CAUTION: kusakurashop.com is NOT the KuSakura Company website!!!

The kusakurashop.com is NOT the KuSakura website although they are trying to make it look so. It is another company, Seido, owned and operated by French Ex-Pats in Japan. They claim that they "partner" with KuSakura to sell certain products. There are many secondary net sellers in Japan that do this however what they don't do is attempt to brand or make their site look like the official company as these people do. If one doesn't look VERY closely you wouldn't realize you are not dealing with KuSakura unless you look at the "About" section of the website.

Although not uncommon I find this kind of practice reprehensible and deceptive not to mention against the spirit of Judo as we practitioners know it.  Would also add that they are charging a premium compared to purchasing directly from KuSakura.

I think your response is OTT. I understand that they offer s good service and are helpful and knowledgable re the products.

I agree, maybe not best practice but I had no problems when using them and never assumed them to be the official supplier. They never claim to be but maybe they should make it clearer that they are not kusakura themselves.

Hi there,

It has been brought to my attention that the legitimacy of KuSakuraShop.com was questioned here, so please allow me to clarify.

KuSakuraShop was created in close partnership with Hayakawa Textile Industries Co., Ltd. (KuSakura), as an official window for international sales from Japan.
The website design and content was submitted to their national and international sales manager and our conditions and pricing policy are also discussed on a regular basis to better reflects their ideas.

KuSakuraShop is today the first partner of KuSakura. We do not only sell KuSakura products, but we do influence international business policies as well as advise KuSakura on the best practice concerning international sales.

In order to demonstrate our level of connection with KuSakura, we have produced and published the following resources:

- About the KuSakura brand
- About us (Seido Co., ltd)
- KuSakura, World Famous Judo Equipment - Company Presentation (Youtube)
(Not being allowed to post external links, I invite you to use Google or go directly to our website).

I would also like to draw your attention on the fact that those pages are easily available from any page of the KuSakuraShop .com website and that it is clearly stated that KuSakuraShop is part of the Seido Group, managed by Seido Co., Ltd.
Seido Co., Ltd is the number two exporters of martial art equipment in Japan and is specialized in 100% made in Japan products.
Some products sold under the brand Seido are OEM products designed by Seido and manufactured by KuSakura.
Our partnership goes both ways, Seido brings its expertise in international sales to KuSakura, and KuSakura its expertise in product manufacture to Seido.

Regarding the argumentum ad personam:

I wouldn't qualify myself as an expat. Arrived in Japan at 19, I'm now 32. I've done more than half of my studies in Japan and lived my entire adult life in Japan.
Although my background in Judo (and Kendo) is quite light, I've been practicing Aikido for more than 15 years.
I've created Seido 8 years ago, and Seido is one of the biggest martial art equipment companies in Japan. It currently employs 11 persons, most of them being foreign Budoka living in Japan.
In reference to our values, The Seido brand is the sole and only brand that offers exclusively really made in Japan products.
I can only invite you to read our testimony on the SeidoShop .com website.

Feel free to ask if you have any question or remarks on this subject, or any other topic related to KuSakura.

Best
Jordy Delage
Seido's CEO & Founder

Informative and reasonable response, thanks.

Too many enthusiasts lack business sense - think that running a business and informative website is somehow free.

In this day of easy internet searches for alternatives, if you're still in business, then you're providing a service that someone values. Good on you.