Today, we’re peeling back the curtain on one of the cycling industry’s most experienced, globally recognized, and revered manufacturers of superlative bicycle components that continue to define and stand the test of time. Join the SimWorks crew for a trip inside Nitto for thoughtful insights into their commitment to traditional craft and manufacturing processes, their uniquely Japanese philosophy on quality and dedication to process, and how their past continues to direct their future.

The humble bicycle is an artifact of collective consciousness anywhere you look in Japan; from Keirin as a public sport, to the responsibilities of law enforcement and municipal workers, or the ubiquitous mamachari as a means of daily life; the pass hunters and cyclotourists chasing topography in the misty mountainsides. Even in today’s modern Japan, bicycles are an ingrained thread in the fabric of many individual’s lives. They serve an infinite multitude of purposes, provide countless solutions, and help to give shape to the dynamics of Japanese life.

Nitto of Japan has been involved in almost every aspect of bicycle culture in Japan going back more than 100 years. They are known worldwide for their history and skill in manufacturing products tailored for the past century of evolving cyclists’ needs. Nitto is still operating today in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture.

Nitto is that rare factory that is revered by bike enthusiasts not only in Japan but around the world, universally known and somehow simultaneously shrouded in mystique. In a century of ever-evolving bicycle culture and landscapes, the NITTO mark continues to signify quality, durability, and utility, and it continues to stand the test of time.

Recently, the SimWorks crew visited our manufacturing partner at the Nitto Factory, for a meeting regarding new product development. We had visited this factory many times before, but each visit reinvigorates us in our work- as it’s within these walls that the stories and the history and the traditions of Japanese manufacturing are brought back to life each day. There’s always a sense of pride and marvel in the air there. It doesn’t feel hyperbolic to characterize the products they make as “New Japanese Folk Crafts.” It is this pursuit of craft, and the cultivation of skills, and processes, and a deference to materials that resonate as distinctly Japanese. This cultivation is rooted and focused in the ideals of Mingei.

What is Mingei?

Mingei products are folk crafts; that is, things made by the “working hands of the people.” In the early 1920s, shortly after Nitto was founded, Muneyoshi Yanagi advocated for the Mingei movement. It was a call to rediscover the value of “handmade” work in an age of increasing industrialization. Perhaps the nearest equivalent in the West would be the Arts and Crafts movement advocated by England’s William Morris in the 1880s. Strictly defined, it refers to manufacturing that predates industrialization, but in this day and age when most manufacturers have moved their production bases overseas, Nitto’s commitment to Japanese manufacturing traditions, technologies, and hand work, as well as their determination to continue to produce their products domestically in Japan, have reached the level of Mingei status.

This concept of Mingei comes from the spirit of Zen. Soetsu Yanagi was inspired by Mingei after studying with Daisetsu Suzuki, a master of Eastern philosophy who influenced American beat literature and hippie culture. Zen spirituality and Japanese manufacturing are closely related, but we can revisit that notion at a later date.

Fukushima Prefecture, where the Nitto factory is located, is located in the Tohoku region of Japan, which receives a good amount of snow in the winter. It is an area where people have been actively engaged in hand crafts through the winter months since ancient times. These nuances and regional factors likely informed Nitto’s foundations, and helped to set a path and a tone for their mission and how they go about their work today.

Elegantly bent handlebars, beautifully proportioned fillet braids, and lean TIG welding are signatures of Nitto’s products from their inception, and these hallmarks are just as visible today. All of the products they produce are given shape first in the human mind, and ultimately through the labor of human hands.

The Beauty of Utility

When we look at Nitto products, we are enchanted by their subtle and simplistic beauty, but they are not made as jewelry or works of art or for the elite.

Honest folk crafts have an intrinsic “beauty of utility.” “Beauty of utility” is a phrase that Muneyoshi Yanagi employed emphatically. This is the idea that only “use through practicality” can produce true beauty. This phrase is fundamental for Nitto products, which are thoroughly practical and free of unnecessary ornamentation.
Nitto’s products remind us that the true beauty of a product lies not in how aesthetically pleasing it is, but in how well it is made for its intended purpose.

