Fude Japan (Makeup brushes from Japan)

What is the first eyeshadow brush to buy from Hakuhodo?

September 7, 2021

#SUQQU Signature eyeshadow

Hi Everyone,

I haven’t talked much about Hakuhodo.

Because most of you know much more than I do.

The situation has been recently changed.

New shop manager was assigned to Shibuya branch and whatever questions I ask are answered well by her.

One thing I found today is

‘Pine squirrel is soft.’

Hakuhodo doesn’t promote pine squirrel much, and I haven’t got many orders for pine squirrels.

She said,

Actually, it is soft, but it cannot work well alone so Hakuhodo mixes it with e.g. North American squirrel.

Yes, most are mixed with North American squirrels or other squirrels.

Then I asked her to recommend an eyeshadow brush if a user buys Hakuhodo first time.

She said,

J5523

No wonder I get many orders for J5523.

She also told me,

this video was made by Hakuhodo, and good for me to take a look.

Maybe good to ask questions where I shop. They may tell me something new and indoctrinate me with makeup.

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya
I may not be a typical Japanese….

September 3, 2021

23SOVRS EXS

(the picture is Takeda brush)

Hi Everyone,

My work time is a little different.

I wake up early but I sleep late. I try to sleep more, but maybe I’m a short sleeper….

I pack parcels in the morning for DHL, FedEX and EMS, and take a subway go to Shibuya sometime after lunch.

I rent space at Shibuya for work, but I only stay there 3- 4 hours, and go on a shopping.

To me, it is important to change a place where I work, so that I don’t get bored.

Besides,

Some shops are friendly, welcome my visit, and give me good information, too.

I like this flexible style, but it is not typical in Japan.

When I leave home, I sometimes run into a friendly janitor.

She is maybe 70 years old, was born and raised in Yamagata, a very rural prefecture in the north.

Those country people tend to be friendly.

She talks to me all the time.

Each time, she says,

‘Lucky you! You go to work like a Shogun!!’ Shogun was a top of Samurai, 300 years ago, so he was able to do whatever he wanted. Well, I agree to some extent,

but

I say to myself, ‘ my clients live in foreign countries, maybe 12 to 16 hours time difference. I work late’

‘that is why Shohei Ohtain, a baseball player, plays baseball every morning, not at night, in Southern California.’ ‘ I work by the Shohei time zone! while most Japanese people are relaxed’

(of course, I don’t say to her. so she wonders what my job is, LOL)

—

These are what arrived at my place today. Takeda is flexible and can accommodate to a client request. Ferrules and handles can be changed.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya
Limited products – September 2, 2021

September 2, 2021

Hi Everyone,

I think autumn has arrived.

It was 21℃ last night in Tokyo.

There was so much rain that this summer was not as hot as usual.

——-

Today, I want to update you on the current limited products.

1.

First, SUQQU set on September 3.

If you buy more than 12000 yen in total, including Tone Touch eyes 109, an eyeshadow brush will come with them.

The eyeshadow brush is synthetic, and not sold as a product.

I suspect that SUQQU will change the hairs of brushes from grey squirrel to synthetic in the near future.

Not official, but only my guess.

2.

There will be SUQQU Holiday kits – A and B on December 1.

I want to know how many you are interested as I can tell a shop to reserve them.

Kit A

Suqqu 2021 Holiday kit A (Nov 5)

Kit B

Suqqu 2021 Holiday kit B (2021 Dec)

Please let me know if you are interested. You can just email me which one(s) and you don’t have to pay now unless you are sure.

3.

Celvoke Eyeshadow

ex06

ex07

Celvoke Voluntary Basis Eye Palette

Chanel face powder – poudre cambon 10400 yen

https://store.fudejapan.com/products/cn-lc?_pos=1&_sid=8f8908b4c&_ss=r

Dior Blush Isetan (LE) -7200 yen

https://store.fudejapan.com/products/dior-skin-rouge-blush-47-collection-limited-edition?_pos=2&_sid=ab3b8dc61&_ss=r
Hakuhodo update – Kolinsky, Canadian squirrel, grey squirrel

August 7, 2021

Hi Everyone,

I received many orders and inquiries for Hakuhodo’s limited stock.
I called Hakuhodo and discussed the current stock today.

