Our Story

Kazuto Komatsu grew up in a wooden mold workshop in Kawaguchi, a town of iron casting, and became a wooden mold maker himself. A single tricycle he made for his own child led him into the world of wooden toys, and in 2003 he opened "Toys Comaam." From the birth of our signature toy, Donguri Korokoro, to Comomg Co., Ltd. today and the road ahead — this is the story of Comomg.

Born in Kawaguchi, a Town of Makers

Kawaguchi City in Saitama Prefecture is a town of makers that has flourished through iron casting. In 1946, Komatsu's grandfather founded Komatsu Kigata Seisakusho here, a workshop making the wooden molds used for casting.

Born in 1980, Komatsu grew up whittling wood scraps for fun in a corner of the workshop. Foundries lined his route to school, and walking through town meant being surrounded every day by the sounds and smells of making things. Before long he came to feel that "making things is cool," and in 2001, at the age of 20, he set out on the path he had long admired: becoming a wooden mold maker.

What arrives at a mold workshop is a drawing of the finished casting. The mold maker reads that drawing, works out the shape of the wooden mold on his own, and carves it out of wood. The satisfaction of finishing a piece exactly as intended was also a source of pride as a craftsman. The skills he gained here — reading drawings and carving wood with precision — would later become the foundation of his toy making.

Yet those drawings never said what the part was or what it would be used for. He couldn't see where, or for whom, the things he made were useful. Carrying that feeling with him, he went on making wooden molds day after day.

It Began with a Tricycle

In that same year, 2001, his first son was born. For his child, he built a tricycle out of wood. Seeing the delight of those who saw it, he was able to witness the smile of the person using what he made — something he had rarely experienced in mold making — and found it deeply rewarding.

With his own skills, he could bring smiles to children and families. When he realized this, he thought of his parents' work. His father ran a small wooden mold factory, and his mother ran a childcare business. Where those two lines of work overlapped, Komatsu found his answer: wooden toys. The high level of woodworking skill handed down through generations in Kawaguchi, which he received from his father, and the mindset of thinking seriously about children, which he received from his mother, remain the starting point of Comomg today.

At the time, Japanese-made wooden toys were rarely seen; most of those on store shelves were made overseas. Japan has rich forests and solid woodworking skills — so why were there so few Japanese wooden toys? He wanted to bring children high-quality play through wooden toys made in Japan. From that wish, his first wooden toys, "Kurumame" and "Mame no Garagara," were born in 2002.

Visiting Toy Shops Across Japan

After exhibiting at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in Germany, he opened "Toys Comaam" on May 1, 2003, at the age of 22. No shop would carry toys by an unknown young maker right from the start. Loading his toys into his car, Komatsu visited specialty toy shops across Japan one by one until 2008, gradually increasing the number of stores that carried them.

The shop owners he met on his travels taught him the basics of business, such as how to set prices, and some even treated this young stranger to a meal. A toy only reaches a child when its makers, the people who spread the word, and its users are connected. That realization is why Comomg still values the people who spread the word about its toys.

In 2005, on the recommendation of toy shops around the country, he competed in the Rubber Band Craft King Championship on the TV program "TV Champion" and won. From 2008, he hosted a handmade toy segment on NHK's "Sukusuku Kosodate" for one year, steadily broadening the scope of his work. (For past media features and appearances, please see "In the Media.")

The Birth of Donguri Korokoro

"Donguri Korokoro" is Comomg's signature toy. What he first aimed for was a spinning top shaped like a doll. But the prototypes didn't spin well. The slightly pointed tip of the acorn's cap is a trace of that time. Next, he tried a version with a ball inside that you roll by hand like a computer mouse, but that didn't feel right either.

The turning point came when he took a prototype to a nursery school. One child placed it on a lunch tray and tilted it, and the acorn toddled down the slope, rocking from side to side as it walked. It was the children who discovered how to play with it. After much more trial and error, it became a product, and Donguri Korokoro was born in 2004.

Selected as a Good Toy in 2006, it has become a long seller, with about 20,000 made every year. In an industry where selling 1,000 units is considered a hit, it is a toy that a great many customers buy again and again.

From Artisan to Company

For more than a decade after it opened, Comomg was the workshop of a single artisan, Komatsu. While "Tuminy" in 2011 and "Tapnet" in 2014 were selected as Good Toys, most of the work was concentrated on one person.

