$4,731,554 raised out of $500,000
Overview
Platform
Indiegogo
Backers
2
Start date
Aug 04, 2022
Close date
Aug 31, 2022
Concept

Well known, quality Japanese brand towels that are manufactured in a blessed natural environment

Story

As soon as you realize your towels have become stiff and it is time to replace them and get new ones.

So let’s get rid of that cycle and switch to a high quality towel that can be used for a longer time.

The Japarcana Towel is a towel that has excellent water absorption and durability. So it is with this that your bath and workout can be more comfortable.

We at Japarcana are a start-up company that is the mecca of towel production for 120 years, Imabari City.

The imabari towel brand makes the best out of craftsmen’s skills to manufacture high-quality products in Japan’s rich natural environment. We started this project so that people all over the world could get to know this quality product and hold it for themselves in their own hands.

Yudono (湯殿) means “to bathe” in Japanese. Getting out of the bath feels just as nice and relaxing as when you get out. So we aimed to create a product that gives you that same feeling. A texture that gives off the feeling of its longevity and comfort each time you use it.

Wipes Dry With Excellent Water Absorption

This towel will absorb all liquids with just a simple wipe. No need to continuously scrub and wipe clean. This is possible thanks to the pile on the towel’s surface has been increased.

Imabari towel’s unique bleaching and dyeing method does not damage the cotton during the manufacturing process. You will be able to experience its true strength and ability even if you use it every day.

The imabari towels have a distinctive quality inspection. There is a test known as the 5 second rule, where you test whether a towel scrap starts to sink within 5 seconds it has been placed on some water. There are individual quality standards that have been set by the production area, and it is only the towels that have met those standards that can bear the “imabari towel” brand mark. You can bet the water absorption of the Japarcana Towel has been certified!

Smooth, Velvety Touch

Our towel has a soft, smooth, and elegant feel to it. It has a moderate thickness and softness that you can enjoy.

About the Label

On the towel, we put a logo on the label of a Japanese ukiyo-e illustration and the kanji character “Yudono” (湯殿). Ukiyo-e is a well known Japanese art genre that flourished from the 17th~19th century. Japanese people love big baths, and that history was brought out through those ukiyo-e during that time. Thinking about that period’s bath culture, an illustration of medieval men and women was added.

The Yudono towel is a thin and light towel made for everyday use, but for those who prefer a softer and more ample towel, we have prepared a premium line for you!

“Omiyage” in Japanese means souvenir, the gifts you buy when traveling. We named this towel “omiyage” because we felt it makes a perfect gift to give people. Even for those who usually do not spend a lot of money on towels, you will still gladly use a high quality towel if someone gives you a high-quality towel. We want to send you off to an abundant lifestyle by adding fine quality items in places you normally would not notice.

Using the Finest Cotton and Untwisted Yarn, Increasing Softness

Omiyage is embedded with a high quality ultra-long cotton, and while maintaining its intense water absorption abilities, has an increased thickness and softness. The cotton known as pima cotton is used and it is the highest quality cotton used for towels. Among all else we made it using extravagant, 100% top ranking Superior Pima Cotton.

Usually yarn is made by twisting cotton fibers, but the Omiyage towel is made of using untwisted yarn. The yarn in ordinary towels are twisted to give them a durable toughness, but untwisted yarns make the surface fluffy and extremely soft.

In the (single) yarn, a particular fiber dissolves in hot water (water-soluble vinylon) and is twisted in the opposite direction of the yarn making a two ply yarn (yarn made by twisting two pieces together). By using the water-soluble vinylon, it allows you to have the yarn itself untwisted. If you were to weave the towel in this state, when you wash it the water-soluble vinylon dissolves, leaving only the untwisted yarn.

For towels that are made using untwisted yarn, they will shed if the normal fiber length is short. Also, without a towel that has long fibers, the yarn will not go back and recover leaving you unable to make a good towel. This is why we used cotton with long fibers. It is top class Superior Pima Cotton. This cotton has outstanding durability and a soft finish.

Superior Pima Cotton has a cotton fiber of more than 35mm/1.4”, with the fibers being long and narrow, and excelling in durability. Often said to be comparable to cashmere, its softness and gentle texture are its distinctive traits. Due to there being space between the fibers for air to pass through, and rather than being heavy, has a light and fluffy feel.

By finishing this Superior Pima Cotton with untwisted yarn, despite being very light, the volume and fluffiness are drawn out to the fullest degree.

When you wash the towel put it in a washing laundry mesh net bag or be sure to wash using plenty of water. With a little bit of extra effort, you can help keep the feel and texture of the towel to last longer.

