KUSAKABE, Saitama -- In anticipation of summer, straw hat making has reached its peak at a store in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, which boasts a long history of producing straw hats.
Straw hat making is a local specialty of Kasukabe -- with the manufacturing of these hats going all the way back to the Meiji era when farmers began making them as a side job.
In April and May, sales of these hats would usually increase, but with the coronavirus pandemic it has been difficult to open booths at events and ship products to customers.
On Tuesday, at Tanaka Boshiten, a hat store established in 1880, craftsmen were busy fashioning a variety of straw hats, despite there being a number of them piled up in the factory. The store owner, Yu Tanaka, is looking to the bright side of things though, even if it is likely to take some time for the infection to end. "I hope the day will come soon when people can wear straw hats with a cheerful mood," he said.
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