About Gekkoso
Since its founding in 1917, Gekkoso has pursued a creative way of life by creating a place where people from all walks of life can freely interact through authentic craftsmanship and the moving experience of color and sound.
By maintaining independence as a family-run business for three generations, carefully selecting the finest materials, and inheriting and developing original manufacturing know-how born from countless trials and errors, Gekkoso offers the world the aesthetics and refinement of Made in Japan. This is the mission that the Maison of Gekkoso must fulfill in every era.
From art supplies to clothing, tableware, and furniture, Gekkoso continues its steady journey toward a new era while expanding the boundaries of creation. Even as the world undergoes great changes, Gekkoso’s identity, which began with the production of purely Japanese paints, will never be lost.
Guided by the philosophy that a sense of color and sound are treasures of life, Gekkoso offers a way of living that respects the unique Japanese qualities of the land, culture, and language. We bring you enduring, reliable value and moments in harmony with an ever-changing era.
Origin of the Store Name
“From the moon in the great sky, you came
shining in the day, shining in the night”
The store name “Gekkoso” comes from this poem composed by the poet couple Tetsu-kan and Akiko Yosano, who adored the founder, Hyozou Hashimoto. Everything from paints, brushes, palettes, and sketchbooks to the bags used to carry them is an original product.
The trademark “Horn Calling Friends” was conceived together by a group of cultural figures centered around the Yosano couple, including about 30 others such as Kaoru Koyama, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Fujimura Shimazaki, Takeo Arishima, the first Sarunosuke, Ritsuko Mori, Takeji Fujishima, and Saburo Okada. It embodies the wish that many friends would gather to the sound of the horn.
Good sake, wonderful music, and art. Above all, the best companions. This is the unchanging scenery of Gekkoso, past and present.
Original Paint Development
Paints that continued to be manufactured even during the war
As far back as 1940, Gekkoso discovered the manufacturing techniques for the world’s standard colors, ultramarine blue and cobalt blue, and succeeded in producing all raw materials, starting with pigments, in-house. This gave birth to the first purely Japanese paint. Later, Gekkoso invented the new colors cobalt violet and pink (Gekkoso Pink). This color won first place in the 1971 International Oil Painting Competition, and the French newspaper Le Monde praised it as “a miracle born in a country other than France.”
Gekkoso Bespoke
By valuing communication with artists and completing each product one by one through dialogue, all the products Gekkoso offers eventually became originals. At its heart is a simple desire to be of service to customers and authentic craftsmanship.
Beginning with the development of the first domestically produced cobalt blue, which had been a long-held dream of painters after the war, Gekkoso has created titanium white and brush-rinsing containers on order from Genichiro Inokuma, original-design table sets, and sketchbooks for light sketching that were commercialized at the request of Konosuke Matsushita. Each product has its own story of ingenuity, failure, and joy, and Gekkoso has obtained 26 patents. The light sketching sketchbooks and aluminum palettes have received the Good Design Long-Life Award.
This is truly a history of bespoke, receiving orders directly from customers and responding with custom-made products. The word “bespoke” comes from the English “be-spoken,” meaning “to talk through.” Transcending the boundaries of an art supply store, Gekkoso has continued to create products that cherish the essence of art by talking through with craftsmen in various fields, including furniture, stationery, clothing, and miscellaneous goods.
Gekkoso Bespoke will continue to evolve. That is the DNA of Gekkoso. Our true role is to create products with timeless universal value, reliable craftsmanship backed by a proven track record, and a constant attentiveness to the voices of the times.
The Revival of the Salon
In 2013, Gekkoso opened the salon Tsuki no Hanare. Visitors can enjoy live music every night and contemporary wall exhibitions updated every two weeks, making it a space where even those with little connection to art supplies can easily experience art. It has also appeared in the media many times and has attracted attention as a rare specialty Creole restaurant in Tokyo.
Tsuki no Hanare Website
The Birth of Gekkoso Farbe
In June 2021, Gekkoso renovated its Saitama paint factory into an artist-in-residence facility where artists can live for a set period and create works in an atelier attached to the factory. It reopened as a multi-purpose facility combining a factory, atelier, accommodation, cafe bar, and mini-stage.
Creation by artists has already begun at the atelier, and events are held regularly. Local residents also use it as a place where families can easily gather.
We hope that interactions between artists, paint craftsmen, and local residents, as well as between the regions of Ginza and Saitama, will foster a place that transcends genres, like a public art center.
Gekkoso Farbe Open!