Archet - アルシェ 「弓」の専門メーカー

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COMPANY

ABOUT US

Company Name :

Archet Co., Ltd.

Date of Establishment :

1983

Head Office :

2-2-13 Koishikawa, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 112-0002 JAPAN

Factory :

328-3 Nakashinden, Odawara,
Kanagawa, 250-0876, JAPAN

Telephone :

0465-48-8851

President / Rep. Director :

Yuki HORI

Capital :

60 million yen

Number of Employees :

13

Main Business Activities :

String Instruments and Bows
Manufacture

HISTORY

Pygmalius was debut in 1976. It is intended to be the alternatives for the people who wish to own the finest old instruments. It required us to acquire some of the high-end instruments and actually study from them through hands-on experiences.

 World-class Excellent Stradivarius as an ideal, the debut of Pygmalius in 1976 struck many people around the world. Dorothy Delay of Julliard acknowledged its potential and recommended its use to her pupil Midori who later became well known soloist around the world. The brand is admired by many musicians ever since.

Pygmalius THE BEAUTY AND THE FUNCTION

We believe that good violin’s better look good. Pygmalius is after for integration of the beauty and the functionality. We only use well-seasoned quality woods to make our instruments. The recipe of the varnish is tuned to enhance the beauty of its appearance after the coats have been applied. The set-up is another thing Pygmalius prides for. Our skilled craftsman work hard to fine tune and optimize its sound for each instrument. Our production is well controlled and regularly inspected at all levels to ensure high standard Japanese Quality.

Archet co., Ltd. was established with a joint investment by Bunkyo Gakki and Prima Gakki in 1983. We could not find any good quality bows even more so with the bows for the beginning student after Pygmalius had launched. This was when a music education for children had already been developed in Japan. In the absence of makers in Europe who could supply the bows to meet our specifications, we started our bow making with our belief “To make the best bows from Japan “.

However, with our limited knowledge and experience on bow making, the process was far challenging than we had expected: importing Pernambuco woods, tools and equipment, training craftsman etc. Every process required trial-and-error. We acquired the knowledge and technique of French style bow making by training our craftsman in Europe and by inviting prominent bow makers from abroad. At the same time, we contacted some of the leading violinists and asked them to collaborate with us in the development of our bows. By making finer adjustments in accordance to their advices, we were able to make improvements and create a bow that is ideal for players.


Our years of continuous efforts to explore the craft of bow making lead to the purchase of our bow by Pinchas Zukerman in 1995 and earned high reputation for its playability, as he described, “The best playing bow”. Many other top violinists and educators are using our bows ever since.

Since 1990, we have been entering various International Bow Making Competitions. In 1994, one of our employee Kunitake Ohse was awarded a Gold Medal for cello bow in Violin Society of America (VSA) Competition. In 2016, a bass bow made by two of our young craftsman, Takeda and Kamata, won Certificate of Merit, as our high standard craftsmanship continues to be passed onto the next generations.

Archet, CHALLENGE THE LIMITS

Many materials required for bow making, including Pernambuco are now more valuable than ever. We, as a maker of bows in the 21st century, hope to create bows that would best fulfill the demands of the musicians of our time, while being careful in preserving these precious natural materials. It is our promise to ever continue to improve our craftsmanship. We wish to make contributions to the society through bow making with the respect to the great French bow makers of the past. What is a playable bow? What is a better sounding bow? What is a beautiful bow? ──We continue to enhance ourselves to become a leading bow making firm, and our challenges will continue.

PROFILE

Violin maker

Yuki HORI

He joined Bunkyo Gakki Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in 1995 and held a major position in the field of production. In 1998 he was appointed as the director of the REBIRTH project and studied a vast number of fine old instruments including Stradivari.

From 2010, he was tasked with supervising the entire group as an officer, and will also be studying as an international violin dealer. As a maker branded “YUKI HORI, he received the highest grade evaluations including fulfilling production orders from prominent European and American dealers. He assumed the position of Representative Director and President of the three group companies.

