“GEA” is a specialty store run by Sato Seni.
Sato Seni is at the very center of Yamagata's knitwear industry and handles the entire process from spinning thread to making clothing.
The head office and factory are located near JR Sagae Station, about 30 minutes by train from JR Yamagata Station. GEA, a specialty store that sells original knitwear, fashionable clothing, as well as sundries from Japan and abroad, is also located here, and you can enjoy shopping as well as eating at the restaurant. We visited by car, but it would be nice to take the train and enjoy the peaceful countryside scenery from the window.
Mr. Masaki Sato, the president of the company, welcomed us upon our arrival. We asked him about the origins and challenges of Sato Seni.
Masaki Sato, president of Sato Seni.
Sato Seni was founded in 1932, and this year marks their 94th anniversary.
Although there were originally no sheep in Japan, wool was used for military uniforms and other clothing in powerful countries around the world due to its high functionality. The need for wool became recognized in Japan during the Meiji era. Japan also began importing wool during its rush to modernize.
However, it became a challenge to import wool because of the war, so there was a national policy to promote producing sheep wool in Japan. In the end, the national policy of sheep farming was abandoned due to the difference in climate and lack of pastureland, and the founder of Sato Seni asked each farmer to raise one sheep, shear the wool once a year, and start spinning it by hand to make thread. This was the beginning of Sato Seni.
After the war, raw materials began to come in from abroad, and demand for knitwear also increased as Japanese people's clothing changed from Japanese-style to Western-style, allowing for Yamagata's knitwear industry to enjoy a great boom.
Spinning factory.
The second president of Sato Seni pushed for mechanization of the factory and introduced carding and spinning machines. Later, the third president began producing not only thread but also knit products.
However, the fourth president, Mr. Sato, joined the company at a time when the factory was downsizing, and the knitting industry as a whole was in decline. "Despite this, my father bought seven knitting machines. They were 10-gauge knitting machines, but 12-gauge machines appeared soon after,” says Sato. Knitting on 10-gauge machines was not a trend and did not sell at all, but we tried mixing thicker threads and various other innovations to create various knitted fabrics.
The reason we were able to take on such a positive challenge was that we had been to Italy to see the manufacturing process at work. “When I was given a tour of the factory, I was impressed by how the staff talked about their passion for their own products and how they made their own unique threads without copying anyone else. That inspired me to do it myself.”
In 2001, Sato Seni launched their first in-house brand, "M. & KYOKO". It was first presented in New York, then in Paris, and finally in Japan. Since then, they have developed various brands such as “FUGA FUGA,” which utilizes the appearance of original textiles under the theme of ageless and sizeless designs, and “991,” which pursues universal designs and the ultimate feel of fabrics.
GEA also handles products from the company's own brand.
Sato Seni is characterized by manufacturing that does not follow trends. Mr. Sato says, “It is meaningless unless we do what no one else is doing. I think we are where we are today because we have created and pioneered new things on our own.”
Another characteristic of Sato Seni is that it maximizes the capacity of existing machines by meticulously maintaining and modifying them, rather than rapidly introducing new machines.
The advantage of older machines is the simplicity of how they operate. Compared to state-of-the-art machines, they are more flexible and easier to customize, and since other companies do not have the exact same machines including the customizations, this gives them an advantage in manufacturing. Sato Seni sometimes takes over old machines from companies that are going out of business and continues to use them.
On the other hand, the disadvantage of old machines is that parts are no longer made and cannot be bought. When parts are absolutely necessary, they sometimes order them from local factories in the area, relying on the refined skills of traditional craftsmen.
Sano Seni sometimes uses past wool thread stock with only a small amount remaining for embroidery.
Sato Seni mixes materials with opposite properties along with various types of merino that are not often used in Europe. In total, they have made a total of 4,000 different types of thread.
The spinning factory produces about 4 tons of thread per day, ranging from thread to be used in curtains and sheets to delicate, high-quality thread shipped to luxury brands overseas.
In addition to British- and French-style spinning machines, Italian-style machines for spinning fancy threads are in constant operation, and some processes are carried out by hand, as they require delicate handiwork that cannot be done by machines.
Since 2015, the company has been on the main supplier list of French luxury brands.
With a dyeing and a knitting factory nearby, Sato Seni handles everything from thread production to knit products. They continue to increase their share of thread produced in Japan.
“I've heard that no other company in Japan started out by hand-spinning. That is why we take pride in the thread we make,” Mr. Sato said.
A company whose name was not even known in the industry 20 to 30 years ago has been able to grow so much because it has continued to focus on its own unique thread and clothing production, without fear of being different from others, even in the midst of the trend toward mass production and consumption.
“In Japan, even after wool is harvested, much of it is discarded because there is no place to wash it. Our future goal is to build a place where we can wash the wool and run a farm,” he says. Sato Seni's challenge continues on.
GEA also stocks lifestyle goods selected from Japan and abroad.
GEA will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year (2025) and will be holding various events throughout the year!
Access
〒991-0053
1-19-1 Motomachi, Sagae City, Yamagata Prefecture
Sato Textile
Website: https://satoseni.com/
GEA
Website: https://www.gea.yamagata.jp/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/___gea___/