Photo/Illutration Factory manager Hiromi Tamazawa, right, poses with her sister Hidemi Tateshita, who is director of production, in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, on Nov. 11. (Erina Ito)

KITAKAMI, Iwate Prefecture--Upmarket cashmere knit sweaters produced at a factory in this northeastern city are warming wearers across the globe as they expand sales channels for this plush piece of Japanese culture. 

The custom-order sweaters are made by workers who pay close attention to the colors and knitting patterns. The products are so high in quality that they don’t even shrink in the washing machine.

Part of the lineup went on sale this past autumn at a high-end menswear outlet based in Britain.

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Cashmere knit sweaters of various colors and designs (Provided by UTO Co.)

The cashmere knitwear is being manufactured by Tokyo-based UTO Co., which was founded by Toshikazu Uto, the company president, in 1992.

UTO has been operating a factory in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, since 2011. The company opened a new factory in Kitakami in April in a wooden building previously used by the now-closed Kuroiwa Elementary School.

UTO’s cashmere knitwear products are available in a broad range of sizes from 3S to 4L (5L and larger sizes are negotiable) and 25 color options. Orders can be placed with optional adjustments in body length and sleeve length.

That wide availability has been made possible by the use of top-grade cashmere materials and the skills of the workers.

HIRING LOCAL WORKERS

UTO has been actively hiring and developing young and female workers from the local community.

“We currently have 13 workers, of whom 12 are women,” said Hiromi Tamazawa, the factory manager. “We are carrying out all processes, from knitting to finishing, in an integrated manner here.”

UTO is using computer-controlled knitting machines made in Japan.

“They are so well-designed that they can be used to make practically all knitting patterns that are circulating in the market now,” said Tamazawa, 41.

Workers program the machines separately for every single fabric that they knit to order.

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This computer-controlled knitting machine made in Japan, seen in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, on Nov. 11, can be used to make almost all knitting patterns that are circulating in the market, officials said. (Erina Ito)

Next comes a “linking” process for seaming pieces of the fabric together, wherein the elastic fabrics are joined stitch by stitch, with expert skills and perseverance, into the shape of a sweater.

The products are finally washed and dried naturally, according to the weather, to ensure a fluffy feel to the touch. UTO officials said it takes them a month or so from the time they receive an order until they deliver a finished product to the client.

Hidemi Tateshita, Tamazawa’s younger sister, serves as director of production.

Tateshita, 38, said she has always enjoyed making objects since she was very young. She has been a knitting worker since she graduated from high school.

Tateshita is also putting much effort into developing younger workers. She was officially commended by the prefectural government in 2024 as an “outstanding young technician.”

DIFFERENTIATED WITH ADDED VALUE

UTO’s sweater products cost more than 60,000 yen ($390) at a time when cashmere sweaters are available for less than 10,000 yen from fast fashion brands.

The company has successfully differentiated its products by attaching high added value to them.

“Our products don’t even shrink in a household washing machine,” Tamazawa said. “We are making sure the cashmere will feel just right to the touch two or three years after reaching the customers. Some of our clients have continued to wear our products for more than 10 years.”

She added: “The cashmere in our products ‘grows older,’ so I hope our customers will enjoy the way it changes over the years in a way that only natural materials do.”

That approach of UTO to quality control has been appreciated so highly that it became the first Japanese knitwear brand that Huntsman, a luxury menswear outlet and a purveyor to the British royal household, has decided to handle.

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These cashmere knit sweaters feel soft to the touch. (Provided by UTO Co.)

UTO officials said the company had sold its products in eight countries and regions, including France and Switzerland, in 2024.

Tamazawa, Tateshita and other workers are toiling without fanfare, day after day, in the spacious wooden factory building repurposed from a schoolhouse.

“We hope to deliver our Kitakami-made cashmere knit products as pieces of Japanese culture to the rest of the world,” Tamazawa said.

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