Japanese iPhone users can buy $1,000 cases from today

Despite being able to choose between an enormous number of super-advanced cell phones for years now, the Japanese have come to embrace the iPhone. The number of iPhones in circulation is estimated to have topped the 1 million mark quite some time ago, which triggered SoftBank BB (a sister company of Japan-exclusive iPhone provider SoftBank Mobile) to start offering something very Japanese and unique today: handmade iPhone cases [JP] priced at $1,000 each.

The so-called JAPAN TEXTURE [JP] series consists of a total of five cases with different designs. Created under the supervision of a historian, SoftBank says each case is covered with special lacquer and gold dust. It takes three to four weeks to make one, which kind of explains the price.

The main idea of these cases is to show how Japanese warlords from the Sengoku period would probably use their iPhones if they lived today. Each case comes with a specially designed pouch, a booklet explaining the historical background of the design and a storage box.

If you own an iPhone, have $1,000 to spare and a strong penchant for Japanese history, this might be the right thing for you (but SoftBank isn’t planning to sell the cases outside Nippon).

Hat tip and top picture credit: Nobuyuki Hayashi.