Mr. Komuro reflects that he strongly sympathized with BELLUSTAR TOKYO’s sustainability spirit when working on the project.

Mr. Komuro: “The botanical dyeing that we do at our studio has its own ‘upcycling’ perspective. We dye fibers with natural materials, and instead of discarding the leftovers, we use them as fertilizer or glaze. This has been done without waste since ancient times. It is nothing special – I think it simply comes from the ‘mottainai’ (waste-not) spirit.

That is why I was truly moved by the sentiment of somehow utilizing cherry blossoms that would otherwise be thrown away – I thought that was great. Each step of the upcycling process requires a lot of effort and strong determination to accomplish.”

The materials for botanical dyeing are natural plants. The challenge and greatest charm lie in the fact that plants do not always conform to the artisan’s intentions. Even the same cherry blossom trees will produce different colors depending on that year’s weather. Mr. Komuro expresses this as the color being “alive.” Therefore, the threads dyed for this project have a unique color that only 2024’s cherry blossoms could produce.

From BELLUSTAR TOKYO to artisans across Japan, and then to customers. The “Sakura Upcycle Project” progressed by relaying these sentiments. We look forward to the moment when the cherry blossoms, transformed into folding fans, bloom again in your hands.

Please refer to this article for more about the vision behind the “Sakura Upcycle Project.”
→BELLUSTAR TOKYO’s cherry blossom decorations reborn as folding fans: the vision behind the