Hidetoshi Nakata has been travelling extensively throughout Japan since 2009, after he retired from professional football. During his travels, Nakata has seen, heard and sometimes experienced the wonderful traditions, culture, industries and hidden charms of local crafts, agriculture and brewing that have evolved naturally in each region. Based on these insights, Nakata created a project to discover Japan [Nihon] through authentic craftsmanship [Honmono] = "NIHONMONO". The project is an initiative to showcase and spread awareness of a diverse selection of genuine "NIHONMONO" = "Japanese things" to the world.
The NIHONMONO project aims to tell and preserve stories that cannot be found on the internet, in books or tourist guides, about the food, ceramics and sake that have been continuously produced as part of people's daily lives in each region, where the natural environment is different, as well as about the fascinating artisans and producers - farmers, craftspeople and breweries.
For this reason, we thought it was important to create our own media to tell the stories of more and more makers throughout the country, the world and into the future. Currently, we publish the web magazine "NIHONMONO", which conveys the things we actually see and hear, the thoughts of the people we encounter on our travels, as well as stories with a sense of presence that makes the audience feel as if they are visiting the place with us. In addition, we produce to the radio programme "TDK VOICES FROM NIHONMONO"（J-WAVE) through which the voices of the producers are directly conveyed, the TV programme "NIHONMOno Gakko（Kansai TV）,which explains the background of the various products we encounter in our daily lives, and the book "NIHONMONO"(KADOKAWA) , which introduces the wonderful producers we meet while travelling throughout the country. Through this media, we aim to share Japan’s [NIHON] "real things” [HONMONO] with the world. In the future, we will continue to collaborate with various media and companies to promote Japan's wonderful culture, artisans and producers both at home and abroad.
NIHONMONO × Hankyu Umeda Honten
The 'Nihonmono Store', which introduces wonderful producers from all over Japan, along with best products and artisans that Hidetoshi Nakata encountered during his travels throughout the country's 47 prefectures, collaborated with the Hankyu Department Store which was established in Umeda, Osaka, in 1929 as "the world's first terminal department store”, to open a pop-up shop for a limited time at the Hankyu Umeda flagship store.
NIHONMONO × AKOMEYA
A collaboration between ’NIHONMONO Store', which introduces some of the finest producers and products recommended by experts that Hidetoshi Nakata met during his travels throughout Japan's 47 prefectures, and 'AKOMEYA TOKYO in la kagu', a lifestyle shop that offers a carefully selected range of rice, foods and sundries from all over Japan based on the concept of 'a circle of deliciousness that expands around a bowl of freshly cooked rice'. For a limited time, the 'NIHONMONO Store' was opened as a shop-in-shop within 'AKOMEYA TOKYO in la kagu'.
HIDETOSHI NAKATA × POKKA SAPPORO FOOD & BEVERAGE LTD.
Under the direction of NIHONMONO, led by Hidetoshi Nakata, Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage Ltd. has revamped its TOCHI and CRAFT series Kagabou hojicha (roasted stem tea from the Kaga region), which has been on sale since 2015. The project is a collaboration between NIHONMONO, Aburatani Seicha, a long-established tea producer in Ishikawa Prefecture that has been spreading the appeal of tea since 1918, and Pokka Sapporo, which promotes the unique charm of Japan's regions through its TOCHI and CRAFT brand. Nakata personally tasted and adjusted the tea many times to ensure that it captured the authentic taste of Japan that he discovered during his travels throughout the country, as well as the deliciousness of KagaBou cha, a tea roasting technique unique to Ishikawa Prefecture.
Kagabou Hojicha Yutani Seicha × NIHONMONO