We at Tulip Company Limited (Hiroshima City), as a company that manufactures and sells crochet hooks, knitting needles, sewing needles, and test probes, annually hold two Japanese events at every office and factory on the 8th of December each year. One is the “Fuigo Matsuri (Bellow Festival)” which is held by the manufacturing department to pray for the safe manufacture of needles. The other is the “Hari Kuyo (Requiem Service for broken needles)” which is held by the sales department to show appreciation for the service that the needles had performed.

The “Fuigo Matsuri” was originally an event held in ancient times by craftsmen who used bellows at work. It was an opportunity for them to clean the bellows, and to celebrate, and give thanks for their contribution. Tulip has continued to keep this tradition alive to show appreciation to the god of fire, and to pray for the safety and prosperity of our factories.

The “Hari Kuyo” is an event in which people who are engaged in needlework, stick broken, worn-out, or bent needles into soft, edible substances like Tofu or Konnyaku to comfort the spirits of the needles, while also showing them appreciation. They also pray that they can attain proficiency in sewing.

We at Tulip hold a festival called the “Tulip Needle Festival”, which combines both the “Fuigo Matsuri” to pray for the safety of our factories, with the “Hari Kuyo” to express thanks to the needles. This year, on December 8th we placed the needles on altars and displayed our appreciation for the needles that we use in everyday life. We also prayed that our customers attain greater proficiency in sewing and that we can continue to make needles in peace and safety throughout the following year.

Some of the needles from the requiem service were entombed in a “Harizuka” (a type of crypt for the broken needles) which was built at our Kake-Tsukeji factory in December 2022.

The remaining needles will be recycled to become new steel material.