In May 2015, Komatsu suffered a serious accident at work that severed the index finger of his dominant hand. When he returned to work after hospitalization and rehabilitation, what filled his heart was regret over a way of working that couldn't run without him, and gratitude that he could make things once again. And he resolved to pass on to the future all that he had received from children through his work.

Not a single artisan, but a company where everyone creates together. On May 6, 2016, he established Toys Comaam Co., Ltd., and in 2019 changed the company name to Comomg Co., Ltd. The name "Comomg" combines the Japanese sounds "ko" (child), "mamu" (mother), and "gu" (tools). It carries the wish to be special tools for everyday life, for the time children and families spend together.

In 2021, our employees spent a year creating the 2030 Vision, and in 2026 the employees alone completed our manufacturing philosophy, "Our commitment to craftsmanship." Comomg's makers are both designers who design the toys and craftspeople who shape them with their own hands.

A Workshop Where You Can See Things Being Made

In December 2022, the head office and workshop moved to Ryoke, Kawaguchi City. In February 2023, we opened a shop, café, and Wood Play Space next to the workshop. From the shop, you can watch toys being made. Just as the young Komatsu felt the spirit of making things all around his town, we want today's children to feel that "making things is fun." That is the idea behind this space.

We also continue initiatives that walk hand in hand with the local community, such as the "Machinoki Project," which gives local trees like Kawaguchi's street trees a new life as toys, and producing the wooden play areas that opened at AEON Mall Kawaguchi Maekawa in 2025.

Looking Ahead

Like spinning tops and menko cards, there are toys everyone knows, even without knowing who made them. Someday, we hope Donguri Korokoro will become that kind of traditional toy. As a first step, we want it to take root in this town as a craft that represents Kawaguchi.

From wooden molds to toys. Though what we make has changed, the skills and mindset nurtured in Kawaguchi, a town of makers, remain the same. Carrying the pride of Japanese craftsmanship in our wooden toys, Comomg delivers them to children around the world.

Comomg Timeline

Year	Event
1946	Yoshito Komatsu (grandfather of the current representative) founded the wooden mold workshop "Komatsu Kigata Seisakusho" in Kawaguchi
2001	Kazuto Komatsu became a wooden mold maker at age 20 Made a wooden tricycle to celebrate the birth of his first son
2002	Released our first wooden toys, "Kurumame" and "Mame no Garagara"
2003	Exhibited at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in Germany Opened "Toys Comaam" on May 1 (Sakaecho, Kawaguchi City) Began visiting specialty toy shops across Japan (until 2008)
2004	Released "Donguri Korokoro" Exhibited at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in Germany
2005	Released "Donguri Papa" and "Donguri Mama" Kazuto Komatsu won the "Rubber Band Craft King Championship" on TV Champion
2006	The "Donguri Korokoro" series and others were certified as Good Toy 2006
2008	Kazuto Komatsu hosted a handmade toy segment on NHK's "Sukusuku Kosodate" for one year
2011	Completely renewed the entire product lineup "Tuminy" was certified as Good Toy 2011
2014	"Tapnet" was certified as Good Toy 2014
2015	Lost the index finger of his dominant hand in an accident at work; returned after hospitalization and rehabilitation
2016	Established Toys Comaam Co., Ltd. on May 6
2017	Established the management philosophy "For the better smiles of children" Relocated to Motogo, Kawaguchi City
2019	Renamed the company Comomg Co., Ltd.
2020	Kazuto Komatsu became a part-time lecturer at Uekusa Gakuen University
2021	Established our 2030 Vision, "Clothing, food, shelter, and play — a life filled with smiles and inspiration for children and adults alike" Published the picture book "The Story of Donguri Korokoro" Ran a crowdfunding campaign for the Machinoki Project
2022	Began selling "Charity Donguri Kinoko" Launched the Machinoki Project in earnest Relocated the head office and workshop to Ryoke, Kawaguchi City in December
2023	Opened a flagship store (shop, café, and Wood Play Space) at the head office
2024	Released "Furusato Donguri"
2025	Produced the wooden play areas "Komayuri Plaza" and "Kinoko Hiroba" at AEON Mall Kawaguchi Maekawa Exhibited at the "Japan Craft Regions Expo 2025" at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Exhibited at the 75th National Tree Planting Festival Held the "Comomg Exhibition" at the Kawaguchi Municipal Art Gallery ATLIA
2026	Established our manufacturing philosophy, "Our commitment to craftsmanship" Began selling "Charity Donguri Kinoko Kumamoto"

(For a list of our certifications and awards, please see "Certifications & Awards.")