This is the latest.

Small stock for Kolinsky are:
S123 BK (bottom)

G537

G539

B120

G539

B539 can be bought if G539 is sold out.
The hair is the same.

Canadian squirrel
G5560 no inventory at Hakuhodo but I still have the stock
G513
Kokutan eyeshadow S

Grey squirrel will not be sold out, but
the following brushes will be replaced by mixed hair with synthetic, not 100 % Squirrel.

B532

I reserved five of them – long size.

B021
K021
G5529
G5533
G5534
F6131

Please let me know if you are interested!

Thank you!

Toshiya
I picked up a purse on the train today

August 6, 2021

Hi Everyone,

Today, I picked up a purse on the train.

It was with Pasmo (electronic money ) with a name so I was able to know he was a junior-high school student. He was 13 years old.

I gave it to an employee of Shibuya Station.
He said he could call him and give it back to him.

Well,

I have done the same. I dropped twice.
One was a backpack with a passport, and the other time was Dior limited eyeshadows.

Both of them were kept at the destination station and I was able to get them back.

I remember how much I was relieved, especially when I lost a passport, I was going to Narita Airport….

I was able to guess how he felt when he found out he lost it. The Pasmo was with a six-month train pass.

I did something good today and felt good LOL)

Update for Hakuhodo

Canadian squirrels and Kolinsky are getting sold out.

Here are what I was told that Hakuhodo had a very limited stock of.

Please let me know if you are interested)

Thank you!

Toshiya

G537 Kolinsky

G539 Kolinsky

S125bk Kolinsky

G513 Canadian squirrel
Canadian squirrel brushes

August 2, 2021

Hi Everyone,

I received many orders for

G5560 Canadian squirrel.

Thank you!

I asked a Hakuhodo manager today if I can order more.

She told me that there were one big order to another shop so my share was limited.

But I managed to buy a good number of G5560 so please let me know if you are interested.

The situation regarding Canadians squirrel brushes is uncertain.

It is not limited nor discontinued.

But, due to the shortage of hair supply, Canadian squirrel brushes disappeared from the Hakuhodo online shop for two years.

It appeared that Canadian squirrel hair is scarce for all brush companies.

Hakuhodo is not exception.

You can still buy, in addition to G5560,

G513

Kokutan S

I will write a newsletter when G513 and Kokutan S get hard to buy.

The Olympics is going on, people like it.

And it is hot in Japan.

I feel sorry that those Olympians need to compete in August… incredibly hot…

Of course, there could be many reasons why it is August, which I don’t know for sure.
But money is a key, I can guess, TV money.

Well,

Then, I am wondering if Sapporo can have it instead of Tokyo ?

Much more friendly to Olympians. And food is great in Sapporo or Hokkaido, LOL.

Thank you for reading,
Toshiya
SUQQU AW reservation starts – August 6 on sale

July 16, 2021

Hi Everyone,

I have just sold my parents’ house which is located in north of Tokyo.

It wa a lengthy process as my parents’ records are still registered to the Hiroshima Prefecture.

The local government doesn’t accept a bank transfer, so I needed to create a money order at a post office, and mailed it with a return envelope.

It is much easier to use FedEX or DHL to send a parcel overseas!

The other thing is a hanko, stamp registration. Now less and less stamp registration gets needed but it still exists.

Change or improvement leads to a loss of job or a new assignment, so it is difficult to change even a small thing.

Especially on a national level.

DHL and FedEX don’t need any hanko(stamp) but JP Post needs it.

I convinced manager of the local post office that I can sign EMS to ship it.

