Sabae, Fukui
Gozaemon Masunaga, the "ancestor of domestic eyeglasses," started  manufacturing eyewear frames in Fukui around 1905. At that time, most people in Sabae were working in the farming industry. Farming was challenging in winter, since the Fukui region experiences a lot of snow.  Masunaga started this industry because the eyeglass industry does not depend on the season. He invited craftsmen from Osaka to try to spread the industry as a side business of a farmer in Fukui. At that time, education and the development of printing technology were spreading so people started to read prints such as newspapers. The demand for eyewear has expanded. In 1935, the eyewear industry spread to Sabae and Fukui. The industry succeeded in manufacturing the titanium-based eyewear frames in 1981 for the first time in the world. After that, a large military factory was converted to an eyewear factory after the end of World War II made Sabae’s eyeglasses industry famous.