Buttons are the unsung heroes of clothing. I always have trouble deciding which buttons to use, but since white shirts are simple, it's especially important to choose the right buttons. This time, I interviewed the button manufacturing site. I visited Kansai Button Co., Ltd. in Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture, which is famous for chestnuts and black beans. In recent years, many button shops have been producing buttons in a division of labor system, but Kansai Button produces everything from the board material that becomes the button to polishing, and during the interview, the fourth-generation president, Mr. Hayashi, taught me how to make resin buttons. The buttons used on this shirt are shell-like buttons made of polyester resin. Buttons made of natural shells are natural and attractive, but it is difficult to stabilize the quality, and they are prone to problems such as cracking and peeling. Even so, I used to be attracted to the natural color and used them, but as technology has improved and it has become possible to make resin buttons that are comparable to natural buttons, I have been using shell-like resin buttons exclusively recently. Now, as for how it is made, in addition to the base white, the four colors of raw materials, red, blue, and green, are mixed with pigments, and separated into many layers to create a board that overlaps like tree rings. Before the board completely hardens, the button-shaped prototype is cut out like a cookie embossing. Next, the prototype is carved into a button, and at this time, the prototype is set at an angle and carved, and the cross section like tree rings is raised, creating the rainbow color unevenness like a shell button. And from here, the polishing process is important. To create a shine like natural shells, first, it is polished slowly overnight in a barrel filled with water, sand, and small stones. Then, it is polished again overnight using bamboo chips and wax, and the shine like a real shell button is created. Although the production process is the same, the color mixture when making the board and how thick the layers are made depend on the skill of the craftsman. Also, in the polishing process, the shine changes depending on the temperature and humidity, so the balance of the stones, sand, bamboo chips, and wax is changed based on experience. This year marks the 90th anniversary of Kansai Button's founding, and we hope you will take the time to feel the brilliance of our shell-like buttons, created through the experience and knowledge of Kansai Button, as well as the skilled work of our artisans.