But each time a new person comes to pick a parcel, they said, ‘ no signature, but hanko!’

I have a hanko, but I say, ‘ I don’t have a hanko. I lost it.’

I have a hanko, LOL, but what is the point if I sign it?

That is a messy signature that no one can read or write, so can be more trusted, right ?

I don’t want to give a hard time to a person who collects parcels. So I ask if I can talk to a person on the phone.

I did talk to a manager maybe five times, but it is a big organization, and a manager is often replaced.

I begin to wonder how many times I have to explain to JP Post for the rest of my life. ….

Anyway,

SUQQU reservation starts soon, and I want to introduce 2021 AW.

Please let me know if you are interested.

Signature eyeshadow 106 left and 107 (8400yen)

Pure Bush 128 and 129 (6600 yen)

Tone Touch eyes 107 and 108 (4440 yen)

Nail Polish 134,135,136 and 137 (3000 yen)

Here is a swatch.

https://fortune-girl.com/makecosme/oGTwW
201 Kolinsky & Canadian squirrel update

July 7, 2021

(The above)

Takeda Fox fan brush　

Takeda Silver Fox Fan Brush (20 Fan 35 EF) maple handle (Fox)

#amplitude eyeshadow 01Cheek 02(8160 yen )

Hi Everyone,

The other day, I helped my mother move to a new place.

Japanese moving companies have good reputation in general. e.g. Art Moving company

I decided to use a different company, as they have a warehouse where furnitures are temporarily stored.

And they told me they would help me pack small things, too.

On the moving day,

Several young men came, and the first one told me that packing was not included in what I paid. After checking the sheet, he said, ‘ok.’

But it seemed that they were not ready for packing or they were not good at it.

Art Moving company is known for their service of taking care of everything professionally.

The Omakase, as in a sushi order, course covers from packing to carrying to unpacking.

But this company seemed to be new, and I was able to tell that they would not help willingly LOL.

They wanted only to carry the furniture.

As a result, the moving was much quicker than I had thought as I decided to dispose some furniture instead of bringing it to a new place. It was written all over their faces that they did not want to pack)

Maybe there was a better way to move this time.

I moved a few times in Tokyo, and movings were not bad because I only had small luggage.

My mother apparently had more stuff….

Good experience for me, to say the least.

Kolinsky

I have raden kolinsky eyeshadow L , but I cannot get the other radens from Koyudo.

It is not limited, but the hair is not available.

Hakuhodo

S141 is now out of stock in Tokyo, and it cannot be ordered to Hiroshima.

I also found today that S141bk was sold out.

Other kolinsky brushes, such as S120 or S123, are good to order for the time being.

Only S141 and S141BK, Hakuhodo told me.

Canadian squirrel.

I received an order for G513, which is still available though it is not listed at the online shop.

Hakuhodo has deleted all the Canadian squirrel brushes from their online shop. I guess some of CS brushes are available at shop, but not online.

Please let me know if you have a question on which CS or Kolinsky is available. I can check with a brush company.

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya
200. Two things to remember when you order Hakuhodo

June 11, 2021
(The picture has S141 and S120, both kolinsky. Kolinsky is now in short supply)

Hi Everyone,

When I started selling brushes, I found it hard to understand how Hakuhodo named their products.

Hakuhodo has

S series,

B series,

G series,

J series, etc.

If you remember two things, it will be easier to order Hakuhodo.
1. Hakuhodo handles have sizes, L, M and S. I think most of you prefer L, but shops sell and keep M sizes so when I get an order, I will ask a shop to order L sizes (very rarely S sizes) to Hiroshima. They close an order on Sundays and the order will arrive on Thursdays. I get them either on Friday or Saturday. So it is for one week that I usually ask you to wait.
2. B is Basic. B series are brushes that are a collection of popular brushes in each series. You can choose a handle color of B series: White, Silver, Champagne Gold or Black.
e.g. ‘J110’ and ‘B110 in a black handle’ are the same except for product numbers. Their prices are the same. B110 has four colors you can choose for handles.

https://hakuho-do.co.jp/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage%2Ccollection&q=110

I know one shop manager can tell brush numbers only from looking at products, but only limited numbers of Hakuhodo employees can do that.

