of Japanese denim is the artisanal nature of the way the jeans are finally formed at motaro all the stitching is done by hand the same goes for adding each copper rivet the final look and feel of a finished pair largely depend on T bayashi dedication to detail because shuttle looms are less precise the fabric will naturally have several imperfections but if momotaro's retail stores find anything wrong with a pair of jeans they mark it with a small sticker and send it here to the quality control room Tak bayashi sifts through the flag jeans using a tweezer to repair each marked spot motaro is one of around 40 denim makers in Kojima considered the birthplace of denim in Japan while Japanese denim from this city has found a luxury cat atory to call its own the denim industry hasn't been prominent in Kojima for very [Music] long in the decades since Japanese denim has reached far outside Japan today it's considered one of the finest types of denim in the world sculpting glazing and firing are just a few of the labor intensive steps required to make ceramics [Music] handmade ceramic dinner wear isn't cheap but porcelain dinner wear can be even more expensive the price of porcelain varies but some dish wear like this plate can cost over $400 so how are Ceramics made and why is porcelain so expensive there's a good chance that you sit on porcelain every day it's the most common material used to make toilets the reason why is also why it's a popular choice for Dish wear compared to other Ceramics porcelain is more durable and nonporous so it lasts a long time and it's easy to clean it has a distinct white color and unlike opaque Stone wear some porcelain is translucent the secret to these differences is in the clay clay used for porcelain contains a high percentage of Kalin this is what makes porcelain white Kalin is found all over the world but large highquality deposits are [Music] rare porcelain is often referred to as China which is where it was first created but today it's made all over the world this is the arita porcelain lab in Japan Artisans young and old have made porcelain here for over 200 years there are countless recipes for porcelain clay but in addition to Kin they usually contain material like quartz Feld Spar and ball clay each one changes the properties of the clay ball clay makes it more malleable and feldspar helps it become glass-like when fired the whitest translucent Clays need to be free from impurities and generally cost more than other ceramic Clays but even for experienced Potters porcelain can be tricky to work with in order to produce a large number of pieces this Workshop had as an artisan for each specific step in the process even though 10 people work on each piece producing new dish wear can take over a [Music] month compared to other Ceramics many porcelain Clays are challenging to mold by hand it's also more prone to cracks when drying to help with this and to produce more uniform pieces this Workshop uses molds for complex shapes katsumi Yamashita has been working with porcelain for 60 years one of those difficult steps is glazing blazing seals the clay but it also adds color and patterns and it's one of the reasons that Ceramics can be so expensive at this Workshop each design is delicately painted by [Music] [Music] hand [Music] another challenge in making porcelain is temperature in order to achieve that glass-like surface porcelain is fired at a higher temperature than most other Ceramics usually around 1300° C at this Workshop pieces are fired three times a lengthy but crucial process the first firing is done without glaze at 950° for 2 days slow firing ensures that pieces don't break in the kiln once they've been fired Artisans apply What's called [Music] underglaze the main firing at 1300° takes 3 days loading this Kil is a daunting task but it has to be done carefully otherwise pieces could be destroyed [Music] inside thankfully this firing was a success now the final design starts to take [Music] [Music] shape the price of porcelin varies based on the size and complexity of the design a simple Rice Bowl costs around $7 but the most expensive platter from this Workshop costs a few thousand this blue and white design is a traditional look for porcelain but in order to maintain interest in this ancient craft the arita porcelain lab has tried to create more contemporary designs that fit into a modern [Music] [Music] home [Music] to make sake you need a lot of rice Brewers polish rice into pristine pearl-like grains and combine it with COI mold to craft the perfect flavor you can buy a bottle of sake for less than $10 but the most expensive version of the highest grade called Junu can cost almost $10,000 sake requires just four ingredients but without careful attention The Brew can be ruined at any stage at naawa Brewery nanami wab observes the entire process she's one of the youngest Brew Masters in [Music] Japan despite her age her sake has already won several [Music] Awards we spent a day with nanami to discover how she brw sake