The Story of How the Nagomi Group Was Born
November 2003
“Nagomi Massage & Bodywork” opened its doors.
Here is why we started this work, and why we continue to pour so much passion into it.
1. How It All Started
Wanting to Create Smiles Myself
Our founder, Izawa, has loved seeing people smile since childhood.
He would make funny faces to make others laugh, or plan surprise celebrations for special occasions.
He was also a child who loved building plastic models and was very good with his hands.
As an adult, he joined the entertainment production company Amuse Inc.
He worked on the front lines as a manager for several years, pushing himself very hard.
The work was interesting and stimulating, but he gradually felt his own heart being worn down.
The artists he managed shone on stage and created smiles for many people.
But his own role was a quiet, behind-the-scenes job.
He realized that what he truly wanted was to directly make people happy and see their smiles himself.
2. Questioning Conventional Techniques
Learning Massage and
Hitting a Wall
He left the company and studied acupuncture and Anma massage shiatsu.
He himself suffered from tightness in his back, and thought this would be the perfect job to make use of his dexterous hands.
Above all, it was a profession where he could directly make someone happy.
However, he felt something was missing in the techniques taught at school and at work. They seemed too light and superficial.
3. Discovering a New Approach
Keeping Pressure in the Deep Muscles
During his training days, he traveled alone to a remote mountain village in Laos with no electricity.
There he came down with food poisoning, suffering all night from fever, nausea, diarrhea, and intense body aches. The tightness in his back was so severe that he could not even lie down to sleep.
Desperate to relieve the tightness, he pressed a plastic bottle firmly into his back and held it there with “guuuuu” pressure.
The severe tightness loosened, and he was finally able to sleep. After sleeping deeply, he recovered and safely returned to Japan.
From this, he realized that holding steady pressure on the deep muscles for an extended time was an efficient way to release stiffness.
“Rhythmically pressing and releasing” does not provide enough total pressure.
And “kneading the muscles” can damage muscle fibers and easily cause soreness afterward.
The belief that simply having a national license automatically meant offering excellent technique was shattered, but he gained something not taught in school — a method discovered through real-life experience.
4. Focusing on All Five Senses
Raising the Quality of
Everything, Not Just Technique
In an industry that often focuses almost exclusively on technique, he too believed that sharpening technique alone would create many happy smiles.
But as he saw salons with cardboard boxes piled up in the waiting area, loud voices echoing through large open spaces, and practitioners saying “I am giving you treatment” with an arrogant attitude, he began to feel that something was wrong.
If we truly want to delight people and see more smiles, we need to look in more directions, he gradually realized.
Instead of sharpening only the technique, he came to believe that we should value everything perceived by the five senses and relax people in a more holistic way.
He wants Nagomi to be a salon that represents Japan — one that sincerely aims for “top marks” in every aspect and makes everyone involved happier.
5. Looking Ahead
Creating a Japan Full of
Bright, Healthy Smiles
Based on these experiences, we aim to keep deep pressure gently anchored in the deep muscles, create high-quality spaces, relax people through all five senses, and add heartfelt hospitality on top of that — to generate moving experiences, many smiles, and a healthier Japan.
We also want to offer lifestyle guidance so people can prepare before their condition becomes serious.
The boy who loved making plastic models grew up, and now, instead of making funny faces, he uses the power of his thumbs — together with his teammates — to create bright, healthy smiles. For as long as people ask us to, we will continue to do so.