They have (too) many kinds of brushes LOL. How can I remember ?

Therefore, I ask them to put a name tag to G series that don’t have product numbers.

S series are easier as they have only one size.

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya
199. My bucket list

June 9, 2021

Hi Everyone,

I was asked if S141 Kolinsky was sold out.

It did not show up at the online shop,

So,

I called Hakuhodo, and I was able to buy it but it looks like going to be discontinued in coming months.

Looks like kolinsky brushes will be very scarce.

Please let me know if you are interested.

https://store.fudejapan.com/products/hh-s141?_pos=1&_sid=d70bbc00d&_ss=r

———

Yesterday, I came across the idea of ‘Bucket List.’

Bucket list is, as you may know,

a list of goals people want to accomplish before they die”

I googled it and also came across the movie, ‘The Bucket List.’

It interested me so much that I watched it on the train.

And

after getting off the train, I finished watching it, while eating ‘onigiri,’ rice balls, on the desk.

I am always amazed that we live in such a convenient world….

After watching it,

I began to create my own bucket list, but it doesn’t look fancy…

I mean…

in the movie, they start traveling, eating in a gorgeous restaurant, visiting Safari, trying skydiving, visiting Mount Everest ….

There were two men, who are different from each other, go to experience their bucket list.

One guy, Jack Nicholson, is rich and frivolous, the other, Carter, Morgan Freeman, is family-oriented and hard-working.

Two different guys enjoyed the last few months of their life together.

I did not come up with those ideas…

Instead, I was thinking about my experience at work.

There was a colleague of mine, from USA before. He was the third generation Japanese, and looked Japanese but behaved differently. His parents ran a Japanese restaurant in LA.

Maybe he was so American or Southern Californian.

He always smiled so that his mouth remained the same shape even he was not smiling ; not Japanese-like.

One day, after being bored at my work, I went to a convenient store.

When I was looking for coffee or sweets, I heard his voice.

He was chatting and laughing at the paying counter. He finally said Arigato (thank you) and left there.

After coming back, I asked him, ‘you were enjoying at the store, weren’t you?’

He said, ‘I was learning Chinese from her. She is from China’

I am not entirely sure if he was just learning Chinese or having a different purpose. (I did not ask)

But, I can tell you this:

It is rare that Japanese talk with a sales person at convenience store.

They just go, buy and leave a store : well, it is a culture, maybe. Or shy.

I may not be able to talk long at paying, either.

but at least I thought it good to say ‘thank you’ at shop.

Well,

when I say, ‘thank you,’

Some people smile while some people are embarrassed LOL.

Japanese are not good at Arigato, they say ‘sumimasen’ (sorry)

It is strange to say sorry when buying, isn’t it?

I try to be a rare type of Japanese at the paying counter.

Maybe it is a bucket list. And I will continue.

I say thank you at shop, and enjoy their reaction.

It is one of good things or privileges to live in Japan to get a embraced reaction when saying thank you, LOL.

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya
198. What is Red squirrel hair?

June 8, 2021

Hi Everyone,

I am impressed that brush lovers outside Japan have a huge amount of knowledge.

Today, I learned one thing about brushes.

I talked to Takeda brush.

Takeda naming is quite difficult for me, and I asked several questions.

‘E’ means European way of cleaning hair.

EPSQU is European way cleaning of Pine squirrel.

The European way takes water out of hair but oil remains. With oil, it feels more moist than the case in which both oil and water are taken out.

Well, that is what Takeda calls ‘European way.’

I asked one more question which was not clear to me.

What is red squirrel? It is not a kind of squirrel.