and to learn about what makes Juno so expensive it's a quiet morning in the mountain town of Kawasaki in Japan's Miyagi prefecture but inside the brewery the hustle has already [Music] [Music] begun [Music] [Laughter] for sake is categorized by its ingredients and the degree of rice polishing also referred to as the rice polishing ratio to be considered Juno at least 50% of the grain must be removed through polishing the more polished the rice the longer the sake takes to make and the more expensive the final product the brewery uses around 12 metric tons of unpolished rice per week to polish rice Brewers run it through Mills that remove the sides of the grain which contain proteins and [Music] fats compared to the Umami flavor of sake made from less polished rice more polishing generally means a cleaner taste and a more expensive price point but before it can be fermented it has to be washed and [Music] [Music] steamed [Music] workers move quickly because every moment counts when washing [Music] rice [Music] now it's time to steam the rice that workers washed yesterday steaming takes around 40 to 45 minutes and just like washing it requires close [Music] attention for E promoting nanami to brew master at a young age wasn't much of a [Music] risk nanami has been working at this Brewery for seven years it takes roughly two kilos of rice to make a 1.8 L bottle of sake many different types of rice can be used which affect the taste and the price NWA Brewery sources most of its rice [Music] locally while ordinary Jano sake uses rice polished to at least 50% nwa's most expensive sake is polished to less than 1% polishing roice to 50% takes around 3 3 days but to get to 1% It takes over 200 days the process requires more rice and slower more careful polishing NWA makes around 1,000 bottles of this type of s each year and EO says they always sell out but polishing is just the beginning once the rice is steamed it's time to add the most important ingredient GGI mold spores Corgi is a type of mold that grows on steamed rice as the spores grow they convert the starches in the rice into sugars but workers have to move quickly to maintain the correct temperature and humidity [Music] they feel for warm and cold areas of the rice and move clumps around to keep the temperature even [Music] for [Music] once the CI is ready nanami combines everything in large fermentation [Music] tanks gorgi turns starches into sugars and the yeast converts those sugars into into alcohol this process is called multiple parallel fermentation it's what makes sake unique it's also what makes Brewing it so challenging nanami monitors this liquid called Mash every day for a month there's a lot of anticipation waiting to taste the sake she takes samples and uses sensors to track the fermentation do you [Music] [Music] for after it ferments the mash is pressed and bottled as sake but no matter the price of the bottle nanami ensures every sip is [Music] delicious bami training her pallet is just as important as honing her Brewing skills after work she often tastes sake from other breweries Nami ordered nine kinds of sake but she doesn't know which is [Music] which [Music] despite sake's Legacy in Japan n n says it isn't always a drink of choice for people her [Music] [Music] [Music] age [Music] tasting sake in a restaurant while eating allows nanami to experience it the same way a customer [Music] would [Music] now it's time to check how many she got [Music] right [Music] naawa Brewery has been around for 150 years I naawa is the fifth generation to run [Music] it at the age of 25 IA became a brew master he dedicated himself to improving the quality of the sake and the brewery sales but in 2011 disaster struck a magnitude 9 earthquake and the resulting tsunami devastated the North eastern coast of [Music] [Music] [Music] Japan [Music] since rebuilding naawa has won numerous awards for its sake and I has passed the role of brew master to nanami [Music] [Music] for this brown paste is the base for the world's most expensive soy sauce and it won't be ready to sell for another 20 years while some popular soy sauce Brands cost less than bottled water gabi's 20year aged soy sauce can reach 99 for only 55 ml it's because of this thick soybean Mash called GGI it's the key to this soy sauce's flavor here in the city of higos Kagawa Japan kamishi dries and ages Koji with a recipe that's more than two centuries [Music] old so what makes this method worth preserving and why is kibishi soy sauce so expensive the complexity of this soy sauce is achieved by fermenting it for days and aging it for years this traditional recipe allows the company to create flavors that aren't possible in mass-produced soy sources high quality soy sauce starts with its most basic ingredient soybeans this never ending Cloud streams from the machine steaming soybeans inside it's a seemingly simple first step that can make or break the entire product after 18 hours soaking and steaming the beans should be soft and ready to turn steamed soybeans