Iki of the Edo period
　Iki (粋) is a term that refers to the aesthetics among the natives of Edo. In the Kyoto-Osaka area, the same kanji character reads sui. Sui is about the ”principle of actions,“ referring to those who are well-read, reason well, and are conversant with culture and the world of the geisha, while iki is more about the mental aspects than actions, I think, a kind of a way of life. In the Kyoto-Osaka area, people of sui is called ”sui-jin,“ however, such people are called ”tsu-jin,“ not ”iki-jin,“ in Edo.

Now, who are the people of iki in Edo? (1) They are neatly and sophisticatedly dressed. (2) They are versed in human nature and see reason. (3) In spite of financial power, they never show off. (4) They don ﾕt show off their abilities and/or knowledge and are rather modest and humble, being somewhat shy. (5) They are extravagant in matters others cannot see. (6) They have sharp insight and the ability to see the meaning of the unobtrusive behaviors of others. (7) They don ﾕt mention money very often, and they are not stingy with their money. (A Japanese proverb says ”The natives of Edo don ﾕt take an overnight position, but such natives only play the gallant, so they are not genuine natives of Edo.“) (8) They don ﾕt boast about the past or grumble regretfully. (9) They control their self-admiration or jealousy without showing emotion.
In particular, women of iki are frank and don ﾕt assume a prim and proper air, but show sophisticated elegance and charm through their way of life. Nihonbashi-bijin are beautiful in body and mind and may be really iki

Aesthetic sense of iki
　The opposite of sui (粋) is “busui” (無粋), while the opposite of iki (粋) is “yabo” (野暮). I think that the natives of Edo differentiate good from evil using the the criterion “Iki is good and yabo is evil.” The most yabo – the most evil person is one who pretends to be iki, but not being iki as a way of life.

The aesthetic sense was expressed by the words miyabi, wabi and sabi, aya, and nishiki in the Kyoto-Osaka area, while differently expressed by the words iki, inase, ada, otsu, share in Edo. As for colors and patterns, multicolored patterns symbolizing the beauty of nature was often used in the Kyoto-Osaka area as you can see in Yuzen dyeing and Nisijin weaves, while in Edo, monochrome such as mazarine blue, gray, and brown or vertical stripes were preferred. In addition, vertical stripes, which are parallel to each other, symbolized the smart relationship between a man and a woman of Edo. The natives of Edo did not have the idea of settling the relationship between a man and a woman with a double suicide as you can see in “Sonezaki-Shinju (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki)” and "Shinju Ten no Amijima (Double Suicide at Amijima)" created by Monzaemon Chikamatsu, but kept the vow to love forever, which is called “shinju-date”. We can say that it is really the world of men and women of iki.

Deliver the sense of iki expressed in the brand of Nihonbashi-bijin
　The translation of the word iki into “elegant,” “smart,” “chic,” or “dandy” is not sufficient to express the meaning because iki is profound. Ms. Akiko Yamada, who is an advocate of Nihonbashi-bijin (Japan Beauty from Edo-Tokyo), says that iki, when it is interpreted so that women today can understand it easily, refers to “cool.” I think that women who are involved in Nihonbashi may have the makings of a cool beauty as they feel the tradition, history, and culture of the area. That is, the aesthetic sense of iki is alive in the Nihonbashi-bijin. And, the DNA specific to this area is being taken over still now through the craftwork by artisans of Edo, excellent old-established stores, and products from well-known stores.

With the combination of those elements described before, we wish we could deliver attractive Nihonbashi with the sense of iki and the Nihonbashi-bijin–Japan Beauty from Edo-Tokyo brand to the world.