JP/EN

Encyclopedia of niime

2026 . 11 . 11

写真集『tamaki niime』が産まれるまで!

tsukao「この西脇とtamaki niimeと動物さんたちと。ここは本当に小さな“世界”だから。『世界を旅するように撮る』っていうアイデアはすごいなと。」玉木「20年かけて創った世界。…だってインド行ったらな、フツーに動物がいてね、ウチみたいやと思うもんな。日本では珍しいけど。」
松房「一度shop&labを見学させてもらってたというのがデカくて。なんでもかんでもウチでやってることを提案するんじゃなくて。玉木さんらしいのってどれだろう?、と。」玉木「今回は面白かった。同じモノを大量生産することが基本の本の業界で、私たちでやれることは何か?っていうのをいろいろと試してみて、表紙生地の柄でチャレンジできたのがめっちゃ良かったなと。」

2026 . 09 . 07

The Story of Banshu-ori: Mr Hirofumi Nishikaku (Part 2)

“In those days, the yarn was supplied to us by the trading company, and we did the skeining ourselves. Then we dyed the yarn at our own facility, or sent it to a dyeing factory to have it dyed. Once it was returned, we applied sizing to it ourselves, carried out sectional warping, and prepared the yarn beams. After weaving the fabric, we sent it to a finishing factory for further processing.” “It wasn’t just about having the ability to weave. We had experience with all the different stages of production. That’s why even today, we can think about the materials and make suggestions, such as what kind of yarn we should use and how we should prepare it. But people nowadays probably don’t know the entire production process. Ms Tamaki’s company understands the whole process, though. Yes, that’s right.”

2026 . 07 . 18

The Story of Banshu-ori: Mr Hirofumi Nishikaku (Part 1)

“I knew that sooner or later, the Banshu-ori textile industry would run into trouble and decline. That’s why I used to say that we had to start selling our products ourselves. At trade shows, businesses from various textile-producing regions gather together. Everyone does things differently, so we can learn from how others work, including how they run their businesses. Those people had been selling their products directly for much longer than we had, so they had a wealth of information and were willing to teach us all sorts of things. I was really grateful for that.”
“What I want to make and what customers want are two different things. Even with a simple design, changing the thread alone can give the fabric a completely different look and feel. That’s something I gradually came to understand. No matter how much you love or care about a particular design, if it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t sell. You can’t know that until you actually put it in front of customers. Even if someone tells me, ‘I’m a big fan of Nishikaku,’ I can’t be sure whether they’ll actually buy something I think they might like. But I still make suggestions based on what I think would appeal to them.”

2026 . 04 . 22

A Heated Discussion Celebrating the Publication of Comfort Is Beautiful: “What Is tamaki niime?”
(Part 2)

Omori: Even if not everything written in this book can be put into words, I believe what Ms Tamaki has been doing is incredibly rational—in the sense that it is fundamentally right. I also believe that people like her, who can truly make Japan sustainable in the real sense of the word, are right here in Nishiwaki, the ‘navel of Japan.’ At the very least, I hope the people in this area come to recognize that.
Koshikawa: I’ve always felt that the way Ms Tamaki moves forward is almost like putting together a puzzle. There isn’t a master blueprint. She follows her intuition, trusts herself, and trusts her staff. Then one day, when the whole picture comes into view, you realize, ‘Ah, it’s all come together.’ That’s how tamaki niime has grown—one step, one piece at a time. I can really feel that steady accumulation. You can sense the excitement even from the outside, and I think it would be fascinating if even more people who wanted to create something together gathered here.

2026 . 03 . 03

A Heated Discussion Celebrating the Publication of Comfort Is Beautiful: “What Is tamaki niime?”
(Part 1)

Omori: You know, it’s simply exciting. That’s the kind of person Ms Tamaki Niime is. The book says you should move your body before thinking too much. But I don’t think it’s really about choosing between the body or the mind. She’s someone who lives from the heart. Because she operates from that place, it’s not a matter of thinking first and then acting, or acting first while thinking along the way. It’s something beyond both, and that’s why it’s so difficult to put into words.

Tamaki: Everything that already exists in this world has its own antithesis. When someone else is already doing something, it no longer excites me. I just think, ‘That’s fine,’ and move on. Maybe that’s what we came close to realizing. In the end, when we decided to start over, Mr Koshikawa and I discussed creating something that wasn’t based on existing methods or conventional ways of doing things.

2026 . 01 . 01

niime: The Year’s End and a New Beginning in 2025-2026
〈the year-in version〉

“After digging our own well and opening up so many paths as tamaki niime, I finally feel like all the pieces have come together. Until now, we've stayed in one place, digging deeper and deeper—but this year marks our 20th anniversary, so it feels like… bang!—like we're about to burst open.” “Up until now, the shop, lab, and stockroom were all in one place. I'm thinking of spreading them out across the whole area. Right now, everything—including animals—is packed tightly here. So if we want to be a bit more considerate to our visitors, it might be clearer to separate things out and exhibit them that way. Each place has different highlights, doesn’t it?
Over the course of 2026, I think that vision will take shape.”

