Dialogue - Yuichi Sasaki [Part 1] -

What doubt taught me

"I've loved rock and punk music since I was in junior high school, so the impact I had when I got my hands on leather was huge. I remember buying a leather wallet when I was in junior high school, and going to a second-hand clothing store when I was in high school and buying a worn-out leather jacket." Over 300 CDs that he has collected since his school days are lined up.

Born and raised in Miyagi Prefecture, Sasaki loved fashion and dreamed of working in a job related to clothing since he was in junior high school.

After learning about the profession of stylist through street snaps in magazines, she moved to Tokyo to attend a fashion school.

"I went to school simply because I wanted to wear what I liked, but I soon realized that it wouldn't lead to a job. I felt inferior to the talented people around me."

After leaving vocational school, I returned to my hometown, but I still couldn't find a clear answer as to what I wanted to do, and I continued working without any sense of satisfaction.

"I was working because I needed money, but I always felt unsatisfied. I thought that in order to get out of this environment, I needed to take a step into a place I didn't know before, so I decided to travel abroad."

Between ideal and reality

"When I was overseas, it was simply fun," he recalls, going to Australia on a working holiday and then wandering around Thailand, India and other places.

"Since I was a teenager, I've been interested in old European things with a worn-down atmosphere. When I traveled around Asia, I came across a lot of such things, things I had never seen before, and from then on I became attracted to the charm of antiques."

He had traveled around Australia and Asia and was just about to spend another year abroad when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred.

"Seeing the footage of familiar places being destroyed, it was hard to put into words, but it left me with a lot of thoughts, so I returned to my hometown and started working in residential design."

Ever since leaving vocational school, Sasaki had always wanted to open a shop in the place that he inherited from his aunt.

He recalls that as he was torn between his ideal future and the reality before him, one word gave him the push he needed.

"My goal of opening a shop was the only thing that remained firm in my mind, and although I was progressing very slowly, I had been thinking about it for a long time, but I knew I couldn't do it alone. After returning to Japan and I started dating my wife, and when I told her I wanted to open a shop, she said she wanted to too, and that was the catalyst that made me decide to do it."
He runs the shop every day together with his wife Momoka. "Looking back, I think the biggest reason I was able to start the shop was because of the people I met. Pottery artists and people who gave me advice about opening a shop. I think I was able to overcome the conflicts because I had people who inspired me, such as my friends who traveled with me."

Free from formalities

He purchases second-hand clothing, and if there is a shape that doesn't quite fit, he cuts and dyes it, taking the time to finish it to create the look and silhouette he desires.
He renovated the space himself and opened "Ibitsu" in 2018 as a shop selling tableware, clothing, and antiques that he has collected.

"Some people might look at it and think it's a 'gallery' or a 'clothing store', but I wanted to create a shop that wasn't bound to a formula as much as possible. I couldn't decide for a long time what I wanted to do, so I just went with the flow. I want the shop to be 'irregular', just like the name of the shop suggests."

Artwork is an expression of life

The "Ibitsu" Exhibition will be held from Saturday, April 17th.

In addition to leather items such as wallets and bags created by Sasaki, this exhibition will also feature clothing that has been dyed and finished from second-hand clothes, as well as antiques that he has collected.

This will be Yuichi Sasaki's first exhibition. How do you feel about this?

"Creating a work of art mysteriously makes me reflect what I have seen and felt up until now. The fact that there is a shop that gives me the opportunity to exhibit like this makes me want to create something I like while incorporating my feelings into the shop. I hope to be able to express through my work and exhibition the same kind of comfortable atmosphere I felt when visiting Utsushiki."