Nitto manufactures a large number of products, spanning a vast catalogue over the years – each is beautiful in its own right. This is the result of strict safety standards and quality control in pursuit of “beauty in utility.” It is no easy task to meet Nitto’s safety standards. After long periods of stress testing, only products that meet stringent standards are manufactured. These standards are infectious for SimWorks, as they have become the starting point and the expectation for our pursuits in producing products across all of our lines.

Throughout the factory at Nitto, you may encounter a written reminder, or meditation of sorts that sets the intention and objectives for their manufacturing processes.

1. In this global, borderless market, we sell safety first and foremost.
2. We create products that are beautiful, lightweight and functional.
3. We continue to study and refine our skills in order to create superior products.
4. We deliver products that satisfy our customers and contribute to the international community.

It also solemnly states, “We aim to be the world’s number one handlebar manufacturer.”

Superior Technology

An essential element of Nitto quality are the skills of experienced craftsmen.

The skilled craftsmanship of unheralded artisans is on constant display in every corner and corridor of this space. The cumulative time and range of experience amongst the workforce there cannot be overstated. Nitto is worthy of respect for their dedication to developing new products and sustaining existing product offerings while employing the full use of reliable technology and the knowledge they have cultivated over their illustrious history, without stumbling into a nostalgia trap. They are also proactively devoting resources to aiding SimWorks in overcoming our own challenges and achieving our own goals. Perhaps not surprisingly, they have ceased using the automatic welding machines they introduced in the 1970s and reverted back to making everything by hand. Trust in one’s hands is a faith exercise, and it has carried them this far.

Many of Nitto’s employees are craftsmen and women who have honed their skills for decades, but recently, younger people have been joining the company wishing to learn these time-tested trades; and the necessary and inevitable transmission of skills is ongoing. It is understood by Nitto that the future success of their business, and the furthering of their ideals lies with the dedication and efforts of the next generation of Nitto employees.

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It’s impressive, and somewhat surprising that many of these fantastic products are the result of local and internal ingenuity, rather than the work of famous product designers.

In every industry around the world, perceived value is often found in products designed by notable and lauded designers and builders; but Nitto distributes reliable products made by nameless designers and craftsmen under the name “Nitto.” The fact that they are not designer-centered, instead carrying an intentional anonymity, is notable, admirable, and a principle that feels distinctly Japanese.

Yanagi Muneyoshi also expanded on his principles with the following definition of Mingei:

• Practicality: It is not something that is made for aesthetic purposes, but has some clear, practical purpose.
• Anonymity: Made by an unknown craftsman, not by a particular artist or designer.
• Plurality: Created in sufficient numbers to meet the demands of the people.
• Affordability: It is priced so as to be accessible to the masses.
• Workability: Skilled techniques are acquired through repeated labor.
• Regionality: Each region is rich in local color, with unique tones and shapes rooted in the lifestyles of each region.
• Division of labor: To produce large quantities, collaboration among multiple people is necessary.
• Tradition: Traditions are protected by the accumulated skills and knowledge of our predecessors.
• Other Influences: It is supported not by the will of an individual, but by great invisible forces such as the climate, the blessings of nature, and the power of tradition.

Every tenet of this statement applies to the Nitto factory. In this chaotic age of mass production and consumption, they have managed to achieve what may at first glance seem to be contradictory goals: Crafting each product with meticulous hand work while offering them at prices that are accessible and affordable for people who understand the quality quotient.

It is thanks to Nitto’s dedication and excellence that SimWorks is able to supply bicycle parts from Japan. We have been fortunate to have been able to collaborate with North American brands and producers in recent years, but we are devout in our belief that our most important mission is to globally promote products made with Japanese values so that the world may learn about the history, context, and revered manufacturing traditions of this special place.