into the one-of-a-kind COI the beans have to be combined with barley and mold spores First Tee prepares the barley in a dry room dusted with finely ground wheat unlike other soy sauce breweries gishi grinds it down to fine powder tee mixes COI mold spes into the the ground barley then the steamed soybeans are hand tossed with the barley and CI powder the mold produces enzymes that break down the proteins and starches in the beans and barley into amino acids and sugars it's this natural fermentation process that gives artisinal Japanese soy sauce its dark color and distinct flavor Ki okada is the current owner of gishi she's the 18th generation of her family to run this business kamishi is one of the few breweries in the world that still uses the traditional mushiro Koji method workers monitor the temperature of the GGI every hour during that [Music] time on the first day depe heats the room to raise the coi's temperature the goal in this step is to heat the CI to stimulate fermentation by day two the fermentation should be so active that the COI generates its own heat as it grows the CI gets so big it needs to be shaken off the mats dumped to the floor and remixed to make sure the beans don't stick to each other the gorgy ages in these barrels where it will transform completely mumi is the name of the paste likee mixture that will age into the finished soy sauce it's a mixture of COI salt and water adding salt isn't just for flavor salt protects the COI from microorganisms and bacteria while it ages in Cedarwood barrels but as it ages they leave it alone except for occasional stirring during the hotter months [Music] [Music] [Music] for kamishi ages all of its soy sources the longer they age the more complex the flavors and the more expensive the final product kamishi even has plans for a 50y year aged soy sauce which won't be ready until around 2032 but before the sauce can be bottled and sold it first must be pressed mature moromi aged under 10 years is spread out on cloth and stacked into layers then a machine squeezes the soy sauce into a bucket below but anything aged over 10 years is too dry to press this [Music] way the finished sauce is then heated up to stop the f mation and to pasteurize it for bottling so when she took over from her sister in 2001 G started innovating to bolster the historic company they even make Pizza the company's roots are baked into its name for she felt similarly about her own Fay into the business this is one of the rarest steaks in the world known as Olive wagu it costs over $500 a pound which is almost 60% more expensive than other high-grade cuts of wagu produced by feeding wagu cows a special feed made from olives it's one of the most expensive meats you can buy the technique of feeding olives to Wu cows was actually only developed in recent decades and the steak wasn't always this pricey so what makes Olive wagu different from other wagu and why is it so expensive the sun is rising over shodoshima in Japan's Inland sea masaki isi has been raising cattle here for half a [Music] century Shima literally small Bean Island was once famed for its Zuki beans but after olive trees were introduced from Greece just over a century ago it became more famous as the home of Japan's oldest Olive [Music] Groves [Music] for wagu beef is already known for its intense marbling and high levels of alic acid both of which make the meat extra tender and flavorful masaki set out to create a wagu even richer in OIC acid but in instead of using fresh olives masaki turned to Olive pomas the residue from olive oil production doing so allowed him to recycle a waste product from one of shima's major [Music] [Music] industries [Music] Olive pomus still contains a lot of oil drying it is a difficult and costly process one that took masaki almost six years to perfect for around 2 months before the cattle is shipped out masaki starts mixing the dried pomas into their feed every [Music] day every morning masaki comes in to check on his cows while they're still asleep while other varieties of wagu are typically sold to be processed at 24 to 26 months Olive wagu doesn't ship out until 30 months the longer raising time and high cost of the feed make Olive Wu difficult to come by but despite the limited Supply it has become especially popular with chefs [Music] [Music] for when masaki first started experimenting with olives he kept it a secret from his [Music] buyers but in 2010 an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in miyasaki prefecture devastated Japan's livestock industry despite successful efforts to contain the disease locally the damage was done countries like the United States suspended beef imports from Japan disaster struck again with the Thor Hoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011 as Japan struggled to recover and rebuild its economy maraki looked towards strengthening his prefecture's beef production he led the charge towards working with more local Olive farmers in 2012 other Farmers on Shima started following