Red squirrel hair is red hair chosen and taken from grey squirrels.

Red part is more fine and soft, thus more expensive than grey squirrels.

It is one of rare hairs.

Since it is not a kind of animal, the quality might be different from a company to company.

The same applies to Saibikoho and Saikoho, which are chosen from goat hair.

Takeda has good reputations, as far as feedback from my clients goes.

Takeda says:

Red squirrel hair is limited.

this is No.19SQU[R] ; R means red squirrel.

Hakuhodo doesn’t call ‘red’ squirrel.

I cannot recall if Chikuhodo sold ‘red squirrel.’

Each company has own way of selecting hair.

Maybe you know more.

Today I learned one more thing – new English vocabulary.

‘Bucket list’

One youtuber (Japanese ) talked about it though it is not a common phrase here.

Bucket list is, as you may know,

a list of goals people want to accomplish before they “kick the bucket= die”

I did not know ‘kick the bucket’ phrase….

Then, I googled it and came across the movie, ‘The Bucket List.’

I will write more about it tomorrow.

Thank you for reading.

Toshiya
197. Less and less natural hair for brushes

June 5, 2021

(the picture above is that of Kihitsu square set with goat hair)

Hi Everyone,

I read an article that

Kolinsky hair is in short for calligraphy brushes.

It is mostly imported from China, but due to the COVID , it gets less and less.

The article was written about calligraphy brushes, but it may apply to makeup brushes too.

It seems that most of brush companies are looking at how they sell synthetic hair.

Goat hair is still supplied though there is less and less rare natural hair.

Brushes with the following hairs are less sold than before.

Canadian squirrel

White Canadian squirrel

Kazan squirrel

Kolinsky

On the other hand, some companies have the stock.

Koyomo bought goat hair in the 1970’s , and the quality is very good.

Those companies might be able to keep a good position in the market.

This is a goat hair set with walnut.

I often hear that many people like natural hair and don’t like synthetic hair.

Maybe Japanese consumers buy synthetic hair but people outside Japan pay for natural hair.

With a high postage, there is no point of buying synthetic from Japan.

This is Canadian squirrel hair.

Face L 70,000yen

Cheek 50,000yen

Cheek
(only in black)

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya
196. Takeda brush can be customized

June 2, 2021

(the picture is Takeda Fox fan brush)

Takeda is flexible in changing a color of a handle or type of hair.

It is handmade, and maybe not good for mass production but they can cope with a request from a client.

I have asked them to make 2 customized brushes, based on clients’ requests.

I get a request from a client first.

type of hair

hair shape

density

lengths of hair and handle

total length

type of ferrule e.g. flat or round

Pictures are helpful, even from other brands.

They make a test product first and send me a picture.

I send it to a client, and if ok, I will ask Takeda to make it.

This is squirrel puff brush

There is 1200 yen fee for a test product.

Please let me know if you are interested

Thank you,

Toshiya
195. I worked with an Australian before. I learned something new.

June 1, 2021

#suqqu eyeshadow 06

Hi Everyone,

I wrote about Yojiya that was not willing to sell me it products because I am a reseller.

I have received many feedbacks,:

Some people like Yojiya and were sorry to hear,

Yojiya took away the opportunity for people outside Japan to buy their brushes

What they said was rude.

I am in agreement with all the opinions.

What I will do is to speak to them and tell them that some of my clients want to buy Yojiya.

ーーーーー

There are less and less tourists in Tokyo these days.

Mitsukoshi has more sales people than customers on the floor, and sales people get more friendly than before LOL.

I liked the international atmosphere in Tokyo, and I liked watching what tourists are interested in when they are in Tokyo.

It is disappointing to see fewer tourists these days.

And I like to learn the cultural differences.

Well,

I may say I am more international, which means, I am accustomed to or interested in the differences between Japan and other countries.

Some people are not used to be around foreign people.

Yet many of them are so friendly to them. I admire that.

