"Shoe Shine Craftsman Exploration" Part 20 Mr. Soshiya Fukuda (Brift H)

This is the series "Shoe Shine Craftsman Exploration". There are many wonderful shoe shine craftsmen in the world! The 20th installment is Fukuda Soshiya, who works at Brift H Aoyama store. A salesperson who sold sneakers at ABC Mart discovered shoe shine and on his days off, he would lose track of time and shine shoes all day long... This is the story of the most shoe shine lover at Brift H.

-What made you decide to become a shoe shiner?

It all started back when I was working at my previous job at ABC Mart. ABC Mart has a lot of sneakers, but there are four categories for sales: "Sports," "Women's," "Kids," and "Leather." My work changed from sports to leather in my third year after becoming a full-time employee. I started to get interested in leather shoes, and when I wondered what to wear, I wasn't really interested in the leather shoes sold at the store where I was working. I'd always loved fashion, so I wanted to be particular about choosing leather shoes, but after doing some research, I found out that ABC Mart had a rule that you could wear shoes in the store if you had sold them in the past.

After further research, I found out that they also sold PARABOOT and TRICKER'S, so I bought PARABOOT first. They were navy Chambords. That was the first time I bought leather shoes. I knew that leather shoes would last longer than sneakers, so I decided to take better care of them. I decided to start by getting the tools, so I went to Tokyu Hands and bought a set. At the time, everything was M. MOWBRAY, and I used stain remover as a cleaner.

At first, I looked up shoe polishing on YouTube and tried to imitate what I saw, but it didn't work at all. Then, as I watched various YouTube channels, I suddenly thought I'd try a different tool. I thought mirror polishing was attractive, so I started by changing the wax. I tried it with a black can of SAPHIR, and it shined. That's when I got completely hooked (laughs). I thought this was fun! I got absorbed in polishing, and I felt like I was getting better and better, and before I knew it, shoe polishing had become a hobby for me.

After it became a hobby, my own shoes were not enough, so I borrowed my coworkers' shoes to polish them, and on my days off, I got so into it that I was polishing them from morning until evening. I was polishing about four pairs of shoes a day, so when I gave them their shiny new shoes, they were happy, and before I knew it, I wanted to make shoe polishing my job. At the time, I had been working as a salesperson for eight years, but it wasn't a job I particularly wanted to do, but I was confident that I could continue polishing shoes.

Then, I wondered if there was anywhere I could work in shoe shining, and when I looked into it, I found Brift H, which was already there at the time, but I was afraid to jump right in. And while I was still thinking about it, a store called "Shoe Shine Specialty Shop Ishizuka" opened near the Ueno store where I was working at the time. I often passed by "Shoe Shine Specialty Shop Ishizuka" when I was driving around town to move products for the ABC Mart store, so I found out about it and used it several times.

One day, the president, Mr. Ishizuka, asked me if I wanted to work with him, and I finally changed jobs to work as a shoe shiner. It had been about five years since I got into leather shoes. I felt like I was finally doing what I wanted to do, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I was able to work even though there were few customers, but I still wasn't satisfied. I was able to shine a lot of shoes and the customers were happy, but I started to feel like I wanted to get better at shoe shiners!

Just as I was thinking about this, I found a job offer from Brift H at the perfect time. I had to apply. I had more experience than before, so I was confident. And that's how I got to where I am today...

-Is there any customer who made a lasting impression on you?

There are two people who have been here for a long time. Both were from the time of "Shoe Shine Specialty Store Ishizuka". The first one came about 2-3 months after I started working at Ishizuka. They were a pair of old-fashioned but neatly kept middle-aged men in their 50s. They were quite regulars and always came as a pair and took turns polishing shoes.

One day, I went to a coffee shop to take a break with Ishizuka-san, and the two of them were there. I sat a little distance away, and I heard a bit of what they were saying, and it turned out they were both scammers...

"That's how much you can get from that customer." After that, when we left the coffee shop, Ishizuka asked me, "Did you hear that?" I remember feeling some kind of mixed emotions. He came back a few times after that, but after I found out, I polished them with very mixed feelings. That's because, when I thought about the fraud he was committing with these shiny shoes, I felt like I was helping with the fraud. People look at shoes, so I felt guilty that someone might be deceived by the shoes I had cleaned.

