Suzusan Co., Ltd.
Japanese textile brand from Arimatsu, Nagoya, creating contemporary fashion, home and lighting from traditional Arimatsu Narumi shibori tie-dye.
Last updated September 27, 2026
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Overview
Suzusan Co., Ltd. (株式会社スズサン) is a Japanese textile company and brand rooted in Arimatsu, Nagoya, where the Arimatsu Narumi shibori tie-dye tradition has been practiced since the early Edo period. The company traces its lineage to Suzuki Sadaichi, who in the mid-Meiji era founded a workshop for shibori design, stencil carving and pattern printing. His successor Suzuki Saburo opened the family business Suzuki Shoten (鈴三商店), working as a "kageshi" coordinating shibori processing. The business passed through generations, and in 1977 Murase Hiroshi, a nephew of the third-generation head, took over. In 1996 the house name was changed to Suzusan, and in 2014 the current corporation Suzusan Co., Ltd. was established. The modern brand suzusan began in 2008, when fifth-generation Murase Hiroyuki and a German friend founded Suzusan e.K. in Düsseldorf, Germany, launching a self-owned brand with a few scarves. The brand expanded into lighting with the suzusan Luminaires collection in 2009, shown at Ambiente in Frankfurt and Maison & Objet in Paris. In 2011 the company opened its directly operated Arimatsu Atelier store, and from 2013 it began presenting collections at Paris Fashion Week each season, followed by Milan Fashion Week in 2014 and presentations in Düsseldorf and Munich in 2015. From 2017 it developed cushions and throws that became the suzusan HOME & LIVING line. Suzusan operates an integrated system from planning and manufacturing to retail, and has shifted from a subcontracting family business to a company centered on its own suzusan brand, now also handling contract work and corporate collaborations. Its product range spans scarves and stoles, apparel, home textiles, and lighting, all using Arimatsu Narumi shibori techniques. The company is based in Arimatsu, Midori-ku, Nagoya, with a German group company, Suzusan GmbH & Co. KG, in Düsseldorf. It is privately held and family-run, with Murase Hiroyuki as CEO, Murase Fumihiro as COO, and Murase Hiroshi as chairman. Beyond commerce, Suzusan engages in workshops, academic research cooperation, internships and efforts to sustain the Arimatsu shibori craft community.
History
The history of Suzusan is inseparable from Arimatsu, a town established in 1608 (Keichō 13) when eight villagers were resettled by the call of the Owari Domain. Because the land was unsuited to farming, residents bought cotton cloth from neighboring regions where cotton cultivation had begun in the early Edo period, developed tie-dyeing techniques, and sold tenugui towels as souvenirs to travelers on the Tōkaidō road. Under the Owari Domain's monopoly system, Arimatsu shibori quickly gained popularity and was even depicted in Andō Hiroshige's ukiyo-e series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō. In the Edo period it was prized as a high-grade offering to the shogun and became an important industry supporting regional prosperity. After a temporary decline following the Meiji Restoration, the shibori industry recovered and reached its peak from the Meiji to Taishō eras. Assistance from shibori merchants is said to have helped realize railway extension, the establishment of Arimatsu Station, and the opening of schools, greatly developing the area. Arimatsu is known as the production center with the world's largest number of shibori techniques; in 1975 Arimatsu Narumi shibori was designated the first traditional craft of Aichi Prefecture. The townscape, which miraculously escaped wartime damage, was certified as a Japan Heritage site by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2019 under the name 'Shibori production area where you can touch the emotions of the Edo period – the town of Arimatsu where indigo dyeing sways in the wind.' The roughly 800-meter-old townscape along the Tōkaidō is also selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings. Suzusan's predecessor, Suzuki Shoten (鈴三商店), has carried on Arimatsu Narumi shibori as a family business in Nagoya's Arimatsu for over 100 years. In the mid-Meiji era, the first generation, Suzuki Sadaichi, founded a business as a shibori designer, stencil carver and pattern printer. The second generation, Suzuki Saburo, opened Suzuki Shoten and worked as a 'kageshi' coordinating shibori processing. The third generation, Suzuki Miyoshizaemon, inherited the business, and in 1977 the fourth generation, Murase Hiroshi, a nephew of Suzuki, took over Suzuki Shoten. In 1996 the house name was changed from Suzuki Shoten to Suzusan, and the company repeatedly took on new challenges while changing its business form. In 2008, to expand overseas, it established the local subsidiary Suzusan e.K. (now Suzusan GmbH & Co. KG) in Düsseldorf, Germany, and started its own brand suzusan with a few scarves. It later established Suzusan Co., Ltd. as a new production base capable of integrated production with accumulated techniques in the Arimatsu production area, not merely division of labor. Key milestones followed: in 2009 the lighting collection suzusan Luminaires was launched and presented at Ambiente (Frankfurt) and Maison & Objet (Paris). In 2011 the directly operated Arimatsu Atelier store opened in Arimatsu. In 2013 the suzusan collection was presented at Paris Fashion Week and has continued every season since. In 2014 the company was incorporated as Suzusan Co., Ltd. and presented at Milan Fashion Week. In 2015 collections were presented in Düsseldorf and Munich. In 2017 work began on cushion covers and throws that later became suzusan HOME & LIVING. In 2018 the head office was relocated as an office and workshop. The company has built an integrated system from planning through manufacturing to retail, and in recent years has shifted toward strengthening cooperation with the production area. It boldly transformed from a family business centered on subcontracting to one centered on its own suzusan brand, and now handles a wide range of contract and corporate collaboration work. In addition, fourth-generation Murase Hiroshi and fifth-generation Murase Hiroyuki actively conduct workshops and lecturing at universities, respond to academic research and cooperation requests from national museums, hold workshops for local children, and accept interns from Japan and abroad. Murase Hiroshi in particular is active through the International Shibori Conference and, in recent years, online seminars for overseas audiences, working with Germany-based Murase Hiroyuki and Arimatsu staff to pass on traditional shibori techniques while continuously considering the future form of the production area, ways of collaboration, forms of technical succession, and the positioning of instruction. Through involvement with diverse people and regions, Suzusan aims to draw a new flow of tradition among bearers, makers, communicators and users, promoting empathy and circulation.
- 2019
Arimatsu townscape certified as Japan Heritage.
- 2018
Head office relocated as office and workshop.
- 2017
Began making cushions and throws that became suzusan HOME & LIVING.
- 2015
Collections presented in Düsseldorf and Munich.
- 2014
Incorporated as Suzusan Co., Ltd.; presented at Milan Fashion Week.
- 2013
suzusan collection presented at Paris Fashion Week, continuing every season.
- 2011
Directly operated Arimatsu Atelier store opened.
- 2009
suzusan Luminaires lighting collection launched at Ambiente and Maison & Objet.
- 2008
Suzusan e.K. founded in Düsseldorf, Germany; own brand suzusan launched.
- 1996
House name changed from Suzuki Shoten to Suzusan.
Products and positioning
Contemporary design brand translating traditional Arimatsu Narumi shibori craft into fashion, home and lighting for international markets.
suzusan scarves and stoles
suzusan Luminaires
suzusan HOME & LIVING
Apparel collections
Sources5 sources
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