The Japanese Matte Black Tool Trend Came from the L.A. Car Scene

Yesterday we wrote about the Japanese trend of making tools with a matte black finish. Today we’ve tracked down the origin of that trend.Just over a decade ago Yasunobu Nozaki, the President of Japanese tool brand Fujiya, felt that the market was ready for design-forward tools. “Around [the 2010s], Japanese manufacturing began to shift away from low-cost, mass-production models, and people started to demand value that brings richness to the heart,” Nozaki said in an interview. “In other words, it is important to create products that are market-oriented, listening to users’ opinions, rather than product-oriented, which sells what you have made. That’s where design comes into play. We wanted to create products with high brand value, differentiating them with cool designs that users want.”On a 2015 trip to Los Angeles, Nozaki noticed an automotive trend. “There were matte black cars zipping around town, and it was really cool. When I came back to Japan and casually talked about it with members of the design, marketing, and product development departments, they said, ‘Let’s make a black tool.'” This was pretty against-the-grain of Japanese tool designs of the time. “In the past, black tools were not preferred among craftsmen. For some reason, they had the image of being cheap, and people preferred colors that stand out, such as red and yellow. [But we felt] black is the representative color of luxury. So, I thought it would be interesting to make tools based on black, and add gold as an accent.” In 2016 Nozaki then launched Kurokin (“Black Gold,”), a sub-brand of Fujiya with its own dedicated design department. Their mandate was to produce cool-looking, design-focused tools. Kurokin’s eye-catching tools became a hit on social media; craftspeople carrying and wielding sexy tools became cool. Sales rose, and today the brand has over 130 SKUs. For now, at least, the matte black tool trend remains popular.