Why Japan Matters to eit swim?
One of the things that defines eit swim is our JAPAN Series, where we collaborate with Japanese traditional crafts, materials, and artisans. The collection evolves slightly each season, but indigo dyeing and Edo komon, a traditional Japanese fine-patterned dyeing technique, have become especially iconic parts of the series.
From the beginning, we have had a deep respect for and fascination with the beauty of Japanese traditions, the power of nature, and the philosophy of Shinto.
That feeling grew even stronger as we began traveling around Japan on surf trips. In search of waves, we visited places all across the country and met the people who live there. We experienced the traditions, culture, food, nature, and craftsmanship rooted in each place—and became captivated by the incredible skills and knowledge that have been passed down through generations.
What we want to share through eit swim is not simply the idea that “we should preserve old traditions.”
Instead, we want to show that many of these things can naturally find a place in our lives today. That something can have existed for hundreds of years and still feel stylish, relevant, and fresh when we bring it into the present.
Something that has been around for generations can suddenly look completely new when we see it in the context of our lives today.
We wanted to share more of what makes Japan so special through eit swim. That was the starting point for the JAPAN Series.
Discovering Indigo in Tokushima
The series began with a meeting in Tokushima with Reki, an indigo dyeing practitioner and advocate who lives and works there. We first learned about his work through surfing.
When we visited his studio, he invited us to create our own patterns and experience the entire process of dyeing them with indigo ourselves.
Once the dyeing was complete, we washed the fabric directly in the ocean.
That was when we learned that traditional indigo dye is made entirely from plants, making it safe to return the fabric to the sea. Using something from nature, and allowing it to return to nature—it felt simple and almost obvious.
During that visit, Reki also shared something that stayed with us:
“The river, the ocean, and the mountains are all connected.”
Rain falls on the mountains, water flows down into rivers, and eventually reaches the ocean. The water from the ocean evaporates, forms clouds, and returns to the mountains as rain.
It was a reminder that the world around us exists within one continuous cycle.
Tradition as the Ultimate Form of Sustainability
The more we learn about traditional Japanese crafts, the more we notice that so many of them are built from natural materials and highly refined techniques passed down over generations.
Long before modern science and technology had developed to where they are today, people worked with what was available around them—plants, soil, wood, stone, fibers—and created things in harmony with the nature of their surroundings.
There is a kind of wisdom in that approach: a way of making that never separates itself from nature.
Take materials from nature. Make something from them. Use it. And eventually, return it to nature.
To us, this way of making represents a deeply rooted, incredibly practical form of sustainability—one that has existed long before the word “sustainable” became part of the conversation.
Valuing Japan’s Craftsmanship
At eit swim, we are also committed to producing our swimwear in Japan.
Our swimwear is made at a long-established factory that has been passed down through generations. Beyond their exceptional technical skills, we place enormous trust in the care, precision, and close communication that are so characteristic of Japanese craftsmanship.
Through their hands-on expertise and generations of accumulated knowledge, they create swimwear of the highest quality—pieces designed to be worn and loved for years.
We also believe that producing in Japan means supporting the people whose work, skills, and livelihoods make this craftsmanship possible.
Not “Something from the Past,” but Something We Can Live With Today
For us, it starts simply with sharing our work and letting people discover what we are doing.
If something resonates, we hope they will then pick up an eit swim piece and experience it for themselves. Maybe they will think, “Oh, this is something I can actually bring into my everyday life.”
And if that feeling inspires them to share it with someone else, there is nothing we could ask for more.
Rather than looking at tradition and culture from a distance as something belonging to the past, we want to create opportunities for people to bring a little of it into their own lives.
Maybe that is one of the things we can do today: create a bridge between what has been passed down to us and the way we live now.