Creating value from forests
We are grateful for the forest resources nurtured by our predecessors and use these blessings to create new services and products .
About Nakayoshi Library
| Company Name | Nakayoshi Library Co., Ltd. |
| Capital | 30 million yen |
| representative | Hajime Hamada |
| Founded | March 1986 |
| Established | March 2006 |
| Furniture Factory | 782-0034 5-4-35 Takaramachi, Tosayamada-cho, Kami-shi, Kochi Prefecture |
| Toy Factory | 769-0401 726 Takadakami, Takada-cho, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Shop | Kobe store, Kichijoji store, Kurashiki store (sister stores) |
| Number of employees | 47 people (15 men, 32 women) Average age: 36 years old |
History
| 1986 | Founded by Masashi Hamada (current chairman) in Kochi City |
| 1987 | The workshop was moved to Nankoku City, Kochi Prefecture. |
| 1990 | Started making wooden nameplates and began full-scale wholesale business |
| 2002 | Toys delivered to the Imperial Family to be used as toys for Princess Aiko's 1st birthday |
| 2006 | Started online sales |
| 2016 | Opened the first directly managed store in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture and moved the factory to Kami City |
| 2017 | Toy factory relocated to Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| 2019 | Baby set is a good toy [Winner of the Forestry Agency Commissioner's Award] |
| 2020 | The Kids Room business won the Kochi Prefecture Local Industry Encouragement Award. |
| 2021 | Selected as a birthday gift distribution company for Kami City/Tosashimizu City, Kochi Prefecture |
| 2023 | Opened physical stores in Kurashiki and Kichijoji |
| 2023 | Cat Patchin wins the Good Toy Award 2023 |
| 2024 |
Selected as an early childhood wood education business operator in Amagasaki City. "Ghost's Concentration" was selected as a Good Toy Award winner. |
MISSION
VISION
Creating a rich and fulfilling life for children around the world
We will continue to create products and services that bring happiness to children and families .
This is the kind of society we aim to create
The supply-demand ratio for domestic timber in Japan is about 45%. Most of it has been replaced by foreign timber, which has a stable supply. The decrease in the use of domestic timber has left mountains that cannot be thinned abandoned, and disasters such as landslides and water pollution have become more frequent, threatening people's lives. At the same time, the shortage of forestry workers is a serious problem. We are centered on using domestic timber, and in order to raise society's awareness of the use of recyclable resources such as domestic timber, we are working every day to utilize domestic timber and provide a rich living environment for children and their families as a major company initiative.
Founding History
In the 1980s, when male childcare workers were still uncommon, he held roundtable discussions about children's toys with mothers raising children and university professors, and studied by making prototypes and observing the children's reactions to the toys, asking, "What kind of shape would be a good toy for children?"
For example, the books lined up in a library are waiting eagerly for someone to open them. There may be some books that no one has opened yet. But they are lined up there with the hope that they will be useful to someone.
The same goes for wooden toys. If they make children smile, then the toy has meaning.
It may not be necessary for that child, but it may be a very important toy for that child.
We want to make children smile with a wide variety of creative toys. We want to enrich the upbringing of families. We want to continue creating a space where children can be engrossed in wooden toys. We created Nakayoshi Library with these thoughts in mind.
Creating a rich environment for children to grow
This is our mission, which has not changed over the years.
Representative Director Hajime Hamada
Product Strengths
Made from 100% domestic and natural materials, no chemicals are used.
We use materials that are safe for babies to put in their mouths.
Nakayoshi Library's products use domestic wood. The trees are over 70 years old. We source carefully selected materials from production areas all over the country. We also purchase some of the wood in the form of logs, and select only the parts with few knots and beautiful color to use. This is a very extravagant use of wood, but during the polishing stage of production, the wood is polished until it is smooth, and by the time it reaches children's hands, it has become a beautiful, shiny product. We do not use coloring because we allow the natural color of the wood to be used as is, allowing children to experience the beautiful colors and grain that cannot be produced artificially. We want children to hone their sensibilities by touching the "real thing" from an early age.
A manufacturer specializing in children's products
The experience of working in childcare and with childcare workers is utilized in the creation of products. Battery-operated toys are interesting and fun at first, but they move the same way, so they quickly become boring. So when choosing a toy, it is a waste for parents to decide "this one is fun to play with" after playing with it for about an hour. We believe that it is necessary to know what positive effects the toy will have on children through play. One of the reasons why Nakayoshi Library is committed to handmade products is because they allow children to play independently. We believe that toys that children can manipulate, create, and think about themselves allow children to discover many different ways to play and help develop their independent creativity. The main characters are always children. Toys are tools that promote children's development. We hope to continue creating new things in the world.
The reason for its longevity
In the 1980s, before Nakayoshi Library was founded, I chose this profession because I wanted to spend time with children, but I realized how few toys children could play with safely. There were toys with sharp corners or surfaces covered in harmful paint, and I was constantly worried.
"If it doesn't exist, just make it." That's how we started making our own wooden toys. If the corners are not rounded, they are dangerous, and even the smallest splinters can prick a baby's hands. Also, if the corners of building blocks are not rounded, some children will not only stack them, but throw them. Even if they want to get a picture book, they can't lift things above shoulder height, so they can't use furniture that is that high, and even if there is a chair, it's too heavy to lift, etc.
In our daily interactions with children, we have learned that with just a little ingenuity, furniture and toys can be made easier to use, and we still incorporate these ideas into our product development even after 30 years. We believe that this is the reason why our products have been so popular for over 30 years.
Lifetime product responsibility
We do everything from our own design, sales, material procurement, and manufacturing. In this age of convenient distribution of goods, it is easy to handle and sell products. However, there are many cases where products are advertised as being made in Japan, but the manufacturer is overseas, or the source of materials is unknown.
Nakayoshi Library is proud to offer products to children because they are safe to use and process. We can proudly disclose to our customers when and where the wood was harvested, who processed it, and when it became a product. We deliver such safe and secure products.