KOBE LEATHER

"Kobe Beef," regarded as one of the world's finest foods, is a title given only to Tajima cattle that meet strict standards. The Kobe Leather Cooperative ensures that none of this gift goes to waste, selecting only raw hides certified as Kobe Beef and crafting them into leather. By registering a serial number for each animal from the raw hide stage and linking it to the pedigree certificate, the leather's origin can be verified with your own eyes—a rare example anywhere in the world of leather whose makers are fully traceable.

This is a cooperative that involves the whole city—not only leather-related businesses, but also Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, and even local media organizations. Actively welcoming outside ideas and expertise, and partnering with makers from different industries—furniture, bags, leather accessories, household goods, and more—it has brought to life one idea after another that could never have emerged from a single production region alone. Through broad collaboration that engages the entire city, it keeps finding new ways to use local materials and expanding the ways leather can be enjoyed.