Go Ishimi, a shoe shiner who runs "THE WAY THINGS GO".

"The polisher is gone!"

In Tennoji, Osaka, Ishimi heard about a street shoe shiner who had been running his business since the postwar period and immediately knocked on his door. As soon as he bumped his fist against the door, he received a baptism into the world of craftsmanship.

"I'd heard rumors about it, but this industry is really about learning by observation. After that, I stopped revealing my identity. Once I'd imprinted the professional's work into my memory, I'd go home and practice. I borrowed my friends' shoes and practiced and practiced. I must have ruined dozens of pairs. But you can pick up the tricks of the trade by just watching and imitating. I started about nine months before quitting my job, and I had my shoes polished by pretty much all the well-known craftsmen across Japan. On my third trip to Tokyo, I was confident I'd reached a decent level, and in 2012, I launched my street shoe-shining business."

Following the advice of an acquaintance, Iwami soon adopted a mobile style of visiting customers to polish their shoes. The network of contacts he had cultivated during his 10 years as a salaried worker proved invaluable in this style. From there, customers brought in more customers, and within three years of opening his business, he had polished 20,000 pairs of shoes. That works out to an average of 27 pairs per day.

©THE WAY THINGS GO OSAKA

Then, in 2015, he opened his long-awaited shop. It was in room 415 of the Senba Building, a building from the late Taisho era that is now a registered tangible cultural property. The sight of Ishimi, dressed in a suit, polishing shoes behind the counter was widely covered by the media.

Original brushes and expansion into Tokyo

It's no exaggeration to say that the power dynamics of shoe shine are now divided between Hasegawa (Yuya Hasegawa, CEO of Brift H) in the east and Iwami in the west. Riding on this momentum, Iwami is swiftly bringing to life the ideas he has been nurturing.

©THE WAY THINGS GO OSAKA

One example is their original brush, which sells out within a few days of being uploaded to their online store.

"These brushes are made in a workshop in Kansai, which could be called the mecca of hand-planted brushes. Each bristle is planted by hand, so there is no risk of breakage or shedding. My personal touch is the curved base. By making it curved, the bristles spread out in a semicircle, and this silhouette brings out the full potential of the brush. Also, the size. I have arrived at a balance of body that fits perfectly whether you have a large hand or a small hand."


Another goal is their long-awaited expansion into Tokyo. The opening is scheduled for January 7th (Monday), early in the new year.

Now in his sixth year of running his shop, Ishimi says he can maintain a consistent level of finish no matter how many pairs of shoes he polishes, but his passion for shoe polishing remains undiminished.

"Each customer is different, and the shoes they wear are different from pair to pair. The journey of discovery is never-ending. That's what a craftsman's work is all about."

Iwami's greatest appeal, after changing his polishing method four times, is its durability. It's a technique he arrived at through trial and error, a truly unique style, but even Iwami was surprised when a pair of shoes that hadn't been cared for in a year regained their shine with just a dry wipe.

I gave up on my dream of pursuing music.

When Iwami was in high school, his ordinary life was turned upside down when his family business went bankrupt. After graduating, Iwami gave up his dream of pursuing a career in music and entered the workforce. It took his family 10 years to get back to their old lives.

"I took a sales position at Recruit and worked like a workhorse. After paying off my debts, I experienced what's known as burnout. I was invited by my former boss from Recruit to join a company he started as a founding member, but I wasn't really there."

Realizing he would only cause more trouble, Iwami said goodbye to his former boss and sought a new path, which led him to discover shoe shining.

"It was around the time that Mr. Hasegawa of Brift H burst onto the scene like a comet, and a shoe-shining specialty shop opened in my hometown of Osaka. I went to check it out and tried the service. It might sound arrogant, but I thought, 'If this is what I can do, I can aim for the top in Kansai.'"

There was another reason why Iwami chose to become a shoe shiner.

"During my time as a salaried worker, I had many opportunities to interact with discerning customers. I even bought a Cartier watch costing over 1 million yen in an attempt to get a little closer to their level of taste. That's when I realized that proper maintenance is essential for good quality items."

Days when I slept with my guitar in my arms

He had almost achieved his dream of making a living from music. Surprisingly, even in high school, he already had the talent to provide songs to bands that toured nationwide. Just as he was planning to study in New York to seriously pursue music as a lifelong career, his family business went bankrupt.

"My weekend enjoyment as a child has always been renting movies from TSUTAYA. When I saw Marty McFly playing Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode' in 'Back to the Future,' I was instantly captivated."


The expensive guitar wasn't readily available. "You'll have to make do with this," he was told, and given a skateboard instead, but his longing only grew stronger. Iwami secretly ordered one without telling his mother. Of course, he was found out and received a stern scolding. His grandmother, feeling sorry for him, came to his rescue—"Well, I'll buy it for you."

"I would play until I fell asleep, so almost every day when I woke up I would be hugging my guitar (laughs). It wasn't uncommon for me to be able to play techniques in the morning that I couldn't play before. I guess I was doing mental training while I slept."

This extraordinary level of dedication and boldness is what led him to his current position.

"When I decided to become a salaried worker, I got rid of all my musical instruments."

Mr. Go Ishimi at the 1st Japan Shoe Polishing Championship. The final round was held between the three winners of the semi-finals, which consisted of 12 people in groups of four.

Making shoe shining a part of the culture

Iwami's shoe-shining movements were rhythmic and breathtakingly beautiful. I thought it must be a natural talent, given his success in music, but he laughed and said it wasn't at all.

"I recorded myself working and thoroughly edited the footage. Polishing techniques are an essential skill for a professional."

Iwami is a hardworking person and one of the people who wants to make shoe shining a cultural practice more than anyone else.

©THE WAY THINGS GO OSAKA

This stance is also evident in their best-selling original brushes. The glossy finish on the back, reminiscent of lacquer, is the result of a week-long process of layering the paint. The illustrations on the brushes—a pig for boar bristles, a horse for horsehair, and a goat for goat hair—were created after dozens of exchanges with the illustrator. The packaging also has a stylish feel, reminiscent of a French chocolatier. For Iwami, it was a non-negotiable point that the brushes should also function as interior decor.

"Everything I have today is thanks to Mr. Hasegawa. I want to keep saying this for the rest of my life. Mr. Hasegawa created a new market from scratch. He transformed shoe shining into something cool. He's like a star who created rock music in an era when only classic styles existed. I've come this far by following in his footsteps."


Photo: Tatsuya Ozawa
Text: Kei Takegawa

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