Leather products, such as bags and shoes, are commonplace in our daily lives.
It is a product made from animal skin, and if we look back to its origins, it is an important material that has supported our lives ever since the primitive age when humans started hunting. Nowadays, there are many synthetic products that resemble leather, but the texture of genuine leather has a depth of character that synthetic products just can't match, and I think there is something endearing about it.
Well, leather products have been supporting us since ancient times, but they are so familiar to us that most people have never really thought about how they become products. It's easy to understand when written in kanji, but the leather of an animal is "kawa" (skin), and when it is processed so that it can be used as a material for products, it becomes "kawa" (leather).
So how does skin become leather?
The "skin" is salted to prevent it from spoiling and sent to the leather processing factory "tannery". First, it is washed to remove salt, dirt, and hair.
Then, the important process of "tanning" begins to turn the "skin" into "leather." Simply put, "tanning" is a process that prevents the "skin" of a living thing from decaying and hardening, but it is a process that turns the skin into a material that can be processed into products.
The tanned leather is processed, such as by coloring or embossing, to suit each product, and then sent on its journey as material for making bags, shoes, and other items.
If we trace it back to its origins, we can trace it back to animals hunted for food. Humans first used their skins to keep themselves warm, then processed them into various household items. It's moving to think that leather products are filled with the long history and wisdom of humankind.