masaki's methods to raise Olive fed cattle just one year later Olive wagu began shipping to places outside of Shima and Kagawa [Music] perfecture today there are about 2,500 Olive fed cattle on Shima still this is nothing compared to places like kagoshima or miyasaki where high quality wagu production has been taking place for decades on masaki's Farm there are just 20 head of [Music] cattle to reach this goal the cattle farmers of shodoshima need help from the local Olive [Music] [Music] [Music] producers [Music] after crafting the handd designed head and customizing the shaft there's still one step that could make the work on these honma golf clubs all for nothing if they make a mistake during assembly the instant adesive will immediately dry meaning countless hours of work and thousands of dollars will be wasted on a single Golf Club a full set can retail for more than $50,000 compared to the estimated $4,400 it would cost to buy a set to match Tiger Woods so are the small custom details enough to enhance a golfer's game and is that why these golf clubs are so expensive at Hon's Factory in sakata Japan there were roughly 200 specialized crafts people but the most skilled are called mow or Master Craftsman and there are only 33 with this title to earn it a crafts person has to train for 5 years then pass an exam AO has the ability to create new monster elements of a golf club that can be customized down to the finest [Music] details [Music] for example the five-star model of hma's beis clubs includes materials like platinum and 24 karat gold but before those luxury flourishes are ever added honma sets itself apart in it modeling process all golf clubs are split into three main parts the head the shaft and the grip creating a Master model is the first and most important step in producing a club's head satu hatanaka is using a more traditional material to create the template for a driver while historically drivers were made of ponwood today they're made with lightweight carbon and titanium but at hmer the model the driver is based on is still made from Pon why so Craftsman like satoru who has been making driver models for 35 years can sculpt the head of the club by [Music] hand the head of an iron needs a different process Master Craftsman dumi sat is making the model for a Bara Series 7 iron when complete this iron can cost over $1,000 on its own his model will be used to manufacture the final irons which are crafted from topof the line carbon steel satoru and Tumi are able to visualize what the shape of the final Club will look like but they can't see everything for this hman needs to bring in a different kind of expert CAD or computer AED design allows Specialists to design the parts of a club that a human cannot see on the outside CAD creates a 3D scan of the head of the club then Specialists will determine the thickness of carbon and titanium needed and run simulations to test the club's [Music] Integrity meanwhile in a different part of the Saka Factory craft people create the club's shafts and while other Golf Club manufacturers often Outsource the shaft honman makes every one of theirs inhouse the shafts of the Baris clubs are designed to recover as quickly as possible to their original shape after swinging the shaft begins with a strong material called high modulus carbon fiber this is the highest grade of carbon fiber often used to make professional racing bicycles this is cut and wrapped around a metal rod called a [Music] mandrel even at this stage of the process the handmade elements of design are highly [Music] customizable and an expert human eye is required for every Last Detail including the paint HMA invented its very own pul through method for this step a unique skill that allows crafts people to have total control over the outcome of the shaft appearance this method isn't all about looks either once every last detail of the club is perfected there is one more step that must be done just right if the assembly goes wrong the work of the previous Master Craftsman could be for [Music] nothing when a shaft is complete it is balanced and tested to make sure that the spine or stiff inner core is set to a 6:00 angle on every Club but there's still room for customization up until the very [Music] end to make sure the measurements are exactly right honma uses a robotic arm to test out their clubs golf started in 1958 as a driving range in surumi Yokohama at that time most of the golf clubs sold in Japan were foreign clubs in 1982 they started manufacturing their own clubs at the Sak Factory in response to domestic [Music] demand around 2015 hmer made a push for popularity in the North American Market but the company's clientele in Japan will always have the added advantage of customizing clubs at the sakata factory and Japan's pro golfers know it [Music] [Music] well this pair of Prof professional hair scissors costs almost $2,200 when it's customized further it can reach nearly $3,000 compare that to a standard pair of hair shears that costs under $10 