kutoo was started in 2019 by yumi ishikawa, a japanese actress, freelance writer, and part-time funeral parlor worker. many businesses in japan require women employees to wear heels of between five and seven centimeters, or 1.9 and 2.75 inches, in height. ishikawa found shoes of this type to be inconvenient and uncomfortable at work, and complained on twitter about wearing them. her comment received nearly 30,000 retweets and more than 60,000 likes, and other women shared their own stories of discomfort with heels, posting photos of their bloodied and blistered feet.