Approximately 95% of the domestic market share, approximately 1 in 6 people working in the eyeglass industry in the employed population, and 531 businesses (according to the 2008 Industrial Statistics Survey and Sabae City's own tally).
Sabae is famous not only in Japan but also around the world as a production area for glasses.
Sabae's relationship with glasses dates back to 1905. In order to improve the lives of locals with heavy snow and no industry in winter, Gozaemon Masunaga, who was born in Fukui City, invited craftsmen from Osaka and Tokyo as a side job during the agricultural off-season and taught the villagers his eyeglass manufacturing techniques. It is said to be the beginning.
Since then, he has continued to improve his manufacturing skills by leveraging his manual dexterity, and to develop creative new materials and new functions.
What made Sabae famous around the world was probably the world's first mass production of titanium frames in the 1980s.
The fact that we began mass producing titanium, which is now considered a world standard material, more than 30 years ago was a good opportunity to showcase Sabae's technological capabilities to the world. Since then, Sabae has established itself as a production area for high-quality glasses.
Craftsmen are essential when talking about Sabae. Because it is based on a division of labor system, it has many specialists in each field. The glasses manufactured by combining these are truly special models. This is also one of Sabae's strengths.
Of course, there are large companies that handle all processes in-house, but the base is still the craftsman. Their common feature is nothing but a high level of skill.
In recent years, some companies are taking on the challenge of making use of their high technological capabilities in the medical field, which processes titanium materials, and in the field of manufacturing parts for electronic devices.
“Sometimes I ask other craftsmen to do some of the steps, but I mostly do everything from 1 to 10 of making glasses.I mainly make plastic frames, but I also make combination frames.”
(Plastic frame/combination frame craftsman Takaaki Uchida)
"I manufacture the molds and tools needed to make glasses. I'm nervous at the moment when I open the mold. Even if it's 0.1mm different, it will be mass-produced."
(Mold craftsman Isao Hattori)
"We manufacture metal and combination metal frames. When in doubt, we always try to choose the option that will benefit the customer."
(Metal processing craftsman Masahiko Niwa)
``Unlike shooting, it is difficult to make sure that the core fits properly in the center of the board when sticking it together.However, the finished product is beautiful.''
(Interlining craftsman Mutsumi Fujita)
"We handle everything from polishing the cell frame to assembling it. There is a lot of delicate work involved, but we do everything we can to ensure customer satisfaction."
(Polishing craftsman Takemi Igarashi)
*Source: Takarajimasha MOOK book on understanding glasses