2025 . 12 . 31

niime: The Year’s End and a New Beginning in 2025-2026
〈the year-end version〉

“Dyeing, weaving, embroidery, cotton harvesting, hand-spun yarn… every kind of handicraft exists within India. We could buy their organic cotton and run it through our own spinning process. Ultimately, I hope to build a system where we can create one-of-a-kind pieces together with people in India.”

“The mission of the filming team was to beautifully convey how tamaki niime uses Apple products in everyday life. Everything was constantly adjusted and refined on the spot to further improve the visuals. The sense of being at a true creative site was overwhelming. It was incredibly exciting. after all. Apple's team was delighted too.”

2025 . 12 . 25

Fujimoto × Ishizuka — Talking About Daily Life with tamaki niime
〈part 2〉

Ishizuka: Communal life at Nakahata Dormitory became the foundation of how we live now.It stabilizes our hearts. That carries over into how we interact with people at work and howwe channel it into making things. Over the past few years, the biggest change for me hasbeen that life and work feel completely integrated. Our involvement with communitiesoutside the company has really grown too, and with all these different places of living,tamaki niime feels like it coexists within us. That’s how we live now. Fujimoto: I imaginebuilding better environments and creating things together while engaging with localresidents and people around tamaki niime. As those relationships expand, we support each other. If something stays with them over the long term, I believe they’ll come back to tamaki niime. If we can keep those connections going, we can truly communicate what we’re about—and that’s something I really want to value.

2025 . 12 . 21

Fujimoto × Ishizuka — Talking About Daily Life with tamaki niime

Fujimoto: In the end, I still don't quite feel like I can call myself 'PR.' Or rather, I feel that I now have a sense of my own value in engaging with the company and communicating tamaki niime in many different forms. Of course, the role of PR is still in my mind, but I believe there's more I can do, and I don't really want to be limited by that single label. Ishizuka: What I imagined at first was that once you got married or had children, you probably couldn't keep working. But the president is very understanding, and I'm so happy that I can properly do the work I'm able to do. Compared to the past, what's different now is that there are so many more staff members I can entrust things to, and I can now get help. And if someone else is having a hard time, I can step in for them. Being able to work together with everyone like that makes me truly happy. I think that's why I was able to give birth with peace of mind. You can't be blessed with children just because you want them, so I really feel that this environment has given me a life where both children and work can coexist.

2025 . 01 . 01

niime: The Year's End and a New Beginning in 2024-2025
For the new 20th year!
Theory of the reformation of 'tamaki niime' on New Year's Eve
〈the year-in version〉

Sakai: In the year 2025, all we need to do is recognise and think about the things with a sense of tension, and take action. They need to remind themselves that. I think speed is essential, which is the main thing, whatever we do, especially in ’tamaki niime’. Not only two of us, but also 'tamaki niime' all need to be back to the basics. You also need to think about the customers who take our products into their hands, imagining how impressed they are and what their facial expressions are like.
Tamaki: The Niime Residence will open before the Osaka Kansai Expo, and we will also have a shared house in the Shima district, where the expo will be held. I want everyone to enjoy staying in Nishiwaki. At the back space of the Niime Residence, it is planned to have a space where I can make things, I am going to introduce new products made from animal fur. I want Sakai to be a store manager there.

2024 . 12 . 31

niime: The Year’s End and a New Beginning in 2024-2025
For the New 20th year!
Theory of the reformation of 'tamaki niime' on New Year's Eve
〈the year-end version〉

Tamaki: When we moved the Shop & Lab here, I told our stuff I wouldn’t do it. Instead, I want them to think up. Even though it took time to build up the system, everyone in the factory started to think about what they could do and create products using their hands, and each team started to run smoothly now, and they began to make products based on their own ideas. We are on to the next stage. We can make products from original materials such as threads. We made it possible for all processes to be completed in the company, so there's no reason that we don't dig into it, right? With horizontal relationships, 'tamaki niime'; gets renewed by the system of challenging new things with everyone. In order to do it, I’ll show my examples. I mean, I have to tell them, "Follow me." I;m going back to the factory.

2024 . 12 . 26

About the Circle of Life, Earth, and Creation
〈part 2〉

Tamaki: There’s me, and everyone on Earth. A new life is born, and someone dies, which is a ’cycle of life’. When you see it as the scale of Earth, it’s necessary that someone is born and somebody dies with happy or sad feelings. Accepting that such events are needed on Earth could make you feel more peaceful.

Sakai: As we must live, I would like to live peacefully. I like calmness. However, how much you get emotional, I think it is okay if you could say, "I love you". How awfully you argue with someone if you could say that as a human, the war wouldn't occur. Only peace exists from love, not from love and peace.

2024 . 06 . 15

Visiting Katsuyama in Fukui, the roots for Tamaki Niime

〈 part 2 〉

Niime’s mother; Kazumi: Niime only wore monotone colours. It's marvellous to me that her products have a lot of colours. So her colour sense has developed because her favourite colours were based on mono colours. If workers worked hard to make one product but just spent time making money, do you think they enjoy making products? The workers are not enjoying creation, and that spirit would transfer to the clothing. Niime said, "People wouldn't feel comfortable with such clothing. Each product is made by workers who enjoy creation; I am sure customers feel that spirit". She believed in it and worked hard.