Month: August 2020

The Third Koriyama Touken Ichi was held from August 21st for three days at the “Big Palette Fukushima” complex convention facility in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. It was originally scheduled for April, but postponed until August during the hot summer because of the threat of the Corona-virus. In order to avoid the crowded situation, we doubled the size of the venue and were sure to wear face masks and used disinfectants to clean our hands and help prevent the spread of infection. I think all the visitors could appreciate the art of the beautiful swords and fittings with peace of mind of being safe.

The performance of the event was more than I had expected. We achieved a number of sales and I was busy every minute. There were many sword enthusiasts who visited and purchased items. This was due to the success of the local advertisements of two big newspapers that came to interview me. I think what helped the event to be successful for the three days was the people I know increased and maybe the local enthusiasts came to trust us in this third event in the area.

The Fourth Koriyama Touken Ichi is scheduled to be held for three days from Friday, December 25th this year at the same venue.

The first Otakanomori Token Ichi was held successfully. During the three days of the event, it was harsh due to the continue threat from the Corona-virus and the extremely hot weather where even the news suggested to stay indoors except for necessary trips.

Fortunately, the venue, Otakanomori Hall, was only one minute walk from the station. In addition, the newly built modern facility was fully air-conditioned to cool down the large venue. I did not see people sweating or seeming uncomfortable so I think that those who came to the event enjoyed the exhibition in a comfortable and safe environment.

We were able to achieve success at this first venue with great customers, such as from the customer who purchased a sword for the first time in Noda Touken Ichi last month also purchased this month. Also, a Juyo Token was purchased by an important customer at this event. I will continue to make efforts to increase the enthusiasm of sword and sword fittings.

The Second Otakanomori Token Ichi is scheduled to be held in April 2021.

On August 6 the results were announced of this year’s competition of contemporary sword craftsmen.
Our staff member, Yoichiro Kawakami, placed 6th in the Excellence Award! This was his first serious attempt applying to this competition in the area of sword polishing. In total, there were 49 polished items (Shinogi-tsukuri) excluding Mukansa polishers submitted for this part of the competition. Kawakami was placed 14th among all the skilled polishers.  The Yushu-sho/Excellence Award comes after the Toku-sho/Special Award, but is above the Doryoku-sho/Effort Award. This was a great opportunity for him to showcase his skills in polishing for his more than 20 years of experience.  This year, he polished a contemporary sword from scratch that was the size of 2-shaku 3-sun 6-bu forged and engraved by Ryujin Taro Minamoto Tadashige.
I was very satisfied with the result. Moving forward, I encourage him to continue to grow his skill and enter the competition again.

The First Otakanomori Touken Ichi will be held for three days, August 9th, 10th, and 11th. The Venue is Otakanomori Hall only one minute from the Otakanomori train station which is the connecting station between Tsukuba Express (Joban Shinsen Line) and Tobu Urban Park Line (Tobu Noda Line). This convenient location allows for easy access not only for local Chiba prefecture but also for Tokyo, Saitama, and Ibaraki sword enthusiasts to reach the event by train. The Otakanomori Hall is on the opposite corner of the Nagareyama Otakanomori Shopping Center, making it a good location for both shopping and dining.  We are looking forward to your visit and have many attractive swords from the Kamakura period to contemporary and a large number of sword fittings such as Tsuba, Menuki, Fuchi-kashira, Kozuka and Kogai. Please stop by to visit and enjoy the event.

 

Venue: Otakanomori Hall 1-2-1 Otakanomori-kita, Nagareyama City, Chiba Prefecture

Date: August 9th (Sun), 10th (Monday), 11th (Tuesday)

Event time: From 10:00 to 17:00

Free admission- Please use the nearby pay parking