The Nishiharima Area around Himeji City, Hyogo, is known as a natural leather production area. Himejikawa tanning known as Banshu Nameshi has a long history. It was imported from mainland China more than 1000 years ago, and is said to be have taken root in the Ichikawa area to the east of Himeji City. Behind this, the warm and mild Seto Inland Sea climate was convenient to dry leather in the sun, and it was easy to obtain the salt necessary for the preservation and processing of leather. Leather was also plentiful as many cows are raised nearby. In recent years, even after tanning techniques, such as plant tanning and chrome tanning, came from the West, the local industry has been developing. The evolving quality and technical power are highly evaluated both domestically and overseas.

The Nishiharima area accounts for 50% or more of the number of companies related to leather materials and total shipments of leather products. The amount of production of adult cattle leather accounts for 70% of the domestic share. People engaging in natural leather products, techniques, history, information, and facilities gather together in the area. Natural leather materials produced in this area are used by famous domestic apparel makers, sporting gear manufacturers, and industrial goods makers. Its quality and world-class techniques are highly evaluated in the industry. However, its quality and techniques have not been known by general consumers because general products, such as bags and small items, have not been sold in the area. These days, some companies that have built their own brands have conveyed the attraction of the history and production techniques of the area to general consumers. Bolstering the efforts of these companies, the Himeji Nishiharima Area Network has been engaged in product making such as supporting METAPHYS and launching sebanz, a series of natural leather products, assuming the production of leather with the integrated production of products.