Although the straps are priced affordably, they are not machine made, nor do we use pattern cutters. Each strap is hand-cut, and from hand-penciled stencils. It takes 3x longer for each artisan to hand-make and hand-patina Hiroshige 三色:Sanshoku. With mono-color patina straps, we choose a pre-dyed base leather closest to the color of the final product, and then add the desired shades for the patina.

For Hiroshige 三色:Sanshoku, we have to start with a nude un-dyed base leather, then a base color is applied to the surface followed by a coating to prevent unnecessary color bleeding when the tricolore is applied. Green dye is first applied, and then dried; followed by mustard yellow, then dried; and finally chestnut brown, then similarly dried. A lot of care is taken to ensure that each color transitions to the next color in a seamless manner. Another layer of coating is then applied to ensure color fastness and vibrancy. Anticatura patina technique is then applied to darken the edges of each color - black for the green layer; dark orange for the mustard layer, and dark brown for the chestnut layer. After drying, a final coating is applied to seal and protect the strap and colors.

All Hiroshige straps are engraved with legendary ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige’s original handwritten poem from an original artwork ca. 1840. The poem is loosely translated as: 'The moon indulges into the night in various ways.'

As the Hiroshige script is derived from an original artwork owned by Kurono, it is unique to Kurono and cannot be replicated elsewhere. The strap’s olive green underside is lasered with the official Kurono Tokyo logo.

Although the straps are priced affordably, they are not machine made, nor do we use pattern cutters. Each strap is hand-cut, and from hand-penciled stencils. It takes 3x longer for each artisan to hand-make and hand-patina Hiroshige 三色:Sanshoku. With mono-color patina straps, we choose a pre-dyed base leather closest to the color of the final product, and then add the desired shades for the patina. 

For Hiroshige 三色:Sanshoku, we have to start with a nude un-dyed base leather, then a base color is applied to the surface followed by a coating to prevent unnecessary color bleeding when the tricolore is applied. Green dye is first applied, and then dried; followed by mustard yellow, then dried; and finally chestnut brown, then similarly dried. A lot of care is taken to ensure that each color transitions to the next color in a seamless manner. Another layer of coating is then applied to ensure color fastness and vibrancy. Anticatura patina technique is then applied to darken the edges of each color - black for the green layer; dark orange for the mustard layer, and dark brown for the chestnut layer. After drying, a final coating is applied to seal and protect the strap and colors.

All Hiroshige straps are engraved with legendary ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige’s original handwritten poem from an original artwork ca. 1840. The poem is loosely translated as:'The moon indulges into the night in various ways.'

As the Hiroshige script is derived from an original artwork owned by Kurono, it is unique to Kurono and cannot be replicated elsewhere. The strap’s olive green underside is lasered with the official Kurono Tokyo logo.

In homage to Hajime-sensei’s lineage from a family of samurai sword makers on his patrilineal side, the long end of the strap is hand-cut obliquely to mimic the edge of a wakizashi katana. This samurai blade shape symbolizes strength, power and the bond between a samurai and his blade, or in this case, the irreplaceable relationship formed between the collector and his watch. 

All Hiroshige Straps now feature the second generation of our quick-release spring-bars to allow for quicker changing in and out of straps according to the collector’s style-of-the-season, minimizing lug scratches and hassle. The tensile strength of the spring-bars has been doubled for further durability and sturdiness. 

The Hiroshige Strap is made of selected vegetable-tanned soft calf leather – both for the topside leather upper, and for the leather lining on the underside.

We specifically had an aim to create as soft and supple as possible a watch strap, so as to make the strap feel as though it is an extension of your own skin. Additionally, the vegetable tanning process allows for a high degree of hypoallergenic properties.