FROM TOSA
We are the last Mokumenya in Japan
TODA SHOKO
Delivering your feelings with Mokumen
To the World, and to the Future, “Mokumen”
“Put precious things together, and protect them”
Wood packing Mokumen that has traveled together with gifts.
The land of Tosa that has been protected by the mountains; the craftsmanship that has been treasured together with our staff.
With the care of the craftsmen, wood packing Mokumen that contains the strength of the trees and high quality material shines as a special product.
Even people who see it for the first time speak of the beauty of our wood packing Mokumen.
Japanese people’s value of beauty and their perspective of nature is shown through the humble passion that is embedded into the product.
Our company, Toda Shoko, was founded in 1961 by my parents who were engaged in mountain work.
They bought a single production machine, and began making Mokumen in their home.
They cut and carried the wood themselves to keep up with increasing demand and improve their own business facilities, and in 1965, they constructed what was at the time the highest class factory in the country, which is still operating now.
Before long, there was a continuing decrease in demand. For a while, the business was in danger.
“I must continue the passion for craftsmanship and determination to produce high quality wood packing along with the company that my parents, who I respect, worked so hard to build”.
“I must protect the jobs of my friends, who worked together with me for so long, and our traditions”.
“I have no choice but to do it myself”, I gathered up courage, and without any experience, began to participate in the business as a manager.
At that time, in this current age overflowing with convenient and cheap products, I was on the verge of losing my confidence about whether customers truly needed Mokumen.
One day, for the first time since our founding, a customer who wanted to observe our factory appeared.
The customer who saw our manufacturing process praised the beauty of Mokumen and our interesting production.
Among the decrease in sales since we began our business, I understood that everyone does need Mokumen, and, I could regain my confidence in Mokumen’s worth as a product.
In order to express with words Mokumen’s potential for being a sustainable product, and the current situation of Japan’s forest environment, we actively participate in both domestic and international exhibitions.
From 2021, we started a new project with a venture into essential oil.
This spring, my eldest daughter, who will be my successor, entered the company.
While putting Mokumen at the center, its joint effect with the essential oil made from the same materials of Tosa as Mokumen is shown.
We have been approved as one of “Kochi Prefecture’s Businesses which Promote SDGs”, and we will expand our sustainable products and production methods to the world from now on.
While receiving youthful power, we will commit ourselves to conveying information, without being held back by the existing limits, and we will advance to new challenges with Mokumen.
