50 YEARS OF KOKOROISHI

50 Years of Building and Retaining Your Trust

創業者の心石務睦は、7人兄弟の長男として生まれました。戦後の厳しい環境の中で家族たちを食べさせるために、高等教育も受けられず様々な仕事をしてきました。その中で、最も大切な事は「信頼されること」であると考えるようになりました。

When I started to help in the company, there was a time when due to my mistakes, payments to our clients were delayed by a day. "What's the issue? A day isn't much" - was what I then thought.

That ended up being the worst castigation I had in my life - Tsutomu ordered me, with practically an oni(ogre)-like face, to contact each and every one of our partners to plead for their understanding. Trust takes ages to build but only needs a moment to be broken. The value of trust is instilled in KOKOROISHI and still drives us right now.

Shitsutomu was very strict in his work but his employees were like his family. He was committed to even hearing out the private problems that his employees faced. This care, and familial bond, was what motivated his employees to work together with him.

When we first started, office sofa sets were the rage and they were easy to sell. However, then came the late 1980s and the bursting of the Japanese bubble economy. The furniture brokers we dealt with one-by-one went out of business. The influx of cheap imports added fuel to fire and we honestly considered closing KOKOROISHI.

It was then that the people around KOKOROISHI rallied together with us, and we started moving towards making sofas. I remember my father telling me, calmly and with a smile: "Work hard and someone will definitely appreciate what you make!"

This shift to sofa making would not have been possible without all the trust we had built. We created this page as thanks to all the people who have accompanied us through the peaks and nadirs of life.

Please take the time to read this to find out about KOKOROISHI and the trust that goes behind it.

Takuo Kokoroishi
CEO and Chairman, KOKOROISHI KOUGEI

The in-depth story

About Us

Factory

Continually improving ourselves

The original KOKOROISHI factory was right beside the Kokoroishi family home. As we expanded and orders for our sofas increased, in 1987, we bought some land in an area filled with other artisan shops where our current factory and company HQ are.

Studio, Cafe and then Sofa Boutique

In the 12th year of business, KOKOROISHI did have a showroom from which we sold our items. However, handling both production and retail was difficult. The showroom was then converted to a studio for taking photos of our products and a storeroom.

The history of KOKOROISHI and our sofas

Charting our history - from when we were producing office sofas, to producing for living rooms, to when practicality and design became important and to now - when the values of people are reflected in the sofas they use.

Reminiscing about the early days

How did KOKOROISHi come to our current state? How did we develop our high quality and advanced techniques? The original craftsmen at the beginning of KOKOROISHI held a reunion to share their memories.

Our Trusted Partners

ZUIUN

Shori-san - CEO and Chairman, zuiun Co. Ltd.

The real power of collaboration

REAL STYLE

Tsuruda-san - CEO and Chairman, Real Style Co. Ltd.

The trust that a dependable CEO and strong technology can bring

MARUSHO

Sakemi-san - Chairman, Marusho Co.

A manufacturer that evolves with the times

AKASE MOKKO

Gotoh-san, Board Member, Akase Masterwal Style Inc

The common intricacies found in both wood and leather

Our Trusted Suppliers

KOEISANGYO

The value of telling your brand's story

Kitamura-san, Executive Director, Koeisangyo Co. Ltd.

DENTOU KOUGEI

Birthing something new through collaborating and innovating with core technology

Fukumaki-san, CEO and Chairman, Dentou Kougei Co., Ltd.

AISHIN SANGYO

The trust and skills built over 20 years

Furuoka-san, Managing Director, Aishin Industrial Co. Ltd.

SUMIDA SANGYO

Artistry built from meticulousness and curiosity

Fujishiro-san, Managing Director, Sumida Sangyo Co. Ltd.