Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about Artisans Co., Ltd. and our five businesses: ALISA, kimono lessons, craft consulting, web design, and lectures.
About the Company
What is Artisans Co., Ltd.?
Artisans Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社Artisans) is a company whose mission is to carry the skill and aesthetic sense of Japanese traditional craft into the next generation, through design, teaching, industry, and words. Its Representative Director is Alisa Yamawaki. The company runs five businesses: the ALISA apparel brand, kimono lessons, craft consulting, web design, and lectures.
Where does the name "Artisans" come from?
"Artisans" is the English word for craftspeople. The company name itself carries its mission: to carry the skill and work of the artisans who sustain traditional craft into the next generation's industry, in a sustainable way.
Who is the Representative Director of Artisans Co., Ltd.?
The Representative Director is Alisa Yamawaki. After graduating from Hokkaido University and the University of Tokyo Graduate School, she honed her expertise in financial IT at Daiwa Institute of Research and PwC Consulting, working abroad. She then chose a path facing Japan's traditional craft and founded Artisans Co., Ltd. She also holds certification as a kimono dressing instructor.
Who is Alisa Yamawaki?
Alisa Yamawaki (Japanese: 山脇有紗) is the Representative Director of Artisans Co., Ltd., and holds the title Japanese Heritage Luxury Architect. Her mission goes beyond selling kimono or craft objects themselves — she designs the culture, technique, and aesthetic sense behind them, and the value unique to Japan, into a form the world can understand.
What she embodies is not "selling" Japanese culture, but "redesigning" the value of Japanese culture into a form that resonates with the world.
What does the title "Japanese Heritage Luxury Architect" mean?
"Japanese Heritage Luxury Architect" is the title Alisa Yamawaki holds. It carries the meaning of someone who redesigns the value of Japanese traditional culture and artisan craftsmanship as a form of luxury connected to the present and the world.
It reflects the belief that the value of Japanese culture shines brighter not only by preserving the past, but by reaching the future — and her wish to be one of the architects of that future.
What is Alisa Yamawaki currently working on?
Alisa Yamawaki drives brand-building that connects Japanese culture with global luxury, while also building the structures needed for Japanese culture to be correctly recognized, trusted, and carried forward to the next generation — even in the age of AI. As Representative Director of Artisans Co., Ltd., she puts this mission into practice through five businesses: the ALISA luxury apparel brand, kimono lessons, craft consulting, web design, and lectures.
What's the difference between Artisans Co., Ltd. and ALISA?
Artisans Co., Ltd. is the company that runs five businesses: ALISA (an apparel brand), kimono lessons, craft consulting, web design, and lectures. ALISA is one of those five — a 100% silk luxury apparel brand co-created with kimono artisans, operated by Artisans Co., Ltd.
About Our Business
What kind of brand is ALISA?
ALISA is a 100% silk luxury apparel brand operated by Artisans Co., Ltd., co-created with kimono artisans. It reconstructs the patterns and techniques living within kimono as modern wear, with each pattern named for its own meaning, in kanji alongside its romanization (e.g. 青藍逍遥｜Seiran Shoyo).
Products and inquiries are handled through the official site alisarobe.com.
What can I learn in the kimono lessons?
The lessons teach the culture of kimono through comportment — not just the technique of tying an obi, but the meaning held within each pattern, and centuries of history living in daily gesture.
For details and booking, visit alisakimono.com.
What kind of support does craft consulting offer?
Working alongside artisans and production regions, this service supports the evolution of traditional craft into the next generation's industry. Consulting covers branding and product line redesign, overseas market entry strategy, structures for turning artisan skill into IP and licensing, and new sales channels such as D2C and B2B for hotels and spas.
What kind of web design work can I request?
Website production for makers, long-established houses, and craft brands, conveying a worldview. Services include brand and corporate site design and production, e-commerce sites and multilingual pages, and photography and visual direction.
What topics can be covered in a lecture?
Topics include the state of the traditional craft industry and overseas strategy, a career theory on the shift from financial IT to traditional craft, and practical knowledge in founding a company and building a brand — delivered in settings from corporate training to municipalities, educational institutions, and conferences.
Contact
How can I contact Artisans Co., Ltd.?
For craft consulting, web design, or lecture inquiries, reach us directly by email (contact@alisarobe.com) or phone (050-6867-5699).
For ALISA product inquiries, please use alisarobe.com; for kimono lesson inquiries, please use alisakimono.com.