About Us

Association Overview

Name:
Japan Fusuma Industry Association
Address:
Secretariat
2-5-4 Hirano, Koto, TokyoPostal Code: 135-0023
Telephone: 03-3641-9262
Fax: 03-3641-9260
Website:
https://japan-fusuma.com
Email:
press@japan-fusuma.com
Chairperson:
Takahisa Mizofuchi (Representative Director of Mizofuchi Woodworking Ltd.)
Established:
25 November, 2005
Members:
34 companies
Finished Fusuma Makers: 23 companies / Material Makers: 11 companies (as of December 2018)
Activities:
  • PR projects and activities to develop and promote the spread of the fusuma industry
  • Acting as a liaison for the fusuma industry with governments and relevant agencies and organizations
  • Gathering and compiling fusuma statistics and information
  • Activities to improve the business of elevating fusuma businesses, ensuring stable management, and improving regulations
  • Elimination of low-quality doors through industrywide standardization
  • Joint R&D to improve the quality and technology of fusuma-related businesses
  • Other activities related not involving direct sales related to the above

Establishment

Ever since the mid-70s, a national organization for fusuma manufacturers was active and taking orders directly from the former Japan Housing Corporation.

Lead mainly by the Kanto and Kansai Fusuma Interior Cooperatives, a national convention was held once a year, as a forum to discuss ideas and exchange information.

Then, the Japan Housing Corporation changed from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation to the Urban Renaissance Agency and the demand for fusuma dropped. The Kanto Fusuma Interior Cooperative lost its main source of income and dissolved in February 2005.

This left the Cooperative's work with the government in limbo, creating an urgent need for an organization that could fill the role of liaison for fusuma as a product. This paved the way for the founding of our industry association.

History Chart

As can be seen in the above diagram, there were also other organizations involved, such as Zenhyoren (Japan Federation of Hyogu Framing, Gyoshi Paperhanging, and Interior Decoration Cooperative), which is a national group of decorative framers and paperhangers.

Among these organizations, some took the lead in promoting fusuma with initiatives such as the Fusuma Summit and Eco Fusuma Promotion Network. These activities ultimately led to the formation of the Japan Fusuma Industry Association as a nationwide group of unified fusuma manufacturers.

Our Purpose

When talking about the fusuma sliding door industry, the conversation has long always gone to people moving away from Japanese-style rooms or the decrease in unit price on orders. There are very few manufacturers that specialize solely in fusuma and many businesses have had to diversify their product lineup to go beyond traditional Japanese-style interior elements like tobusuma doors and shoji partitions and include other wooden features to protect their companies.

Going by the numbers, our fusuma industry is in a steep decline and we are forced to face the harsh reality that our field is one which may disappear someday. Considering this, why is there currently a movement putting effort into setting up a nationwide association?

Establishing the Industry

Recently, the Emperor of Japan visited the Harima Industrial fusuma factory and asked President Okubo, "How large is your industry?" But the president was at a loss for words because the current state of the industry is such that even the companies in it don't have an accurate grasp of its size.

The head of a certain newspaper received a call from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry asking who they could talk to about fusuma sliding doors. The head of the paper didn't know what to say and asked himself, "Who should I recommend they talk to?"

That is why we felt our first priority should be to create a nationwide association that could have as much information as possible about the industry on a national level and be able to disseminate it to private and public architectural and design groups as well as other related companies and the general public.

End of Sales Efforts and Changes in Organizational Structure

Many traditional industry associations have managed to maintain and even expand themselves by forging close ties with public procurement agencies and sharing profits to eliminate harmful competitiveness.

The times are changing and in this era of governmental reform, that old model is coming to an end. The few remaining organizations have either become social clubs where members commiserate or groups working solely towards high-level technical training and certification.

By creating an industry of tradespeople who are normally rivals, we aim to foster a unified purpose towards the continued existence of the industry at a high degree, all grounded in the principle of leaving our day-to-day battles at the door. To achieve this, our association is explicit in that it will not engage in any economic activities, instead leaving all sales to individual businesses.

That being said, we also hope to create an environment wherein all our members can carry out their own business and sales easily.

Members

With a clear understanding of our current situation, we are looking for members who wish to discuss not only traditional fusuma but all kinds, including chipboard core, hollow core, foam type, and aluminum edge type, as well as those who share our hope of seeing more interest in Japanese-style rooms and an increase in fusuma work.

Rather than splitting fusuma manufacturers and material manufacturers into classes of regular members and supporting members, we accept all members based on the idea of treating everyone who supports and cooperates with our activities equally. We shall run the association with the makers of fusuma as the Final Products Committee and the makers of materials as the Materials Committee.

Group Power for the Future

We're often asked what the benefits of joining the organization are but our aim is to create the benefits through the efforts of the association themselves. Someone once described it with the term "group power" and that's a good way of looking at it.

First of all, when we gather together and discuss things, something is created. That just can't be done if we don't come together.

We hope that over the next 10 or 20 years, the next generation of fusuma tradespeople will share their knowledge based on this association. Even if there is no growth to speak of, it would still be a success if we could at least maintain the industry.

We truly hope that the fusuma sliding door industry, that has been around for over eight centuries as a part of Japan's housing culture, will continue for hundreds of years to come.