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00:00A small sewing factory in the mountains of Okayama.
00:06The jeans that were born in this place are now surprising the world's fashion world.
00:12The world is amazing.
00:14The blue-blue color of the jeans changes to a light blue color with the passage of time.
00:19These jeans are like magic.
00:22Beautiful.
00:24The name is Rainbow Jeans.
00:28Uchida Hosei, who has more than 50 years of history,
00:31put the techniques and pride he accumulated in this place together.
00:34He made the jeans and sent them to the world.
00:40I was really surprised. It was beyond my imagination.
00:43It was really cool.
00:46Although the reputation in the market was good,
00:49fate gave the company a tough trial.
00:53In 2018, there was a huge disaster in western Japan.
00:59Rainbow Jeans, of course,
01:01and the dream that the company had,
01:03all went down the drain.
01:07I couldn't take such a risk in a small place like my house.
01:11But I gave up and gave up on re-production.
01:17However, hope never ceases.
01:22Two young sons, who are in their 20s, stood up.
01:26It was like a one-shot game.
01:29It was a very risky challenge.
01:32Once the dream was over.
01:35However, their young power breathed a new life
01:38and lit the light of hope again.
01:42One that decided the rainbow-colored brilliance that overturned the common sense of jeans.
01:47It's coming to the other side of the rainbow.
01:53The rainbow-colored future.
01:55The miracle of challenge spun by Hosei Muchida.
01:59TSUYAMASHI
02:16Tsuyamashi is located in a quiet mountainous area in the north of Okayama Prefecture.
02:21Hosei Muchida
02:24Hosei Muchida is the founder of this town and has a history of 1969.
02:31He has 36 employees.
02:37He mainly produces his own jeans.
02:42His work is a true masterpiece.
02:46The precision of each thread.
02:50It is also a skill recognized by the dealer.
02:55The person in charge of the top brand in the jeans industry is...
02:59It's very detailed, but there are many places that support it in terms of millimeter units.
03:06He raises those places without hesitation.
03:12What is the precision of the millimeter unit, which is also evaluated by the dealer?
03:18He showed us one of Hosei's manufacturing techniques in the factory of the company.
03:24The back pocket of the jeans is quite flower-shaped.
03:28It's a place where the craftsmanship shines.
03:31What the craftsman is doing now is...
03:33It's a process of stitching 2 mm from the edge of the fabric of the pocket.
03:37It's a place where there's no mark, right?
03:39Yes, that's right.
03:40It's a process of stitching where there's no mark according to the customer's request.
03:45Is this really 2 mm?
03:48I think it's about 2 mm.
03:51Let's measure it right away.
03:55It's definitely 2 mm.
03:58Just by looking at the distance between the eyes and hands, the width of 2 mm is precisely sewn up.
04:04The precision and technology are the pinnacle of craftsmanship.
04:09I think the biggest strength of our factory is that we can sew it neatly, precisely, and quickly as requested.
04:19How is such a craftsmanship trained?
04:23The answer was in the scene of the afternoon break.
04:29It's 12.45 p.m.
04:32Normally, they should be taking a break, but...
04:35The employees are sitting in front of the machine and doing some work.
04:40Of course, it doesn't mean that they haven't achieved their work standards.
04:47What are you making?
04:49I'm making my own g-chan.
04:51Is it okay to make it yourself?
04:53It's okay to make it yourself.
04:56In fact, in the company, it is allowed to make whatever you like in your free time, such as lunchtime.
05:03This is a self-sacrificing effort to get used to the machine and improve your skills.
05:08In the third year, you can even make such a surprising work.
05:15In this way, the employees improve their skills and respond to the demand for manufacturing from the jeans maker.
05:23However, Mr. Uchida had a long-standing regret.
05:29I can pay the employees and do something,
05:33but I can't do more than that for the employees who work hard.
05:41The employees who have supported the company so far
05:44came together without saying a word when they had no work,
05:48when they were in a difficult time, and when they were in a difficult situation.
05:52Mr. Uchida was deeply grateful for that,
05:55but at the same time, he felt that he had not been able to do anything for them.
06:04Mr. Uchida decided not to rely on the machine, but to establish his own brand
06:11in order to fulfill the interests of the company to the employees.
06:16However, the road was not flat at all,
06:19and there were many difficult trials waiting for him.
06:25Wow, your technology is amazing.
06:29You can make it at that speed.
06:31I can make it even with a rag.
06:35But I'm surprised that your own brand, Rainbow, is so beautiful.
06:42Mr. Naoyuki Uchida of Uchida Hosei came to the studio.
06:46Nice to meet you.
06:49Mr. Naoyuki is the brother who revived Rainbow Jeans.
