Business · Companies · 2 hrs ago
Japanese chestnut farmers revive a family tool for peeling shells
Chestnut farmers Rie and Kazuhiko Kameoka revived Kurimasa, a tool for peeling chestnuts in Uchiko, Ehime Prefecture, western Japan.
The iron tool was handed down in Kazuhiko’s family from his father’s generation and was once used by people who peeled chestnuts at home for extra work.
The couple brought it back in 2020 after Rie saw how well it worked, and they have since sold more than 1,000.
Kurimasa can make peeling quicker and safer than using a knife, though it takes practice to avoid damaging the chestnut’s thin inner skin.
The hard shells of chestnuts can put people off cooking them at home, so the tool may make the autumn food easier to prepare.
One tool costs 3,300 yen, including tax, and is available through the couple’s website.
A chestnut-farming couple in Uchiko, Ehime Prefecture, has revived a traditional tool for peeling chestnut shells.
Rie and Kazuhiko Kameoka launched the revived Kurimasa tool in 2020.
The iron tool was passed down in Kazuhiko’s family from his father’s generation.
The couple has sold more than 1,000 tools nationwide, largely through word of mouth.
Kurimasa costs 3,300 yen, including tax, and is available through the couple’s website.
- Who
- Chestnut farmers Rie and Kazuhiko Kameoka.
- What
- They revived and sell Kurimasa, a tool for peeling chestnuts’ hard outer shells.
- When
- The revived version launched in 2020.
- Where
- Uchiko, Ehime Prefecture, Japan.
- Why
- Rie wanted to share a simple, effective tool used by local chestnut farmers.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Rie married Kazuhiko and was impressed by how effective the family’s chestnut-peeling tool was.
The couple launched a reproduced version of Kurimasa.
The couple had sold more than 1,000 pieces nationwide.
- Tool name
- Kurimasa
- Launch year
- 2020
- Sales
- More than 1,000 pieces nationwide
- Price
- 3,300 yen, including tax
- Orchard area
- About 1.5 hectares
- Location
- Uchiko, Ehime Prefecture, Japan