On December 3rd, the Semiannual Noda-kai Sword Auction was held at the Noda Business Hotel. I woke up to clear skies and watched the rising sun from the hotel window, so the day started off on the right foot. 55 sword dealers who regularly help out with the Noda-kai Auction gathered together and actively sold off a wide variety of fine items and ubuni/nobody has seen yet items. I received words of praise from the participants, and the turnover was the highest ever. All the staff were filled with a sense of fulfillment.

The Dai Token Ichi 2024 was held at the Tokyo Bijutsu Club for two days from Saturday, November 2. Unfortunately, it rained on the first day, but on the second day, the weather was pleasant and sunny, and nearly 2,000 sword enthusiasts gathered from all over Japan and the world. The venue was crowded with visitors. I was so happy to meet many people who had not seen each other for a long time and there was no time to rest as we chatted each other. I felt the momentum of strong sales during the Dai Token Ichi. Next Dai Token Ichi 2025 is scheduled for two days starting on Saturday, November 1. I am already looking forward to this major event!

The 3rd Yamagata Token Ichi was successfully held for three days from Friday, July 26th at the Yamagata International Exchange Plaza (Yamagata Big Wing), with the cooperation of Santoryu and Keichodo. 
Since the day before, there was a strong rain in the Mogami and Shonai regions of Yamagata Prefecture that reached record levels, and a special heavy rain warning was announced. I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to those affected by this disaster.
This was the third time we held the Yamagata Token Ichi and many sword connoisseurs came to visit. The local newspaper ``Yamagata Shimbun''  published an article about the event in their morning edition and that attracted many visitors as well as members of the NBTHK Yamagata branch and members of the Yamagata Prefecture sword registration judges. I felt the event has been more and more recognized by local connoisseurs.  We also had a customer who operates a bonsai tree business who searched for a year to find the perfect bonsai tree to display in my shop. You can see in the photo just how beautiful it is. The event was successful and I really appreciate the work of my staff and all the supporters.  Next year, we are planning to hold the 4th Yamagata Token Ichi for three days starting Friday, April 25th. We will do our best to make this an event that sword enthusiasts in Yamagata Prefecture will look forward to.  

I invited young sword dealers who participated in the Noda-kai Sword Auction that we sponsored, and held a study session at the Tokyo Nishikasai store where Nobuo Nakahara Sensei taught as the instructor. After the study session we had a gathering at a local restaurant to discuss ideas and feedback.  I believe that the growth of young sword dealers will lead to the progress and prosperity of Noda-kai, so we will continue to hold this event every other month.  

June is the end of our company's fiscal year. Our staff and business partners travel together on an overseas trip as a reward for the year of hard work and to revitalize ourselves. 2024 marks the 10th overseas trip that also includes the Okinawa trip during the Covid crisis. This year we spent 3 nights and 5 days relaxing in Cebu, Philippines.  Everyone had a great time and we enjoyed the sights and foods of Cebu.  All of our staff thoroughly enjoyed this trip and are looking forward to next year's trip, which will motivate us to work harder for another year. We will do our best again this year to provide our customers with the highest level of satisfaction at Token Matsumoto!

To express my gratitude to all the sword dealers attending the Nodakai Sword Auction that we hold every year of June 3rd, we held the Auction again at the Business Hotel Noda. On the day before Auction, we held a banquet of 20 participants. We had a great time where we were able to enjoy a magic show by KYOO's magic tricks and participate in a rock-paper-scissors tournament. On the day of the Sword Auction, 55 sword dealers gathered from early in the morning to buy and sell a number of attractive items, and the busy trading continued throughout the day until the evening. As the host, it was a hectic two days, but the staff worded very hard to prepare in making this a great event. I was very happy with the turnout and the event.

The 2nd Mito Token Ichi was held for two days from May 31st to June 1st. It took place at the Mito Civic Center that is a modern and functional art and cultural facility that opened in July last year in Ibaraki Prefecture. Due to its central  location, the event was full of visitors from both Mito City and other parts of the prefecture.  Many of the Mito Swords and the Mito Fittings were purchased during the event and far exceeded my expectations and I felt a strong admiration for the local area's love of the Mito Tradition. I was thrilled to see many well known Mito collectors in attendance. I am grateful that this event was a great success when the first Mito Token Ichi didn't turn out well. I can feel a sigh of relief and am already looking forward to the next Mito Token Ichi. 

The 3rd Morioka Token Ichi was held for three days starting on Friday, May 10th at the Aina "Iwate Prefectural Information Exchange Center" in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture. This time, in order to reach out to sword enthusiasts beyond Iwate in Aomori and Akita Prefectures, we published an ad in their local newspaper. We were interviewed by the Iwate Nippo and the event was published in the Saturday morning edition, and we also actively used social media to spread the word to the younger people who don't often read newspapers, which resulted in an increase in the number of visitors. On Sunday morning of the third day, I presented a basic lecture on Japanese swords for one hour to help increase the overall interest. While the event did not meet our expectations, we felt positive because we saw familiar faces and people who came to visit and purchase from us. The next Morioka Token Ichi will be held for three days starting Friday, May 9th 2025. We will do our best to make the Morioka Token Ichi an event that sword enthusiasts from the three northern Tohoku prefectures (Iwate, Aomori, and Akita) will look forward to!     

The 4th Sendai Token Ichi was held at Yume Messe Miyagi conference building for three days starting from Friday, April 5th. An increased number of sword enthusiasts, including members of the Miyagi Prefecture NBTHK, visited this event. I provided a basic sword lecture to beginner collectors.  In the evenings, we enjoyed the local Sendai cuisine with local sword craftsmen, making each day a fulfilling one.  We will continue our efforts to increase and vitalize the sword society in Sendai as much as possible! The next Sendai Token Ichi will be held in October of 2024. 

The 10th Koriyama Token Ichi was held for three days from Friday, March 15th at the convention complex "Big Palette Fukushima Convention Center" in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. With published interviews by the local newspapers, there were many visitors. This time, I was able to give a lecture for "Japanese sword enthusiasts beginner's course from a sword dealer's perspective." I did my best to explain the basic knowledge of Japanese swords and make them feel more familiar with Japanese swords to increase their interest. The next Koriyama Token Ichi will be held in August for three days. I will make efforts to expand our product lineup and deliver items that will please sword enthusiasts in Fukushima.  

We want to showcase our wonderful items through discussion and video and not just showing them in photos. Our business partners, Robert Hughes of "Keichodo" and Paul Kremers of "Tsuba Info" introduce and explain about our items through the Super Samurai Market videos. Please watch and enjoy.    https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/en/info/video_archive

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year of 2024.
This year as well, on New Year's Day, I prayed for business prosperity and for everyone's health while admiring Mt. Fuji and the first sunrise of the new year. 
As our top priority, all of our staff will work hard to earn the trust of our customers. Thank you for your continued support of Token Matsumoto and we look forward to your business.