Tsukasa SAITO

He is a veteran craftsman having a career of over 25 years. He makes our own brand of instruments under the label “Pygmalius”, while restoring antique instruments from old to modern.

Masaki UCHIDA

He joined us in 1997. He has been engaged in various projects to make exact copies of old instruments. He currently works as a maker of the “Pygmalius” lines of instruments. As a production manager, with his motto “To provide quality instruments to the market”, he tries hard to improve the quality of the products and services. He often holds open workshop in various locations in Japan.

Shinji SETO

He joined us in 1999. He worked as a violin maker of “Pygmalius” for over 10 years in Violino co., Ltd. After the company has been integrated into Archet co, he is now involved in bow making as well. While paying great respects to both old and contemporary instruments over sea, his passion is to create instruments with Japan quality. He also works in the development section and continues his effort for making better instruments.

Ryota KOBAYASHI

He joined us in 1995. Involved in a project to make exact copies of the old masterworks. He has been dedicated himself in copying projects of old instruments called “Reverse” as a craftsman and a developer. He wishes to provide instruments that last in a good condition for a long time. In April 2011, He set up his own workshop. With his vast experiences in Instrument repairs, he conducts several open workshops for stringed instruments in various locations in Japan.




Bow maker

Kunitaka OHSE

Kunitake Ohse embarked on his career as a bow maker in 1983 after years of training at the violin shop of Bunkyo Gakki, Tokyo. He studied abroad in Paris with S. Thomachot in 1990. He has won several internationall awards including a cello bow gold medal in 1994 VSA Competition and a cello bow silver medal in 1995 Manchester International Cello Festival Competition. The shop is in Gokayama which is known for the traditional gasho-zukuri farmhouse architecture.

Ryouichi MURAKAMI

He joined us in 1988. One of the early members to establish the bow making firm of “Archet”. Specializes in roughing, cambering, and carving the bow head and has solid reputation for his sensitive workmanship. As a senior craftsman he handles various grades of bows from the beginners to the professionals.

Tadashi SUZUKI

He joined us in 1997. He graduated Meiji University. He has been trained by Archet’s master craftsman Bow maker Ohse and Nakanishi. He works as a factory manager and dedicate himself to pursue his quest; ” What is an ideal bow for player?” He works passionately as a production control manager. He also works as an adviser on bows in various open workshops.

Hitoshi TAKEDA

He joined us in 1998. He was trained by Archet’s master craftsman Ohse and Nakanishi. He specializes in advanced and professional bows. In 2016, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit for Double bass bow at 22nd Violin Society of America (VSA) International competition. He continues to enhance his skill as a bowmaker to make elegant and highly playable bows in French style.

Satoshi KAMATA

He joined us in 2005. He has been trained by Archet’s master craftsman Ohse and Nakanishi. In 2016, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit for Double bass bow at 22nd Violin Society of America (VSA) International competition.

Masaharu INOMATA

He joined us in 2005. He was trained by Archet’s master craftsman Ohse. He currently makes many of our frogs and buttons. His motto is to “Make violin bows that will make players happy”

Yuki TANAKA

He joined us in 2014. He is a graduate of Daikanyama Music Institute (Current Shimamura Music Technical Academy). He has been trained by Ohse and Kamata. He has been working hard daily to become a future master craftsman of Archet co.. He works as an adviser on bows rehairing in various open workshops.

WORKSHOP

Odawara workshop is surrounded by warm weather and fresh air. There are several number of processes to make a single bow or an instrument. Every steps and processes are carefully inspected. Our string instruments are made with the finest woods and skills. We carry the tradition of fine European craftsmanship and our instruments and bows are sold worldwide including the United States, Switzerland, France with reputations of being fine, handmade stringed instruments.
From Odawara, where many luthiers have visited and exchanged latest ideas on making, we would like to present to the world our unique perspectives on string instruments from Japan.

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