mizutori creates modern Japanese wooden sandals (geta) designed for comfort and everyday wear.
What Is mizutori?
Episode 65
The Day a Customer Unexpectedly Apologized to Me
The other day,
a woman
pulled up on her bicycle
in front of our shop
and came inside.
She began looking
carefully through our products,
picking up different items
as she browsed.
It seemed as though
she might be looking
for something in particular,
so I went over
and started talking with her.
She told me
that she already owned
a pair of mizutori geta
and wore them regularly.
She had come in
because she wanted to see
some of our newer hanao designs.
Then she mentioned
that she was planning to visit
our annual summer event
at the mizutori workshop,
the Mizutori Appreciation Festival,
and hoped to buy
her next pair there.
The festival is an event
we hold every August
at our workshop.
We offer geta
that cannot be sold
as regular products
because of small scratches
or other minor imperfections,
as well as prototypes
and other unusual pieces.
“That’s wonderful.
Thank you!”
I said.
But for some reason,
she suddenly looked
a little uncomfortable.
Then she said,
“I’m sorry.”
I was confused.
“Sorry?”
I had no idea
what she was apologizing for.
Then she explained.
“I know that
if we want local industries
and traditional crafts
to continue,
it’s important
to support the people
who make them
by buying their products
at their regular price.”
And then she said,
“Someday,
I hope I’ll be able
to come to a shop like this
and buy a pair
at the regular price.”
She went on to tell me,
quite openly,
that the mizutori geta
she was wearing now
had actually been purchased
secondhand.
I was surprised.
And at the same time,
I was deeply touched.
When choosing
a pair of geta,
she was thinking
about more than
the geta themselves—
about the people
who make them,
and even about the future
of local craftsmanship.
More than anything,
it was that thoughtfulness
that made me happy.
So I told her,
“We’re happy
when people buy our geta
at the Appreciation Festival, too.”
Of course,
protecting the value
of what we make
and maintaining
a fair price for our products
is very important to us.
From sourcing the materials
to the final shipment,
each person involved
works with great care
to finish
every pair.
But wood
is a natural material.
And no matter
how carefully we work,
sometimes
small scratches
or imperfections
are unavoidable.
When that happens,
rather than letting
those geta go to waste,
we are happy
if someone finds a pair
they love
and enjoys wearing them.
For those of us
who make them,
that means a great deal too.
The Mizutori Appreciation Festival
originally began
as a way
to thank the people
in our local community
and to give them
a chance to discover
the geta workshop
right here
in their neighborhood.
At first,
it was a small, quiet event
known mostly
by people nearby.
But gradually,
more people
began to hear about it.
Today,
some visitors
even travel from far away
and look forward
to coming back
each year.
At the festival,
we sometimes bring out
prototypes created
during product development,
or designs
that were once available
only in limited quantities.
Many people
pick up these unusual pieces
and ask,
“What is this?”
And when we tell them
the story behind it—
how it came about,
what we were experimenting with,
or why it never became
a regular product—
they listen
with genuine curiosity.
Sometimes,
those conversations
even lead to
unexpected ideas
from our visitors.
For us as makers,
those exchanges
are inspiring too.
They have become
one of the things
we enjoy most
about the festival.
Someday,
I would love
to introduce pieces
that can only be found
at the festival.
Perhaps we could
exchange ideas
with our visitors
and even create
something together.
Little by little,
I hope we can grow
this event
into a place
where we can all
enjoy ourselves together—
a festival that truly reflects
the gratitude
behind its name.
And then,
last weekend,
on the first day
of this year’s
Mizutori Appreciation Festival,
I looked at the customers
waiting outside
before we opened.
And there she was—
the woman
I had spoken with
at our shop that day.
“She really came.”
The moment I saw her,
I felt
so happy.
Someday,
if the Appreciation Festival
grows into a place
where we can share
even more experiences
with our visitors,
I hope I’ll have
another chance
to talk with her—
not only about geta,
but also about the future
of local craftsmanship,
with a little more time
to talk.
And this coming weekend,
August 29 and 30,
we’ll be holding
the Mizutori Appreciation Festival
once again.
Each time,
many people come
wearing their own
mizutori geta.
Seeing how everyone
styles them
has become
one of our own
little pleasures.
I wonder
who we’ll meet next,
and what kinds
of conversations
we’ll have.
I’m already
looking forward to it.