the main reason for this Stark difference is a specialized design that ensures the blades don't wear down and can last decades Artisans spend hours shaping hammering and adjusting two blades by hand to create shears that rarely need to be sharpened so how do they create a pair of scissors that stay so sharp for so long and what makes them so expensive you don't me either has been a professional hairdresser for 10 years during this time she has invested thousand thousands of dollars in high-end hair scissors but those made by Naruto scissors in Japan's hogo prefecture stand [Music] out When selecting scissors professional stylists look for three qualities sharpness longevity and ergonomic fit the scissors need Precision to enable various techniques like Feathering or blunt Cuts while making the experience comfortable for The Stylist and they shouldn't require frequent maintenance highend hair scissor producers like Naruto have solved all three problems by ensuring the blade s have only one point of contact the exact location where the user wants to make a cut when using a standard pair of scissors the hinge connecting the two flat blades can wear down over time throwing off the alignment that means the user sometimes has to grind the blades against each other to achieve a clean cut the consistent metal to metal contact wears the blade Edge down over time a damaged Edge Edge has to be sharpened more often thinning the blade further and eventually making the scissors unusable to avoid this kind of damage highend hair scissor producers ensure that the blades only have a touch where they need to make a cut one way they accomplish this Precision is by warping the blades constructing blades with the correct warp and twist requires careful shaping Artisans shape the outer blade at a fixed angle of 45° from the base to the tip the angle is the same throughout the blade allowing for consistent Cuts without deviation or [Music] snagging as with the entire process of making these scissors Artisans judge when it's ready by I after the first round of shaping the blades are buffed and Polished then they're ready to be warped adjusting the warp requires mathematic iCal precision and undivided attention the warp is achieved by delicate Hammer strikes to the inside of the blade the high quality metal Naruto uses a Martin CTIC special alloy is strong but elastic allowing Artisans to war the blades as needed the curve of each blade is about 03 mm small enough to catch a single hair but Artisans don't use any measuring instruments instead they rely solely on experience next the blade is sharpened in increments in the first round Artisans sharpen the edge to 70% and repeat it two or three times until the blade reaches its optimal sharpness but this may alter the warp of the blade so they must continuously address any defects with careful Hammer strikes between rounds of sharpening shintaro has been working at Naruto for 19 years 18 of which he has spent in the adjusting Department working on the warping of the blades even with all this experience Shino doesn't view himself as an expert but his skill in warping the blades directly contributes to the high price of the scissors he produces in fact the cost of Labor accounts for up to 40% of Naruto's expenses this is where the mechanism connecting the blades is made it's a crucial part of the scissors design that also ensures a single contact Point while cutting in Naruto's case the mechanism is called the three-dimensional circular ride [Music] [Music] when the rod is installed Artisans prepare to test the [Music] [Music] [Music] scissors all this meticulous attention pays off not only in The Cutting performance of the scissors but also in their longevity because Naruto's design places less force on the blades the scissors don't need to be sharpened as often and last longer compared to ordinary scissors Naruto says well-designed scissors last so long that some clients still bring in scissors for maintenance that are decades old but for hiromi sharpness and Longevity aren't the only reasons professional hair shears are worth the [Music] price stylists request scissor types and shapes tailored to their specific needs and ergonomics are Paramount some producers even adjust the handles to the exact measurements of their clients hands and their style of cutting while Naruto's most expensive base model costs around $2,000 he only requested an Arabesque pattern which takes longer to design that brought the price of her scissors to almost $3,000 but there's no shortage of clients willing to pay the price Naruto sells about 6,000 of its scissors a year and sales are increasing in fact the global market for hair scissors is set to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 5.5% between now and 2030 but the biggest threat to the professional hair shears industry is knockoffs [Music] but these fakes don't perform nearly as well as the originals and producers of professional hair scissors know their buyers appreciate the difference [Music] for