Kito Hoists Help Maintain Traditional Japanese Arts

Apr. 22.2025

We visited Soka City in Saitama Prefecture to talk with Kikuchi Fusuma Manufacturing, which makes wallpapers, fusuma papers and other interior materials. From the design stage through printmaking, printing, embossing, gluing and packaging, experienced craftspeople using specialized machines carefully carry out a broad range of daily production processes

The sliding partition panels called fusuma are traditionally integral to every Japanese home, but today we see far fewer of them. We hear that only two plants in Japan are making fusuma with the same kind of rotary press that Kikuchi Fusuma uses.

Inside the plant we found many Kito products in use, including 45 manual and electric hoists. The company’s review is unreservedly positive: “Kito products are sturdy and durable, so some of them have been working here for many years. They are easy to use, and we all appreciate them.”

While passing down traditional Japanese decoration methods, they are also applying modern technologies like large inkjet printers to create up-to-date products, mainly for home centers. The many hoists, both the latest and ‘historic’ models, make the plant look like a Kito-product museum!