Osaka-based art materials manufacture Sakura Color Products Corp. combines culture with sales

 

Cultural News, July 2007

 

 

 

Mr. Teiichi Nishimura, world wide president of Sakura Color Products Corporation, headquartered in Osaka, Japan presented the “Sakura Cup” – the grand champion trophy to Yokozuma Hakuho, winner of the two day event at Neil Blaisdell Arena on June in Honolulu. (Courtesy of Sakura Color Products of America)

 

 

Honolulu – As the highlight of the 2007 Grand Sumo Tournament in Hawaii at Honolulu on June 10, Mr. Teiichi Nishimura, world wide president of Sakura Color Products Corporation, headquartered in Osaka, Japan presented the “Sakura Cup” – the grand champion trophy to Yokozuma Hakuho, winner of the two day event at Neil Blaisdell Arena.

 

   Through the subsidiary, Sakura Color Products of America, Inc., they sponsored the sumo event to promote not only their products but also Japanese culture.

 

   “Our mission is to market our products, that are developed and manufactured in Japan, to art enthusiasts and students that reside in United States and Canada,” explains Marc Chisaki, President and CEO of Sakura Color Products of America located in Hayward, California.

 

    “Many Japanese cultural events have been selected to receive art materials for use in art-related activities by our company. We were happy to sponsor the Grand Sumo Tournament in Hawaii Cup in an effort to highlight our products.”

 

     “It’s a great opportunity to promote the knowledge and experience of sumo in the United States. The mystique and tradition of sumo is educational in explaining the Japanese culture to a new generation of young people and to any newcomers interested in sumo wrestling,” Chisaki states.

 

    Sakura donated Sumo tournament tickets to the local Hawaiian Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, and the Boys Scouts as part of their support of that educational goal.

 

    In 1997, Sakura introduced Sumo Grip, an automatic pencil with a jumbo twist-out eraser and an oversized barrel for more comfortable handling, says Peter Ouyang, vice president of product development and marketing for the company.

 

   “In selecting a name, we look at the marketplace and seek a name that’s symbolic for the product. The children in Hawaii love the Sumo Grip, particularly kids who are interest in Japanese ancestry.” 

 

    For Sakura Color Products Corporation, one of the most innovative art materials and writing instrument manufacturers in the world, utilizing Japanese names for their brands is not unusual.  

 

    “Sakura’s products are well known among school children, fine artists, art students and hobbyists throughout the world,” says Chisaki. “We selected the brand name Koi for Sakura’s watercolor paints because it denotes beauty, clarity, duty and longevity, and it’s a very popular subject to watercolor. Koi also reflects the company’s heritage.”

 

     The top-selling Sakura brands are the Cray-Pas oil pastels, Gelly Roll gel ink pens, KOI Watercolors and Sumo Grip pencils, as well as the Pigma Micron pen that is popular in the hobby-craft field and with anime and manga artists, Chisaki reports.

 

   Sakura receives comments from satisfied customers “all the time,” and has many loyal users, Ouyang says. “Our products are developed to promote art amongst children, and hopefully they choose to select our products throughout their lifetime. That’s an example of using Japanese philosophy: looking at the long term, not just the short-term gain.”

 

     (Takeshi Nakayama contributes to this story.)