Traditional Japanese umbrellas, known as "wagasa", were first introduced during the 6th century. At the peak of their popularity, there used to be more than a dozen wagasa manufacturers producing over 20 million umbrellas per year nationwide.

Hiyoshiya, the only surviving umbrella maker in Kyoto with over 150 years of history teamed up with the designer Oliver Franz to create "ryoten", a modern wagasa to match today's lifestyle. Eco-friendly and high-tech materials have been selected to make "ryoten" a smart and sustainable product with improved durability and new practical features.

The name "ryoten" has been chosen as it means "both" and "weather" in Japanese, since the umbrella can be used for both sunny and rainy weather.

As we would like our customers to enjoy a long relationship with "ryoten", it is designed to outlive conventional umbrellas but can be maintained and repaired should it get damaged, or should a component wear out.