Bends is the butt of the hide — the densest, most fibrous and hardest-wearing section of a cowhide, with the tightest grain and the best natural sheen — and it is the part leather makers reserve for belts and soles. Momotaro cuts this belt from 4mm-thick bends cowhide, vegetable-tanned at Tochigi Leather, the Japanese tannery that has pit-tanned hides the slow, traditional way since 1937 and is the reference for this kind of leather in the country.

The color is Yamato Ai, an indigo dye refined from a blend of natural and synthetic indigo. On the leather it starts as a clear blue, and like indigo on denim it moves with use: the more the belt is worn and handled, the darker and deeper the navy becomes, with the natural grain of the bends showing through as it polishes.

The hardware is a well-polished brass buckle, fixed with riveted construction rather than stitching alone, so the one point of strain on a belt is the one built to last. At 28mm wide the proportions sit between a jeans belt and a dress belt — narrow enough for trousers, substantial enough for denim. Made in Japan.

Fit Notes: Momotaro belts fit true to size. We recommend selecting your usual jeans size — or if you fall between two sizes, sizing up one. The most accurate way to confirm your size is to measure an existing belt from the inner edge of the buckle (where it meets the leather) to the hole you use most often — typically the middle hole.