The KuSakuraShop Team

Hi, and thank you for taking the time to discover us.

My name’s Jordy Delage. I was born in France’s countryside in 1985. I’m married to Eriko, we’ve 3 kids, and we live in Tokyo’s suburb, close to our office.
I started Aikido at the age of 15, in France, in a group called “Academy Autonome d’Aikido”, affiliated with Kobayashi Hirokazu’s teaching. I moved to Japan at 19, before university, for intensive Aikido practice at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo and to discover more about myself. I then decided to stay in Japan, and it took me a few years to get a university degree in Japanese language and culture (majoring in Japanese religions). I practiced a little Kendo, Judo, and Taichi, but I always got back to Aikido, experiencing different schools, e.g., Yoshinkan, Iwama, and Kobayashi Hirokazu’s style and the Aikikai, to which I belong now.

After a few years of perfecting my Japanese and my Aikido, working in many fields, I decided to create Seido to fill something I considered as a void for many foreign Aikido practitioner. I’ve always been my first customer, and I focused hard on bringing to the international Aikido community the best brands I knew. After a while, not being very satisfied by the products or the support provided by other brands, and since I knew the artisans supplying the brands, I created my own brand, Seido. Doing so, I got the opportunity to give more importance to the artisans and really work on our customer’s needs.

This is where I've met KuSakura's senior staff, Mr Hayakawa Nobumasa and Mr Hayakawa Iwao. I've realized that KuSakura was the only company in the Budo industry with ethical standards similar to mine, and I've started a collobaration with KuSakura.
KuSakura is a Judo equipment specialist with the most incredible production capacity and quality, so it only needed our expertise to produce high quality Aikido equipment. KuSakura produces, on a OEM basis, many of our Aikido product sold under our brand Seido.
On the other end, KuSakura being a manufacturer, our international communication and logistic expertise was what was missing to the company. We established a win win partnership in which we fulfill KuSakura's needs for international logistic and communication, and they fulfill ours when it comes to production and quality.

I consider my encouter with KuSakura and its senior staff one of the best opportunities I've had since I've started working in Japan, and I feel infinitely grateful.

Hello everybody !
Apart from being in charge of the management and administrative tasks, I'm taking care of the trader relationships. My father, a 7th Dan Kendo teacher, brought me to his practice when I was little; hence, I was always somewhat close to Budo. However, until I became an adult, I had no martial arts experience. I only started practicing Aikido after marrying my husband, joining him at the Dojo.
The customers are various; some have just started practicing, and others are high-grade black belts. I try to do my best in that new field, not only by crafting detailed explanations for our websites, but also by answering requests via email or on the phone, - especially because there is no face-to-face selling. That's why I have to be careful, so that our customers can order our products without worry.
It's a great honor to be an intermediary, introducing as many customers as possible to the Japanese artisans by offering high-quality martial arts equipment. So, from the bottom of my heart, I'm pleased to welcome you as our customer.

Hello everyone,
My name is Jason Faivre. I was born in the north-east of France, in Belfort, in 1995.
Since my childhood, I have always been attracted by Asian culture and especially the Japanese culture.
Whether it is through the cinematography of Kurosawa or more or less popular mangas.
I am also a martial arts practitioner, I have been practicing Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu for about ten years. In parallel with the practice of this famous traditional swordsmanship school, I also actively practice Kendo with Norio Hoshi, 7th Dan Kyoshi.
My adventure at Seido began in 2015 during an 6-month internship, as part of my university course. I returned with pleasure to Seido in 2018, to do my end-of-study internship. Subsequently, I had the chance to work within KuSakura, the world reference for Judo equipment, for 2 years.
The covid19 crisis in 2020 hit the Judo community extremely hard, but I decided to stay in the industry, returning once again to Seido, as I have always been attracted to their honesty and transparency towards Budoka.
At Seido, I will act as a liaison with KuSakura and as general manager in charge of the order flow, team and support, with only one goal in mind, offer to Budoka from all over the world an unforgettable experience.

Hi everyone
My name’s Rahel and I was born and raised in Switzerland.
I started practicing Aikido at a young age, and through it, I got in touch with the Japanese culture. My fascination for this country lead me to study Japanology and to spend one year as exchange student in Tokyo.
After graduating back home, I decided to return to Japan and dedicate some time to practice more intensively. That’s when I became part of the KuSakuraShop/Seido team, at the beginning mostly working at and later running our embroidery and customization workshop. Roughly five years later, I enrolled in university in Switzerland again to strike a new path.
However, I never stopped missing Japan and the work I did there, especially when I saw people wearing our Dogi, Hakama and belts somewhere on the mats abroad. (Yes, I couldn’t help secretly peeking at the embroideries to make sure the quality was up to my standards 😊). Hence, I return to this company to support the team, further develop the products and make sure you get the best service possible!

