A metalworking company in Koga, Fukuoka Prefecture, has gained a good reputation through social media for its free templates to create handmade masks.
Nadayoshi Co. has sent out over 2,500 free templates, an idea that came about after President Takehiko Ueki heard from his wife, Masumi, who is also a manager at the company, that a life insurance company sales person could not find any masks. The person said she had a paper mold, but that it had a kink in it and was hard to use.
Ueki, 49, looked online to study the structure of masks. He used a laser to cut a 1.1-millimeter-thick piece of stainless steel usually used for kitchen sinks or truck fenders. He then used the cutout to make a prototype for a mask template. He added little gaps into the metal for where lines can be drawn to mark the place for the thread to be sewn in the mask and, through trial-and-error, found ways to make the size of the mask adjustable. Ueki capitalized on metal being heavy and hard to bend, and made four sizes of mask templates.
"If you want a mask template, we will send you one," the company posted on its Facebook page in April, with recipients only having to pay for shipping. Soon, the company was inundated with phone calls for templates from all over, including individuals, hospitals and welfare institutions. Order requests came from across the country, with one person in Germany asking that a mold be sent to parents in Oita Prefecture.
At first, Nadayoshi could not keep up with the order requests and employees spent many weekends and holidays working. Employees processed the templates with a grinder, so people receiving them would not cut their hands on the molds, and polished them to ensure they would not tear the cloth for making masks.
Masumi Ueki, 47, enlisted the help of her friends to answer phone calls and take down names.
Nadayoshi sent the templates free in the hopes that they could help lower the number of those infected with the novel coronavirus and help protect lives. The templates were sent with the message: "Bringing masks to important people, joining our hearts as one, we can overcome this difficult time together."
When Kitakyushu suffered a cluster of infections, the company sent mask templates to schools in the city.
Since the spread of the coronavirus in Japan has slowed, the company is no longer accepting requests for mask templates as they focus on making air purifiers for operating rooms in hospitals.
As many fear there might be a second wave of the coronavirus in Japan, the company hopes everyone can protect themselves with a handmade mask so that medical institutions will be less burdened and medical professionals on the front lines can more easily receive surgical masks.
When people came directly to the company to receive a template, Yuichi Yoshida, a 39-year-old quality control manager, told them, "Please use this template to make as many masks as you can and give them to people in need."
From around the nation, Nadayoshi has received over 240 thank-you notes.
"It is a precious opportunity to be so needed and appreciated by others," Takehiko Ueki said. "We are the ones who are grateful.
"It was hard work, but I'm so glad we did it."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