06:55Does the company only do sewing for jeans?
07:00Yes, this industry is becoming more and more divided.
07:03Our main job is sewing,
07:06but there is a fabric shop in front of the sewing shop,
07:09and there is a process of cutting and cutting,
07:11and there is a process of processing the damage.
07:13Uchida Hosei is mainly in charge of sewing in such a division.
07:17You said earlier that you are a professional sewing in VTR.
07:20Yes.
07:21Our staff is mean, and they really measure 2mm.
07:25When I said, let's measure it, I was a little nervous.
07:29But there are things like that,
07:32but is there anything else you are particular about?
07:34When you wear jeans, the color comes off, right?
07:36When the color comes off,
07:38I put a little effort into sewing to make it look cool like vintage jeans.
07:44You make it look vintage by sewing.
07:46That's right.
07:47I'd like you to explain this in detail.
07:50I have two jeans that the company sewed,
07:53and two jeans that are generally cheap.
07:56I see.
07:57It's reasonable and easy to get.
07:59Yes.
08:00Oh.
08:01At a glance, you can probably tell that the fabric is different,
08:05but if you look at the sewing part I mentioned earlier,
08:08I think it's completely different when you compare the seams here.
08:13It's a little rough.
08:16That's right.
08:17I think there's a little unevenness on the side of this seam.
08:23There's no unevenness here at all.
08:25What we're saying is that it's a flat color.
08:28I see.
08:29It's just that the color is falling off.
08:31That's right.
08:32But this one is sewn with a slightly thicker thread to create unevenness.
08:36Oh, I see.
08:38So that's why it's a little rough.
08:40That's right.
08:41Vintage jeans used to be sewn with a thicker thread.
08:44Oh, vintage jeans used to be sewn with a thicker thread,
08:48but as a result, it looks better.
08:51That's right.
08:52So, if you're a jeans enthusiast, you think this one is cooler.
08:55That's right.
08:56Originally, it was sewn with a thicker thread.
08:59That's right.
09:00But in reality, I think this one is easier to wear.
09:04I think it's a matter of personal preference,
09:07but once you start to like it,
09:09the more you think it's cooler,
09:11the more you'll start to like it.
09:13Yes.
09:14What is the secret to the birth of the brand Rainbow Jeans?
09:23For more than 40 years,
09:25the company has been running on the orders of domestic jeans manufacturers.
09:29But at this rate, we don't know when it will turn red.
09:33We want to make more profits for our employees.
09:37With that in mind,
09:39in September 2016,
09:41President Uchida decided to launch his own brand.
09:45However, the jeans industry is very competitive.
09:49There's no reason for him to just go with the flow.
09:53There are a lot of jeans in the world.
09:56We have to attract customers,
09:59so we have to make something interesting.
10:03So, President Uchida went around the jeans manufacturers in Okayama
10:07to look for something that caught his eye.
10:10One day, he was taken aback by...
10:15At first glance, it looks like a normal denim fabric,
10:18but when the color fades...
10:21A new color emerges.
10:23It's something we've never seen before.
10:27The fabric of jeans made in Okayama
10:30is usually dyed with a rope dye.
10:34This thread is dyed only on the surface,
10:37and the center remains white.
10:40Therefore, when you wear the jeans,
10:42the color on the surface gradually fades,
10:44and a white thread appears.
10:46This creates a beautiful hue that's unique to jeans.
10:52On the other hand, the fabric that President Uchida found
10:55is not a normal white thread,
10:57but a green or red thread,
10:59so when you wear it for many years,
11:01the blue color fades,
11:03and a colorful color emerges.
11:06Interesting.
11:07This fabric was made by a local fabric manufacturer,
11:11but it was so unique that it was hard to find a buyer.
11:15However, for President Uchida,
11:17this strong uniqueness was what he was looking for.
11:21I see.
11:22It's not just white from indigo,
11:25but it changes from indigo to various colors.
11:27Isn't it interesting?
11:28I think it's interesting.
11:30That's why I thought it was good.
11:33In 2017,
11:35just three months after meeting the fabric,
11:38a completely new type of jeans was born.
11:42The name is Rainbow Jeans.
11:47First, they sold 100 of them.
11:50President Uchida decided that if this was popular,
11:53he would start manufacturing in earnest.
11:58As a result, many people were fascinated by the novelty,
12:02and 100 jeans were sold in a blink of an eye.
12:05So, Yasaki decided to start manufacturing to sell in earnest.
12:12But the sales were suddenly stopped.
12:17The reason was the disaster that struck West Japan in 2018.
12:23The factory where the jeans were sold was severely damaged,
12:26and all the Rainbow Jeans that were prepared were lost.