To be international for me is to accept different cultures than own ones. Open to others’ ideas and behaviors. It is difficult, isn’t it?

———

I have worked with many foreigners.

The most I worked of all foreigners were Australians.

There was a very nice man from Sydney.

His name was Matt.

He always smiled and had a good sense of humor.

Though he didn’t speak Japanese, he tried to make himself available to his colleagues.

There was a small thing I noticed.

We visited a client together and we took an elevator.

There was a lady in the elevator.

He, as usual, offered her to get off first and kept the elevator open.

It didn’t surprise me. Most Westerns do that.

She said, ‘thank you.’ I was able to see her English was very Japanese, and that she tried to speak English to him.

When she bowed to him, he winked at her.

She smiled shyly.

———

Later, I talked to a female colleague at office about it.

She said,

‘if a foreigner winked, it would be nice or friendly. But if he was a Japanese man, I would think he would be a flirt or even a womanizer.’

This is an example of being international – willing to accept a different culture LOL.

And that is why I miss tourists.

thank you for reading,

Toshiya
194. Kihitsu Square brush

May 31, 2021

Hi Everyone,

I sold the first Kihitsu Square set.

It is 30,000 yen.

https://store.fudejapan.com/products/kihitsu-square-brush-set?_pos=1&_psq=square&_ss=e&_v=1.0

I also found that Kihitsu has its own youtube channel, where the Square Brush is introduced.

Traditional Kumano brush companies begin to use SNS!

Or,

if they don’t change and only keep doing the same, they cannot catch up with the speed.

As you might know,

Kihitsu brushes are made by Koyudo under the name of Kihitsu.

They were related companies before, and now Kihitsu is independent. But Kihitsu sells only ‘Koyudo’ – made brushes.

This square set is made by Koyudo, under the Kihitsu name.

Another example is that

Kihitsu has fupa but they name SA, e.g. SA-10.

By the way, SA-10 (Kihitsu fupa01) was sold out.

Kihitsu may make it again, but will not be the same price.

Thank you for reading !

Toshiya
193. I was told I would not be able to buy Yojiya….

May 27, 2021

(this is kaki shibu brushes from Koyudo)

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, I wrote about Yakusugi handle.

Today, I was at Hakuhodo and found that Kokutan (ebony ) brushes were displayed.

Yojiya also has kokutan brushes and some are popular and less expensive than Hakuhodo.

——

I will write about Yojiya today.

Yojiya used to have a shop in Shibuya, and it was easy for me to go there and buy brushes.

But, they closed shops except for ones at the airports and sell only at Kyoto.

When I received orders from my clients, I made it a rule to buy at their web shop

I don’ buy them much, though.

The other day when I bought brushes online, I received a long email from Yojiya.

What it says is, in short,

‘You seem to purchase brushes as a non-user and might be selling them to other people.’

‘We decided not to sell you our brushes.’

I was at cafe and drinking a favorite iced coffee. One of my happy moments in life.

The moment I read the email, my small happiness was gone, and I began to read it thoroughly.

I don’t buy them often, maybe every four months or even six months.

And each time I only buy 10,000 yen or so.

Apparently, I am not a big buyer, and I understand I don’t give any trouble to them.

(but would a big buy cause a big issue to them ?)

I called the shop outside a cafe and asked for an explanation.

A person in charge just repeated the email content.

After 10 minutes or so,

I came to think it was a waste of time, and asked her to send my request to her boss, eventually to the CEO.

Well, believe me, it is a small company not like Toyota, so it is ok to ask CEO to call me LOL.

I haven’t received any call yet….

————

In Japan, it says that some lies work better in a certain situation,

嘘も方便。Uso mo houben.

Rather than saying things too straightforward, a small lie sometimes works better.

Not necessary a lie , but they could have explained to me more nicely.

——

Well…about a lie,

In Japan we say ‘red’ lie, while in Western countries say ‘white’ lie.