The second customer was also from Ishizuka's time, and when I was standing at the reception desk, a really young customer came. He came and I was assigned to polish his shoes. We chatted and I discovered he was a middle school student. He was able to respond well to conversations and came to polish the loafers that his grandmother had bought for him.

He is a boy in his second year of junior high school and is currently the vice president of the student council. He was running for student council president at the end of the summer election. His grandmother was a very responsible person, and she told him to keep his shoes clean, so he came to learn how to polish them. I remember him being a college student by now, but I haven't seen him since then, so I don't know if he became student council president, and I'm still curious about it.

-What is the most memorable pair of shoes you have polished so far?

I have a lot of shoes, but the ones I got polished at United Arrows were my Alden shoes. It was a day when there weren't many customers, but the manager of the Roppongi store brought out my personal Alden shoes, made to order by United Arrows. It seemed like it was the first time they had been polished since they were bought, and when I asked him about them, he told me that they were 15 years old and had only been brushed, but had never been used with cleaners or creams.

That alone surprised me, but even though I wore them on rainy and snowy days, there were no stains and they looked beautiful. They felt dry, but I was excited even before I polished them (laughs). When I actually polished them, the more cream I applied, the more it was absorbed, and not only that, but it also felt different from regular cordovan. I felt that the texture, or rather the thickness of the leather, was different from recent Alden shoes.

The shoes were already incredibly shiny with just the cream, so I applied Saphir's oil-based cream on top, and they were like a mirror polish just by wiping them dry. The wax adhered faster than usual, and I was really impressed that this was really amazing leather and that I had the opportunity to touch the best cordovan.

-What kind of shoes do you like to polish?

I used to hate polishing shoes, but I've come to like them. They are plain-toed shoes, but I didn't like it because I didn't know where the border between the mirror finish and the gradation was. But there was a time when I polished the plain shoes a lot with counter polishing, and I thought this was an opportunity, and as I continued doing it, I learned how to polish them. That's when I realized that the way you put the wax on your fingers is very important.

Up until now, I think I've been applying the gradation more than most people, but now I understand the number of times and the amount of gradation. Once I figured that out, I was able to create the gradation I wanted. My current challenge is polishing the grained leather. In particular, making sure there is no difference between the left and right sides. I also think I still have a lot to improve on the overall shine balance.

-What is Fukuda Soshiya's obsession with shoe polishing?

I am most particular about "removing dirt." The reason is that when the dirt is thoroughly removed from shoes, you can see that the cream soaks in quickly, and it penetrates well when you brush them. I think it is very important because you can really see how much of a difference it makes when you thoroughly remove the dirt. Many of our customers polish their shoes themselves, so I make sure to remove all wax that remains on their shoes. I explain things to customers in front of them, including about skin care. By the way, I am particular about skin care, so that may be a factor.

As for the tools used, do not use thinner, etc. I mainly use "THE CLEANER for Mirror shine" to thoroughly remove the dirt, being careful not to damage the leather. When it comes to the polishing finish, I place importance on balance - the balance of the entire shoe. And I aim for the top part of the toe to shine the brightest. I also want to eliminate gaps as much as possible, so I thoroughly polish even the gaps between the welts and the steps where the leather is sewn together, so those are the parts I want people to see the most. I take great care when polishing parts that are bumpy and prone to uneven polishing, such as the mocha parts of Alden U-tips.

-What is your favorite Brift H product?

Well, I guess it would be Miracle. The reason I like it is that it doesn't put any strain on the leather but still removes dirt well. The way I use it is to first gently apply it to dissolve the dirt, then when the wax or other cleaner has mixed with the cleaner and dissolved, I use force to wipe it off.

Water-based cleaners are good, but there is a risk that they will remove too much of the oil from the leather, so you don't have to worry about that with Miracle.

Listening to Fukuda talk again, it's clear that he truly loves shoe polishing. There are times when he seems to lose track of time even while working and concentrate solely on polishing shoes, and this interview gave us a glimpse into his true nature. Fukuda polishing has a high reputation within the industry, and we hope that anyone who is interested will come and try it out for themselves. We look forward to your nomination. (Interviewer: Hasegawa)