A Celebration of Japanese Craft, Seasonal Beauty, and the Bond Between Shiba Inus and Their People
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: SHIBA & Co.
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NEW YORK, May 31, 2025 — SHIBA & Co., the New York-based premium Shiba Inu lifestyle and fashion brand, today announces the launch of the Sakura Limited Edition Collection — a strictly limited series of 50 -100 numbered pieces paying tribute to the cherry blossom season and the cultural heritage of the Shiba Inu's homeland.
Available exclusively at shibandco.com beginning May 31, 2025, the Sakura Limited Edition marks the brand's first seasonal limited edition release, establishing an annual tradition of collections that change with the seasons.
THE INSPIRATION
The Sakura season — known in Japan as the brief, luminous window when cherry blossoms transform the landscape — has been celebrated in Japanese culture for over a thousand years. Through the tradition of hanami, the practice of gathering beneath blossoms to experience their fleeting beauty together, the Japanese have long understood something the rest of the world is still learning: that beauty is not diminished by impermanence. It is defined by it.
"This collection is really about identity," says Nicolo, sitting across from Jiatai in the brand's New York studio. "The identity of the Shiba Inu, the identity of the people who love them, and the heritage that connects the two. We're called SHIBA & Co. — it would have felt strange not to make this."
"Japan is where the Shiba Inu comes from," Jiatai says. "Every Shiba in every home in the world traces back to those mountains, those seasons. We wanted to make something that honored that, but in a way that lived in the present. Not as a costume. As a contemporary fashion piece — the kind of object you actually wear."
For SHIBA & Co., the Sakura season holds particular significance. The Shiba Inu — the breed at the heart of the brand — originates from Japan, where spring arrives with Sakura. This collection is a tribute to that homeland, that season, and the quiet companionship the Shiba Inu has always offered to those who notice.
Meaning Behind The Patterns
The Sakura Limited Edition is anchored by two distinct patterns, Inspired by Hana Ikada, 花筏. When the cherry blossoms fall, they don't disappear. They gather on the surface of the water — petal by petal — forming a floating raft of pink. The Japanese call this Hana Ikada. The flower raft. The two pattern you see across the sakura collection was inspired by exactly this moment. Quiet. Beautiful. Fleeting. It marks the end of the season.
The Pink Seigaiha + Sakura Motif
The pattern places white sakura motifs over the classical Seigaiha wave ground. The Seigaiha (青海波), meaning "blue ocean waves," is one of Japan's oldest and most recognized patterns, tracing its origins over 1,400 years to the imperial courts of Kyoto. Together, the two elements recreate the Hana Ikada moment — petals drifting on water — as a wearable surface.
The Teal Traditional Floral
The second pattern draws from the rich tradition of Japanese kimono textile design — a multi-seasonal floral composition featuring sakura (桜), arranged in the classical maru medallion format against a deep teal ground inspired by the color of the lake beneath the Hana Ikada bloom.
Both patterns are interpreted through a contemporary design lens, placing centuries of Japanese artistic tradition into the context of modern pet accessories — objects worn daily, by both ends of the leash.
THE COLLECTION
The Sakura Limited Edition launches with accessories such as leather collar, bag charm, dog tag, jewelery necklace and ready-to-wear apparel, available in both patterns.
Each item features a Shiba Inu silhouette rendered in the respective pattern, set within a gold hardware with the individual piece number, "Sakura Limited Edition," and "SHIBA & Co. New York" — certifying its authenticity and marking its place within the series.
Each piece is presented in the SHIBA & Co. Sakura Limited Edition gift box — a matte black box with gold foil branding and a sakura emblem — making it a complete collectible object from the moment it is received.
The collection is available exclusively at shibandco.com beginning May 31, 2026, while pieces last. Production Strictly limited to 50 - 100 numbered pieces per pattern. "Like the season — it will not return," Jiatai says, smiling. "And that's the point."
A BRAND WORTHY OF THE BREED
For Nicolo and Jiatai, the deeper question behind the collection is what it means to build a brand around a specific breed — and what that brand owes back to the culture that breed comes from.
"There are a lot of Shiba Inus in the world. There aren't a lot of brands that take the breed seriously," Jiatai says. "We wanted to do something where, if a Japanese person saw it, they would feel that we did our homework. That this isn't an aesthetic. It's a tribute — to the dog, to the heritage, in a contemporary fashion lens."
Each piece is engraved on the reverse with its individual number, "Sakura Limited Edition," and the SHIBA & Co. New York stamp — marking authenticity, and the moment.
"You're not just receive a item," Nicolo says. "You're receiving a piece of a season, a specific year. a specific bloom and its culture significance behind."
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