Why does a lie has a color ?

I did some research,

More than 1000 years ago, in Japan,

one punishment to people who lied was to put 12 mochi ( a rice cake with sweat beans ) into a criminal’s mouth. It was a red cake.

Time has passed, but we still use this word ‘red’ lie.

真っ赤な嘘　Makkana uso.

And nowadays we call it a ‘red’ lie if it is ‘clearly’ a lie.

From Kokutan to Yojiya to ‘red’ lie.

I think this blog is not going anywhere LOL.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya
192. What are Yakusugi brushes made of ?

May 25, 2021

The above picture is Takeda Silver Fox fan brush and Takeda WF11.

https://store.fudejapan.com/products/takeda-fan-brush?_pos=1&_sid=7552979cc&_ss=r

Hi Everyone,

It seems that some handles are more popular than others.

Kokutan (ebony) and Yakusugi are recognized as special materials and more expensive.

Some brush makers use them as handles and they are more expensive.

Currently, I have only small types of yakusugi.

https://store.fudejapan.com/products/bs-es5tu?variant=36275922927766

It is 18000 yen without a pouch.

Yakusugi is

cedar tree in Yakushima, Yaku Island.

Yaku Island is located in south of Kyushu, and has abundant nature.

As it is isolated, there is a different type of monkey than ones in the main island.

It is Yaku zaru, yaku monkey.

They are not afraid of humans so you can meet them on the road.

Yakusugi life is 2000 years, much longer than other cedars (500 years). The soils of Yaku Island have scarce nutrition but has much rain. Yakusugi grows slowly, and lives longer.

Yakusugi were used to build houses back in the Edo Period (1600-1867). And Yakusugi had been used and cut till 1960’s, when the government began to protect.

Yakusugi cannot be cut these days.

So

Yakusugi in the market are ones who were cut in the Edo Period and left in the forest.

It is still a good condition.

They are cut into squares.

Besides Yakusugi, Yaku Island is now known for a tourist place. You can visit if you love nature.

You can take an onsen (hot spring) too.

Thank you for reading.

Toshiya
191. Kihitsu animal brushes

May 23, 2021

#kihitsu animal brush ox 6200yen

Hi Everyone,

Today, I want to introduce animal brushes Kihitsu sells.

Kihitsu, itself, doesn’t make brushes but only sell ones made by Koyudo.

So Kihitsu brushes are all made by Koyudo.

Kihitsu sells ‘Koyudo’ brand as well as their own brand.

‘Kihitsu’ or ‘喜筆’

Kihitsu sells ‘cute’ brushes, which are used as gifts. For example, for wedding catalogs.

They used to sell at Isetan but not any more.

So the best way to buy ‘kihitsu’ brushes is to check online

https://www.kihitsu.jp/?cn=100049

and to please let me know.

Or we have Kihitsu brushes:

https://store.fudejapan.com/collections/kihitsu

(this is our store, but they have much more kinds at their website.)

They have 12 animal brushes that represent each year.

https://store.fudejapan.com/collections/kihitsu/products/kh-cya-b

Cat paw brushes with wood handles are also sold well.

By the way, Netflix in Japan have some movies in 1990’s these days.

So,

I watched ‘Notting Hill.’

A good thing was that I was able to watch it with English subtitles.

I caught many ‘Hugh Grant’ British vocabularies. Amazon provides subtitles only in Japanese.

For example, I learned that ‘bloke’ is ‘guy.’ He uses it a lot.

Good English lesson for me.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya
189. I was not able to concentrate on working at cafe because…

May 6, 2021

Today’s order

Hi Everyone,

The Gold Week is over now, and we can see people commuting with a ‘Blue Monday’ face.

One research says that the third Monday is the most blue.

Maybe true.

Last night, I tried cafe with the expectation that it would not be crowded.

People would not go out at the end of a long weekend.

I was right and it was not so crowded.