About the Label

Similar to the Yudono towel, it has an Ukiyoe-style design label. The design depicts a feudal lord, a “tono-sama”, and a crane, both of which express a sense of luxury by using motifs that are considered high-ranking in Japan.

The imabari towel brand is a brand that started up from local factories and production companies coming together to reconstruct the value of “safety, relief, and high quality” of Japanese products for cheap towels overseas. Now it is said to have an established a solid position and is a towel that is connected to regional restoration.

Imabari became a famous towel production area that was able to make soft towels due to its soft water. Due to the warm climate and rich water sources it is gentle on threads and fabrics, and can fully bring out cotton’s original softness.

Handling the thread, weaving techniques, mixing the dyes, pre-bleaching and dying techniques, etc, are all unique to Imabari where the process of making towels has then craftsmen’s skills and attention to detail. Each have been carefully accumulated for the past 120 years.

Imabari towel’s brand logo was designed by Kashiwa Sato, who also worked on logos for big-name Japanese companies such as UNIQLO and NISSIN.

“I was more impressed than I was surprised”

Kashiwa Sato used imabari towels for the first time in 2006 and was shocked by its high quality.

“It’s soft with a wonderful and comfortable texture. Even while using it, it doesn’t feel like you’re wiping your body. The towel will absorb more and more water by it just being on your skin.”

(Source: 『今治タオル 奇跡の復活-起死回生のブランド戦略』, [imabari towel  A Miraculous Come-back – Brand Strategy Revival])

At that time, imabari towel was on the verge of dying out due to the push of cheap foreign products. But Sato was convinced. From a sense of impending crisis on food safety and such, at a time when Japanese products were attracting attention, this towel would undoubtedly be of world-class quality.

So Sato started the imabari towel restoration project. He created a logo that symbolizes imabari’s abundant nature and thoughts of industrial recovery. As well as incorporating a mark of quality assurance like the “5 second rule”, setting the “white towel” as the key product.

All are strategies to protect and convey the essential value of Imabari towels, “safety, security and high quality”. The task that Sato imposes, although occasionally baffling the union members of the imabari towel Industry Association, gradually united everyone’s consciousness, establishing a solid brand.

After that, measures based on a consistent and coherent concept were accomplished, and imabari towel rapidly increased their degree of recognition and sales. So in both name and reality, it has become a leading Japanese brand.

(Source: 『今治タオル 奇跡の復活』佐藤可士和/今治タオル工業組合 , [imabari towel  A Miraculous Come-back]  Kashiwa Sato, imabari towel Industry Association)

Yudono – 2 sizes

Color:White / Pink  / Blue / Brown/ Charcoal

Size:

Bath Towel:68 ×125cm (26.7 × 49.2 inches)  / 317g

Hand Towel:34 ×86cm (13.3 × 33.8 inches) / 116g

Omiyage – 3 sizes

Color:White / Gray / Light Blue / Pink

Size:

Bath Towel:67 ×130cm (26.3 × 51.1 inches)  / 277g

Hand Towel:32 × 82cm (12.5 × 32.2 inches) / 82g

Hand Towel mini:32 x 35cm (12.6 x 13.8 inches) / 41g

There are three types of towels for the Omiyage which includes a mini hand towel. You can get a set of all three sizes in the 3-piece gift set return.

Japarcana is a startup company that was established with the hopes of being able to deliver wonderful Japanese products that are not yet known abroad.

When I (Yoshiharu Shiozawa) studied abroad, I often gave the imabari towel, a special product from my hometown, as a souvenir to someone as a token of appreciation.

Everyone that had gotten a towel said things like, “I’ve never used a towel that is so soft and absorbs water so well.” and “Japanese towels are wonderful!”. And they were really happy to use them.

I was also shocked when I realized that a towel I have used since I was little, the imabari towel, had so much power in making people happy. I also realized how happy I was giving something to a person that brought them some kind of joy and excitement.

Collaborating with local factories, we designed and created the Japarcana towel, so that we could make even more people happy. We want to deliver a local product that we are familiar with, the imabari towel brand, to those across the globe who have yet to try it out for themselves.

braag — A boutique pre-launch to post-launch marketing agency leveraging data-driven customer acquisition to fuel record-breaking crowdfunding campaigns.

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Kickstarter Project Starts July 5th

Kickstarter Project Ends August 4th

Indiegogo InDemand campaign starts August 5th

Rewards prepared: September-November

Rewards Shipped; December 2022- January 2023

Rewards arrive to Backers: March 2023

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