Imabari: A City of Textile Manufacturing and Shipbuilding Since Ancient Times
Imabari City is nationally famous for "Imabari Towels," but it is also known for its shipbuilding industry. There are many shipbuilding companies in the city, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Imabari Shipyard being particularly renowned. This shipyard is involved in the construction of large vessels not only in Japan but also globally, with a track record of building tankers, container ships, and oil plants.
Furthermore, Imabari City's shipbuilding industry has a close relationship with the local textile industry. It seems that the shipbuilding companies, possessing precision machining technology, undertook the manufacturing of loom parts used in the textile industry, leading to their development.
Imabari City's shipbuilding industry is supported by its long-cultivated precision machining technology and delicate craftsmanship.
"Magic Hour," an outdoor brand born from Nishizome Kogyo Co., Ltd., a company in Imabari since 1954
Nishizome Kogyo Co., Ltd. is a dyeing company headquartered in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. Established in the Showa 20s (1945-1954), it primarily handles the dyeing and processing of textile products such as towels and apparel.
From this company emerged the outdoor brand "Magic Hour," which was originally born from a small observation by a leader who loved camping. The brand name refers to the beautiful sky during the magical transition from day to night. Camping allows one to spend this precious time. The brand was carefully established in Imabari, a beautiful land floating in the Seto Inland Sea, precisely for such moments.
A Blanket Enveloped in the Rich Patterns of the Seto Inland Sea
Something used daily by almost everyone around the world, regardless of religion or nationality, is undoubtedly a towel. While "Imabari Towel" has achieved overwhelming recognition throughout Japan for its quality, perhaps only a minority of people truly know the detailed process of how a towel is made.
Whether it's a towel or a blanket adorned with textile embroidery, everything starts with a single thread. The process of meticulously and mechanically weaving it lengthwise and crosswise makes one truly feel the benefits of modern civilization.
A single thread is assessed by a craftsman's eye to determine whether it will be used as a warp or weft thread, and then each thread is carefully sized or coated for processing. If there is even one problem in any part of the weaving process from thin threads, it will affect the finished product. Therefore, there is an atmosphere of seriousness towards manufacturing, characterized by the tension of not allowing even a momentary lapse of concentration, mixed with the strong bonds among long-term colleagues.
The blanket features sophisticated designs woven with motifs such as islands floating in the Seto Inland Sea, swimming fish, and characters from the Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage.
Even if you wear it near a campfire, it is made of cotton, which is relatively resistant to sparks, so it will protect your clothes.
Even if the daytime weather is warm and sweaty, campsites can get chilly in the mornings and evenings. This high-quality blanket is sure to make your camping experience wonderful.
Special Odor-Resistant Towel with the Power of Platinum
When camping in the summer, there are many opportunities to use towels, such as wiping sweat or drying hands after washing them while cooking. The "Pt wet towel" is this carefully crafted Imabari towel, treated with platinum for deodorizing effects, and designed to be carried in a dedicated case with a carabiner. You can use it hygienically like a wet wipe by simply rinsing it with water.
The carabiner also makes it highly convenient, as it can be clipped to a belt loop or attached to a bag.
My favorite style is to hang this from my waist with a Nite Ize carabiner, which also functions as a bottle opener, and carry it along with my Victorinox multi-tool knife.
Clean Dust from Towel and Blanket Manufacturing Process
After the yarn is dyed, sized, and platinum-processed, one of the final manufacturing steps is drying the finished towels. Even a common household washing machine accumulates a fair amount of lint when using the dryer, but the dust generated daily from factories producing towels for business purposes amounts to over 120 liters. This dust, which used to be discarded, is actually very clean and clear-colored. For example, if red towels are being dried, red cotton-like dust appears; if blue towels, blue dust. This dust is packaged and became "Imabari no Hokori" (Imabari Dust), a fire starter for camping.
One of the joys of camping is "nurturing" a fire without using a burner, isn't it?
We recommend placing "Imabari no Hokori" in your fire pit, generating sparks with a fire starter, and gradually adding small to large logs.
Conversely, if you use a burner or lighter to start a fire, you can make a bonfire efficiently by first placing large logs at the bottom of the fire pit and then igniting "Imabari no Hokori."
It seems that "Imabari no Hokori" was the catalyst for the creation of MAGIC HOUR.
The brand owner, a long-time camping enthusiast, got the idea after seeing the large amount of dust discarded daily. This product came about due to his broad perspective and flexible thinking. From there, an outdoor brand was born. We look forward to its future developments.