Hi everyone,
My name is Baptiste Roziere, I was born in 1991 in France.
As long as I can remember I have always been interested in japanese pop culture (music, video games, mangas, animes…). My affection for this country has increased with time while discovering other aspects of its culture; and I had the chance to visit it in 2018. The experience I got was even better than expected, since then, my objective was to live there.
I had the opportunity to join the Seido/KuSakuraShop team in the computer department following an interview and was able to move to Japan. I will make everything I can to honor the company, to the quality of the products and the values that are transmitted.

Hello everybody!
My name is Clement and I was born in France, in a small town next to Paris. Back when I was a graduate student, I had been given the opportunity to study abroad at Kyoto University, where I discovered Japan and the Japanese culture. After my studies, and some time in the San francisco Bay Area, I decided to come back to Japan and learn more about the Japanese culture.
I am now working at Seido/KuSakuraShop in the computer science department. I find very interesting to always learn more, on a daily basis, about traditional Japanese culture, and of course about Budo. I will do my very best to improve your experience on kusakurashop.com!

Hello,
My name is Alexander Venânçio. I’m of Portuguese origin, born in 1988 in Paris.
Having had a grandfather in the Navy, who traveled around Asia, I got in touch with Asian cultures at a young age and was mainly attracted to the Japanese culture, which is so different from ours.
This encouraged me to practice Judo for several years. Why Judo? you may ask. I've first started Judo because it is a very popular kid activity in France. Growing up, Judo values like Respect, Modesty, Self Control and Politeness really talked to me. For me, Respect is a great value. As a kid, I learned how to practice and fight with respect for my opponent. Practicing Judo was a very rewarding experience.
My passion for Japanese arts, be it drawing, music, or architecture, but also its history, made me engage in this culture, loving this country more and more. After many travels to different regions of Japan, I finally moved to Tokyo to live daily in the midst of this culture.
I got the chance to meet and work with a very dedicated team, retrieving the mentioned respect among the practitioners, and vis-à-vis the Japanese culture and its traditions.

Hello everybody!
I mostly execute the Dogi alterations (like cutting sleeves/trousers, sewing reinforcements on Hakama etc.) and accomplish embroideries. Experiencing the bubbly energy of my two little boys daily, I was looking for an activity for them. The spirit of Aikido, in which winning or losing isn't a matter of physical strength and proper etiquette is taught during practice, seemed to be a good option. I'll never forget my boys’ facial expressions, bursting with pride, when they put on their first Dogi: Jacket and pants, embroidered with their names, made just for them!
We have the latest embroidery and engraving machines so we can customize the equipment and have them delivered with almost no delay. It's very rare that we can actually meet our customers in person; nonetheless, we are putting our heart into making a unique Dogi, trying to satisfy everyone who opts for our high-quality products. If you stay somewhere close to our shop, don't hesitate to drop by, because we'd love to meet you.

Hi everyone!
My name is Nicolas Nothum, I was born in the north-east of France in 1984.
I always had a strong interest in Japanese culture and I first visited Japan in 2010. Since then, I had the chance to come back many times and finally decided to settle in Tokyo in 2014.
I got in touch with Seido in early 2015 as a freelance photographer for their KuSakuraShop project and had the opportunity to work with them on diverse occasions. Now, I'm in charge of their digital media, I take care of everything related to video, photo and (almost) the entire visual content you see on our websites and YouTube page. I'm excited to be a member of this team and work on projects that will provide useful information about the Budo universe. I hope to offer content that catches your interest and piques your curiosity, content, that makes you want to see more. But above all, I want to highlight the amazing work the last Japanese traditional artisans do to create your equipment.
Be sure to stay updated and check our sites and social media regularly!

Hello!
Welcome to SeidoShop.
I was taught machine-sewing by my mother from a very young age, before I start studying both Western dressmaking and Japanese traditional clothing manufacturing at a specialized school.
In 2015, my son started Karate; it was the occasion for me to get interested in Budo and to discover Seido. Since I joined the Seido Team, I cultivated my sewing techniques and of course also developed it further; being constantly in contact with the careful craftsmanship and the attention to details dear to Japan, I learn a lot myself.
From the workshop, I do not exchange much with customers, but I always keep in mind the contented smiles of those who occasionally dropped by the shop to get their Dogi while I’m working on customizing new items.

Hello everyone, and thank you for your interest in Seido.
Until now, I only had experience in the hospitality industry, but I joined Seido where I work while learning embroidery and sewing, product care, inspection and packaging everyday.
Everything is new to me and the discovery of this new industry as well as the acquisition of new skills is exciting for me.
I hope that my work, combined to the quality of our products, will bring smiles to practitioners all over the world.