Our theme is “Battle”
We don’t make products simply to be sold;
we create works-of-art that will last one hundred years.

We develop products under our trademarked brand, ART OF WAR®.
ART OF WAR®, takes its inspiration from the title of the classic Chinese treatise, ”Art of War” by Sun Tzu.
The brand concept is based on the idea that universal beauty exists in the struggle between life and death.
We are committed to creating works-of-art that will be appreciated around the world one hundred years from now.
We avoid easy routes-to-market by ignoring short-term trends and focus instead on developing products that are sustainable over the long-term.

Outline of Business

We provide consulting services and undertake the planning, development, modeling, molding, production and sales of three-dimensional figures. We plann and development of film and art projects. We offer OEM production capabilities and create and manage original character licensing programs.

With a specialty in historical research and arts and crafts production, we are able to produce and develop full-scale content in-house and advise on all related subjects.

Our Passion: Pursuing Authenticity in Artifacts, Location and Substance

We are continually researching and working on projects with the aim of preserving and passing on the beauty and techniques of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1574–1600) for future generations. These projects include a collaboration with Kyoto Dyeing and Technical Federation to reproduce a Sengoku Period jinbaori, a surcoat that covers armor and a kosode, a garment with small wrist openings.

Conveying the Beauty of Japanese Formative Arts to the World

Yutaro Sakakibara, president of Kensin delivered a lecture in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2019. He introduced traditional Japanese craftsmanship, its roots and his in-depth knowledge of Japanese art accumulated over many years of research. Mr. Sakakibara is active in widely disseminating this knowledge through lectures and interviews in Japan and around the world.

The Importance of Story

Many top-ranking Japanese companies remain challenged when trying to market products and services. Some of the issues they face are:
“We have good products and are confident in their quality, so why aren’t they selling?”
“We offer a great service, but we can’t communicate it well.”
“It’s hard to convey our uniqueness when there are so many competitors.”

Japan’s manufacturing and service sectors are among the best in the world, but they are unable to effectively communicate their merits. We believe the reason is because the story behind the product or service is not properly presented to the consume

The Keywords Cute and Beautiful Don’t Sell Products Anymore

In today’s consumer markets, competition is rife and companies can no longer rely on cute and beautiful products to differentiate themselves.

As a company, we have consistently pursued the concept of “battle”. To us, this represents the charming beauty of the formative arts that emerges from the ultimate functional beauty that can make the difference between life and death. With this solid concept in place, we provide products and services that will appeal to customers for a long time.

For over twenty years, we have been the only company in Japan
that specializes in the high-quality, small-volume production of polystone figures.

Our skilled artisans create figures that are recognized as
the best works of artistic craftsmanship of their type in the world.
We utilize a proprietary leading production management system to achieve this result.

We can produce complex and intricate shapes in their original three-dimensional form and can create advanced modeling that is not limited by molds, even for small lot orders. We also have many skilled craftsmen, all trained in-house, with more than fifteen years of experience in various fields.

Furthermore, we possess a precise modeling and painting technique using a brush that cannot be imitated by any other company. Our excellence in modeling and coloring, which requires a high level of realism and perfection, achieves the highest quality of product finish of its kind in the world.

Material Used for Works of Art

We use Polystone (stone powder mixed with resin) as the main material for our products. Polystone is resistant to deterioration over time, is excellent for reproducing detailed modelling features, and has a stone-like texture and weight that is perfect for sculpting works of art.

Polystone is far superior to PVC and other plastic materials used by other companies in terms of fading and deformation over time. The stone-like finish and weight as a result of the stone powder in the material gives polystone figures a special sense of luxury.

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History and Approach

Febuary,1997
Established the world’s first retail store specializing in character figures, that specialize only in high-priced art and craft items

Established the brand, ART OF WAR™, a name that takes its inspiration from the title of the classic Chinese treatise, Art of War by Sun Tzu.
ART OF WAR™ is registered as a trademark in Japan, the EU, USA, China, Korea, and other countries.
When the company was established, we started out as the world’s largest maker of made-to-order garage kit figures based on licensed content from companies such as Hakusensha, Tsuburaya Productions, Time Warner Entertainment, and Capcom.
Our showroom was designed by a leading architect who mainly specializes with commercial architecture projects such as jewelry stores.

1998
Representing the creative beauty of the formative arts of the Sengoku Period

We collaborated with Mr. Hiromichi Miura, an advisor to The Association for the Research and Preservation of Japanese Helmets and Armor,
to create a uniquely designed one-quarter scale replica of military armor.
The item, was well received around the world as being representative of the beauty of the formative arts of the Sengoku Period.

New Challenges:
We are reproducing the world-renowned beauty of armor from the Sengoku Period.
It is important to note that although armor has been partially preserved as weapons, it has rarely been accurately reproduced as fully-clothed figures.
What concerns us is that most of the armor of famous military commanders have been lost, so it is difficult to imagine what they really might have looked like.
We therefore started researching and creating armors to preserve the beauty of the Azuchi-Momoyama period for future generations.

2001

We were certified as a management innovation company by the Japanese government in 2001 in recognition of our reputation as a cultural creation business

We planned and produced faithful reproductions of “Uesugi Kensin (Mogami Dogusoku )”, Sanada Yukimura (Buddha Dogusoku )”, “Oda Nobunaga” statues using the same materials and manufacturing methods as the actual armor of the time. We achieved this through intensive discussion with various parties and analysing what the production process would have been

2006

Held exhibitions entitled “The Beauty of Azuchi-Momoyama Period” throughout Japan to showcase the two and three dimensional aesthetic form of arts and crafts from that period

2007

© Hara Tetsuo

Started planning and production of original Buddhist statues designed by Hara Tetsuo – the illustrator of the manga, Fist of the North Star, and other titles – and production of paintings, hanging scrolls and drinking vessels

2008