12:30The jeans that had been dreamed of were swallowed up in a flash,
12:34and disappeared.
12:38You have to make a lot of fabric for Rainbow Jeans.
12:42Even for the smallest lot,
12:44if you don't make 600 or 800 pieces,
12:47you can't make the fabric.
12:48It's such a difficult fabric.
12:50You can't take that risk with a small factory like ours.
12:54So I gave up on re-production.
13:00Although there was a response,
13:02President Uchida's calm judgment as a manager
13:06led him to give up on the production of Rainbow Jeans.
13:09At the same time,
13:10the activity of his own brand was also reduced.
13:16The challenge of chasing his dream
13:18closed the curtain once here.
13:23But four years later,
13:27a package arrived at the company.
13:30Inside the unopened package,
13:33there was something surprising.
13:36Actually, this was the key to the revival of Rainbow Jeans.
13:40It was a piece of fate.
13:43It's amazing. It's beautiful.
13:45It's a colorless culture,
13:48so it's one of the joys of the owner
13:52to hide it inside and let it come out gradually.
13:55I thought it was very interesting.
13:58This is the very first state,
14:01but the way it came out was cool.
14:05First of all, if it's this rainbow,
14:07dye it in one of the seven colors,
14:09and then dye it in indigo.
14:11Dye it twice.
14:12Yes, dye it twice.
14:13Dye it twice.
14:14Didn't you have jeans with colored threads before?
14:18In general denim,
14:20the vertical thread is indigo,
14:22and the horizontal thread is white,
14:24which is the basic color of denim.
14:27There aren't many jeans
14:30that change the color of the horizontal thread
14:33and the color comes out on the back of the jeans.
14:35But our rainbow doesn't have a horizontal thread.
14:38It's dyed in rainbow and indigo.
14:40I think it's such a rare fabric
14:43that I've never seen before.
14:45So the vertical thread is rainbow,
14:47and the horizontal thread is white.
14:49That's right.
14:51So at first glance, it looks like a normal jean,
14:54but when it's colored,
14:56you can see the color for the first time.
14:58So if you buy it,
15:00you'll never know which rainbow it is.
15:03I don't know at all.
15:04Oh, really?
15:05Even we who make it
15:06don't know what color is in where.
15:08Oh, I see.
15:09When it's done,
15:11you'll see red or green for the first time.
15:14I see, I see.
15:15So there's a sense of one point.
15:18That might be even more interesting.
15:20Like, what color will it be?
15:22I think it's pretty exciting.
15:24I feel like I made it for that excitement.
15:28What is the key to the revival of rainbow jeans?
15:37A company that had to give up the production of rainbow jeans,
15:40which was supposed to be the pillar of its own brand
15:43due to the disaster of a trading factory.
15:47But one day, a package arrived
15:50and changed the fate of the company.
15:54Rainbow jeans, which were sold 4 years ago,
15:56returned to the company as a repair request.
16:01The moment he saw the jeans,
16:03a big change occurred in the heart of President Uchida.
16:08I was really surprised.
16:09It was beyond my imagination.
16:10No, it was really cool.
16:14Those rainbow jeans
16:16continued to maintain a vivid rainbow color even after wearing them for a long time,
16:20and perfectly merged with the craftsmanship that the company was proud of.
16:23Until then, no one had seen them.
16:25They were reborn as the only pair of jeans.
16:31Younger people than me said,
16:35it's cool,
16:37let's revive it again.
16:40Young people said that,
16:42no, it's impossible.
16:43There is no such day.
16:46Rainbow jeans showed a better finish than expected,
16:50but from an economic point of view,
16:52President Uchida did not lose his vigilance
16:54for the revival of the company.
16:58However, it was Naoyuki, the eldest son,
17:02and Taizo, the second son,
17:04who broke the hesitation.
17:06Naoyuki and Taizo
17:10President Uchida was moved by the enthusiasm of his sons,
17:13and decided to restart the project.
17:16However, on the way to the revival,
17:19there was a big barrier.
17:23It was a tough reality that the rainbow fabric that was once used
17:27no longer existed, and the fabric had to be re-made from scratch.
17:34The previous fabric manufacturers had already ceased production,
17:38so Naoyuki spent six months
17:41looking for a new fabric manufacturer.
17:46Finally, he found a manufacturer that would cooperate with him,
17:50and started development.
17:53The biggest challenge was whether the colored fabric
17:56would be beautifully dyed with the color of the rainbow.
18:01A special process was required to dye the colored fabric
18:05with the color of the rainbow.
18:08At that time, there was a great anxiety
18:11about whether the color inside would remain beautiful.
