和技 WAZA
NEW YORK | LOS ANGELES | TOKYO
WAZA is a shop and a platform for Japanese craftsmanship — work from ateliers that have refined the same techniques for generations, alongside designers reinterpreting them now. Tableware, lacquerware, gold leaf, incense, leather goods, textiles, and food.
Founded in New York in 2011, our name joins two ideas: wa (和), an old word for Japan that also means harmony, and waza (技), the mastery earned through years at a single craft. We chose it out of respect for the people whose hands do this work.
Today WAZA operates a retail shop on Level 2 of JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, and ships across the US and internationally.
About Founder Takayoshi Ito
After graduating from Keio University, Takayoshi Ito joined Isetan Co., Ltd. where he was responsible for merchandising, product policy, and purchase planning for men’s fashion. In 1991, Takayoshi took over his family business, Xeez Co., Ltd a men’s and women’s specialty retail business. With his interest in fashion and retail, he became involved in helping Japanese companies expand globally, advising them on brand development and merchandising. Based on this experience, Takayoshi came up with the concept of WAZA which would become a global platform for Japanese products.
In 2011, a small WAZA store opened inside Kinokuniya, the Japanese bookstore in midtown Manhattan. It found an audience, and in 2017 Takayoshi opened a flagship in SoHo with a wider selection. After 2020 the business moved online — but he still wanted a place where people could pick something up and feel its weight before buying it. In September 2021 that took shape at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, where the shop continues today.