Hagoromo Bungu was a Japanesechalk and office supply company. The company is best known for having produced the Hagoromo Fulltouch Chalk, a brand of blackboard chalk. The Hagoromo brand and much of the original company's equipment were eventually sold to South Korean company Sejongmall, which started manufacturing it in South Korea in 2016.
History
The company was originally founded in October 1932 as Nihon Chalk Seizosho, in Nagoya. The factory was destroyed by a war in the decade that followed. It was then re-established in 1965 by Ryuzo Watanabe as Hagoromo Bungu, with the office and factory located in Kasugai, a city in the Aichi Prefecture.
Success
The company sold over 90 million pieces of chalk a year at its peak in 1990 and held a 30% share of the domestic market, according to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. Mathematician Satyan Devadoss wrote in 2010 that the Hagoromo chalk can be called "the Michael Jordan of chalk, the Rolls Royce of chalk". Several other well-known mathematicians and professors are also known to hold a preference for the product, including Brian Conrad, and David Eisenbud. In February 2019, Justin Bois, lecturer in Biology and Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology, purchased $50,000 of Hagoromo Fulltouch Chalk for use in student instruction, the largest single purchase of Hagoromo chalk to date.
Closing
In October 2014, Takayasu Watanabe released a statement announcing the company would stop chalk production in February 2015, and stop sales in March 2015. Takayasu Watanabe, who replaced his predecessor Ryuzo Watanabe as the company's president, mentioned as reasoning for the closure that "blackboards are no longer the norm in classrooms" and that "the number of students is also on the wane". In a 2015 interview, Watanabe also mentioned his declining health as a major reason for the closure.
Final months
The announcement to cease business led to the mass buying, hoarding and re-selling, of chalk among its fanbase. By June 2015, it was reported that production continued for a month longer as originally planned, and finally ended on 31 March 2015.
Legacy
The three custom-made machines that the company used for making Hagoromo chalk were sold. One machine was sold within Japan to Umajirushi, a blackboard manufacturer looking to expand their chalk production. Umajirushi has since launched DC Chalk Deluxe, which could be considered a successor to Hagoromo Fulltouch Chalk. The two other machines and the rights to the Hagoromo brand were sold to Sejongmall, a retailer in South Korea who previously imported the Hagoromo chalk, and are now continuing to produce it in South Korea.
Products
The Hagoromo Fulltouch Chalk product line is what the company is most known for. The entire line is marketed as being "dustless".
