It all started with high heels and a handmade photo case.
Thanks to a kind proposal from Motoya Shoe Store, Atsuko Sakano and others decided to start manufacturing.

In 1948, Sakano Atsuko was unable to earn an income from her one lesson a week, so she thought about it and visited Motoya Shoe Store in Kobe's Sannomiya Center Street with a case of high heels she had brought back from Karuizawa.
The owner, Motoda Ren, was a skilled shoemaker who frequented the Sasaki family, Sakano Atsuko's family home, before the war, and was delighted to receive a visit from the nostalgic Sakano Atsuko.

Sakano Atsuko hesitated, "I've come here today to ask a favor. I had a pair of high heels made for me a long time ago, but I've never worn them, so I was wondering if someone could sell them to me." Motoda's expression became stern as he noticed the shoe case that Sakano Atsuko was carrying. The familiar shoe case was a foreign-made item that had been specially prepared for Sakano Atsuko's dowry.

Motoda prepared this shoe case and stored the women's shoes he had painstakingly crafted in it, but the war broke out just then, and half a dozen high heels were left in a brand new state without ever being worn.

"No, you can't. These are shoes I made for you."

"I'd hate to part with it too, but it was burned in the air raids, so there aren't many things left to sell."
"I understand how you feel, but could you please stop selling this?" Motoda pleaded, leaving Sakano Atsuko at a loss.

Because Kobe has a large foreign population, handmade shoes made in Kobe are known nationwide as "Kobe shoes," and Motoya Shoes in particular is known as a store that makes comfortable, stylish, hand-sewn shoes.

Atsuko Sakano immediately consulted her husband, Michio Sakano, and her classmate, Etsuko Tamura. Etsuko Tamura also suggested talking to her sister-in-law, Mitsuko Tamura. All three of them had studied under famous dressmaking teachers, including Ms. Chiyo Tanaka, and had learned handicrafts and dressmaking techniques as lessons, and they knew the joy of creating things with their own hands.

However, she was worried about opening a store and selling the products, so she consulted her husband, Michio Sakano, who was in favor of the idea without question.

Tamura Etsuko's husband, Tamura Kanjiro, also encouraged women to work more actively than their father and Mr. Onoue had previously advised, saying, "The time has come for women to no longer stay at home." Tamura Mitsuko's husband, Tamura Akira, also agreed. Shortly thereafter, the three husbands, Sakano Michio, Tamura Kanjiro, and Tamura Akira, met to discuss specific ways to actively support women in starting their own craft stores, and they were able to get their cooperation.

They also contacted Murai Miyoko, who had connections with the Sakano couple, and thus the four women came together, divided up the responsibilities, and began their days of hard work creating products with the aim of opening Motoya Shoe Store.