Happy New Year 2025! We look forward to working with you again this year.

Happy New Year for 2025. We look forward to your continued support this year.

What kind of year will this be? I'm excited about the new year. I'm sure you all are also feeling refreshed.

This year marks the 13th anniversary since we started Itoshiro Youhinten in May 2012. (My eldest son, who was born in December 2012, will turn 13 this year, so we are the same age.)

Many things have changed in 13 years. The number of elderly people in the community has decreased, which makes me feel sad and uneasy. However, over the past decade, the number of new residents has increased, and we have more fellow parents, which is reassuring.

The number of staff has also gradually increased, and it's truly exciting to be able to spread the clothing styles inherited here with the same aspirations. We work together every day with joy.

We also launched a certified instructor system, and Tatsuke workshops are held nationwide. It's truly heartwarming and a wonderful connection to have comrades all over the country.

I feel like we are in a phase where a small seed has sprouted into a small seedling, then grown vigorously into a larger plant with flourishing leaves. From now on, we will do one thing at a time to make it bloom and give birth to new seeds.

Just as we provide fertilizer and water, we also walk together, encourage, and nurture it so that it doesn't lose to the cold or strong winds... This business, which started small, feels like raising a child, from infancy to toddlerhood, and then to a boy (or girl).

As my own child-rearing has settled down a bit, I want to move forward with what I should do and what I want to do without hesitation. I want to convey our feelings through the hearts of our grandmothers and think about how to connect them to the next generation, carefully, one step at a time.

While achieving our specific goals for this year, I want to walk forward with a bright future in mind, always keeping a smile on my face.

We look forward to your continued support this year.