18:15However, as a result of careful consideration,
18:18without having time to experiment due to budget constraints,
18:21it was decided to dye it with a one-shot dye.
18:25It's quite difficult,
18:28but it's like a one-shot game.
18:31It was a very risky challenge.
18:41At the same time, his brother, Mr. Taizo,
18:44was in charge of fundraising.
18:46He suggested using crowdfunding.
18:49The target amount was 1 million yen.
18:53However, the result was a surprising development
18:56that no one expected.
18:59A total of 50 million yen was raised.
19:03That's amazing.
19:05I was surprised, to be honest.
19:08It was good.
19:11As a result of a one-shot game,
19:14the dyeing was a great success.
19:16While leaving the color inside vivid,
19:19he was able to dye only the outside
19:22into a beautiful light blue color.
19:24However, the challenge does not end here.
19:27In order to check whether the color of the rainbow
19:30would remain beautiful due to budget constraints,
19:33he rubbed the fabric with a paper file
19:36and experimented over and over again.
19:38Oh, there's green, there's red.
19:41Oh, yellow is a little greenish.
19:44He checked that,
19:46and he bleached the fabric to remove the color.
19:49He thought, this should be fine,
19:51so he went on sale.
19:54With the power of the two brothers,
19:56in 2022, the long-awaited Rainbow Jeans
20:00is back on the market.
20:03In celebration of this revival,
20:05exhibitions were held in various places,
20:07and the sale of their own brand
20:09was also a great success.
20:11About the charm of Rainbow Jeans,
20:14I asked the person who actually purchased it.
20:19As soon as it arrived,
20:21I was wearing jeans for more than half of the year.
20:27Like this.
20:29I think it's coming out beautifully.
20:31The rainbow line is coming out more and more,
20:33so I think I'm getting a lot of affection.
20:36As the sales of their own brand
20:38continues to grow,
20:40the company makes a big decision.
20:43It's the construction of a new factory.
20:46It's not just the employees
20:48who are looking forward to this.
20:50The members of the Uchida Hosei OB Association,
20:53who have overcome difficult times with the company,
20:55are also looking forward to this new factory.
21:00I'm looking forward to it,
21:02but it's hard to proceed.
21:04I'm wondering what's going on.
21:06I'm going to borrow money from my aunt.
21:09I'm looking forward to it.
21:13Uchida Hosei has overcome difficulties
21:15and regained its brilliance.
21:18The challenge of the company will continue
21:20to pass on to the new generation and the future.
21:24The rainbow-colored jeans
21:26will continue to color the hearts of many people.
21:33Naoyuki Uchida's younger brother,
21:35Mr. Taizo, also came to the studio.
21:38Nice to meet you.
21:40And this is the product
21:42sent by the person who purchased it?
21:45That's right.
21:47This is...
21:49What's going on for a moment?
21:53It's strange.
21:55It's not just white.
21:57Did you two see this at the time?
22:00We saw it.
22:02The moment it opened,
22:04it was before we joined the company.
22:06I see.
22:08I've never seen it in person.
22:10When I saw it, I thought it was amazing.
22:12It's a beautiful color.
22:14That was my first impression.
22:16I immediately posted it on social media.
22:18Then a lot of customers
22:20asked me to revive the rainbow-colored jeans.
22:24I got a lot of inquiries.
22:26That was a big boost.
22:28Where can you buy
22:30the company's rainbow-colored jeans?
22:33Basically,
22:35we sell pop-up stores all over the country.
22:38I see.
22:40From October to the beginning of November,
22:44we sell them online.
22:47I see.
22:49By the way, how much is it?
22:51It starts at 31,900 yen.
22:53By making this rainbow-colored jeans,
22:56are there any changes in the company?
22:59Two customers who bought the rainbow-colored jeans
23:02joined our company.
23:04They are still working as employees.
23:08I think that's the best thing.
23:11I see.
23:13Do you want to lend them money?
23:17Do you have a place where they can gather?
23:20Yes, we do.
23:22We want to make a place where they can join us.
23:25Even if we have a new factory,
23:27we don't want to make a factory that's hard to get in.
23:29We want to make a factory that's open to the public.
23:31That's great.
23:33We want to make a place where they can gather like a family.
23:38I think that's great.
23:40That's what we're aiming for.
23:43Mr. Yashima, please tell us about today's lesson.
23:46Okay.
23:48This time,
23:51I'm going to be cool!
23:55Everyone wants to be cool.
23:59If you want to wear something that you think is cool,
24:05everyone will follow you.
24:09That's why so many good things are spreading.
24:14I think it's amazing to learn from this one pair of jeans.
24:20I'm looking forward to the factory.
24:22Thank you very much for today.