I could sit on a good seat where I can work with a computer.

There were a couple sitting next to me. They seemed to be around 30 years old.

Their conversation was not very personal and I was able to feel that it was the first date or maybe they had just come out of a gathering.

They had fun talking, and their conversation techniques were great.

Good listeners, asking a question from time to time, and not bragging about themselves.

Both were pretty good looking, too.

The only problem was that I was not able to concentrate on my work, LOL.

Instead, I got plenty of information that would not be useful for my life.

I learned that :

He played high school baseball, she played tennis.

She is working with a NewZealander, and he owns business.

Both seemed to be English speakers. He studied in Canada.

When she asked how he enjoyed Canada, my attention reached a maximum.

I was looking forward to hearing his cultural experience that could be a blog subject.

Instead, he said,

‘Most Japanese studying there were women, and they had Canadian boyfriends there, so I did not go out with them.’

‘I did not socialize much.’

And the topic ended.

I was a little disappointed not to hear his cultural experiences, but she was good at asking those subtle questions, and got information she wanted.

Both did not ask directly, but they found that neither of them was not dating with anyone seriously.

Because the guy asked her if she spoke English with the NewZealander colleague and she said,

‘He only speaks Japanese, his Japanese wife cannot speak English. I only speak Japanese with him’

He was obviously interested in her relationship with the NewZealander.

Good job! Both were excellent in the conversation and got information they wanted.

Vaguely so that they did not feel any pressure.

I wanted to pretend that I was not interested in the conversation, so I called Kanebo/Lunasol to ask their new collections, LOL.

https://cosme-tantei.com/lunasol_summer/

These days, Lunasol are popular so I was not able to reserve them, but the shop manager asked me to try on the first day. She said it should work.

I like cafe but it is not a good place to call on the phone, that is a problem for me. But I needed that call, otherwise, they might think I was listening.

Well,

I bet they will meet again, and have another good conversation.

Whether their relationship gets serious or not, it may not matter much.

The are both so good at conversation that they can be fine with others.

Thank you for reading !

I write my daily life in Tokyo or ‘Japan’ things.

If you want only product information, please check ‘only product information.’.

http://eepurl.com/df0_jn

Thank you!
Toshiya
187. Where can you be a ‘real’ yourself?

May 4, 2021

#bisyodo

(The pictures are Bisyodo brushes.)

Hi Everyone,

I heard that it is hard to drive in the city of Rome, Italy.

Some drivers shout at another driver who is not good at driving on a crowded road.

Especially in the morning.

Japanese don’t shout at each other but ….

——

I had a chance to work in Long Island, New York when I worked at Canon.

I had several Japanese colleagues.

One of them was a calm and polite gentleman.

He was nicknamed ‘Eddie.’

His Japanese name was completely different.

I was wondering how in the world he got that nickname. But he did not give me a good explanation LOL.

He was transferred from Chicago where he liked the Bears, a football team.

Maybe he adopted that name from his favorite football player or

maybe he wanted to be a different person than when he was in Japan.

He had three daughters and looked a very good daddy to them.

I was invited to dinner several times.

At work and private, I liked how he behaved.

One day I was flying from LaGuardia Airport, he kindly drove me.

I was flying to Norfolk, Virginia. I remember.

We were a little late and the road was crowded.

We were chatting as usual in the car and having fun.

——

The next moment, it happened.

Suddenly, we were cut off by car.

His face got filled with anger and he said something terrible (‘not nice’ to say the least) in Japanese ( I don’t remember LOL)

I have never seen him like that.

Maybe that is real him or maybe everyone has the moment.

Or is it a cultural difference ?

Italians express directly and Japanese do indirectly.

Or is it a car thing ?

Well,

I cannot think of good conclusions out of this blog.

Maybe people have a place where they can be themselves…

By the way, I had a good time in Virginia for three months after that.
I should write sometime.

Thank you fo reading!

Toshiya