This is the B-side of Arata Iura! The desire for GREENable collaboration, born from the encounter with Hiruzen.

Iura: I learned about the difference between Hiruzen's toadwork and that of other regions when I asked the craftsman about it. In Hiruzen, they use a type of toad called "himegama. When you go to the wetlands, you can see himegama and regular toadstools growing side by side, and while both are flat in shape, himegama is plump, soft, and thick.

And Hiruzen's toad crafts are 100% made from himegama. But even if you tried to grow only himegama, it would grow in the rice paddies, mixing with regular toadstools. So the material itself is extremely valuable. In addition, the amount of oil stored in himegama is different. The oil content gives it a higher grade of texture and luster. There are different types of toads, and I first learned that Hiruzen uses himegama, which is water-resistant and long-lasting.

Iura: And this time, we were particularly particular about the use of materials. As a traditional craft, Hiruzen toadstools must maintain a certain grade of quality, so we reject materials that are slightly mottled in color or have natural spots. We do not use such materials for practice or for our products.

However, I make products with the great significance of "finding value in things that are not used. So I decided to have the traditional crafts line continue to make wonderful products, and for the collaboration line, I dared to use himegama, which has patterns and fluctuating colors created by nature, and which was rejected by the traditional crafts line.

Iura: For the makers, the process of selection is skipped once and the materials in front of them are used as they are, at random. That is why traditional handicrafts are characterized by their translucent skin color, but the collaborative bags have a little bit of color mixed in from the beginning and unique patterns naturally created by the toadstools. I hope you will enjoy that as an interesting feature.

Iura: We also placed importance on not bothering the creators with their work cycles. To ask the creators to do only what we want them to do is not collaboration at all, and it is not a way to create something that will make everyone involved happy.

Specifically, togama-zaiku is usually made in a 5-stage weaving technique, but the more stages there are, the greater the burden on the craftsman, and the longer the length required, the fewer himegama can be used. So, we decided to make something interesting that could not be made with traditional crafts, but with the same techniques. We decided to mix materials and have the collaboration line produce both 2-dan and 1-dan weaves.

Iura: In this way, we will make it sustainable in terms of both labor and materials. We wanted to convey the beauty of gama-zaiku while making it easy to use in everyday life and in the city. It was difficult to find a factory that could sew this bottom and canvas together, though (smiles).

The himegama itself is a material that you can enjoy as its color gradually deepens and grows as you use it. Since this bag is a completely one-of-a-kind product, no two are alike, we hope that you will be able to use your own unique expression of toadstool work.

Iura: During a fieldwork visit in July, the blue of the clear sky and the green of the mountains caught my eye as I continued walking from the ground to the top of the mountain. These impressions mixed together to create this pale emerald blue or celadon-like color. As for the size, we did not dare to create a new one, but adopted an existing size. I think that size is the optimal solution that has been created through life in the history of gama-zaiku. I feel the value is in the background that has been shaped over a long period of time.