Touken Matsumoto (English)

This February I visited the Japanese Sword Museum to see newly designated Juyo Token and Jyuyo Tosogu items at the 67th Exhibition as well as applying some of myTosogu and Koshirae  items for submission. This year, among the 37 swords exhibited at this event, there are 3 swords from us, Bijutsu Touken Matsumoto. It is an honor as a sword trader to be able to find such beautiful swords and submit them for this Shinsa so that they can be evaluated and people can see how wonderful they are. So, this year I will continue to dedicate my time to search and find even more such special swords. This Exhibition started January 8th and ends on February 20th. Please visit and see the many beautiful items.

I was able to enjoy the first sunrise of the new year in sight of Mt. Fuji under the blue sky. We are celebrating the New Year of 2022 with a fresh and bright feeling, and we would like to express our gratitude to our families, staff, many business partners, and customers. We hope this year will bring everyone happiness, health and success. I will continue to do my best.

On December 3rd, I hosted the Nodakai Special Event Semi-Annual Japanese Sword Auction at the local Hotel Noda. Once a year I normally hold an Auction in Tsukuba, but I planned this special event auction locally to show my gratitude to all participants. The quality and volume of the auction items increased at this event. The day was crowded with 50 Sword Traders from younger traders to over the age of 80’s. My sales expectations were reached by one and a half times. I think all the participants enjoyed the event all day long.

The First Nishikashi Token Ichi was held for a week from October 25th Monday to 31st Sunday. It was a lively week with many visitors that included new customers. The store opened on July 15th, but it was a difficult two and a half months with the state of emergency because of the new coronavirus variant.  However, the state of emergency ended on October 1st and the number of newly infected people dropped sharply allowing for an improved resumption of economic activities.  This sales event was a success and all the staff were exuberant.  We will continue to make efforts to increase our business while keeping in mind the concept of “creating a prosperous store that makes customers wanting to return.”

During the Sales Event at Nishikasi Token Ichi, Mr. Yasuomi Okoshi, who wrote the story for a full-scale Sengoku Sword Manga “Honami Meito Roku”, visited the store and gifted 15 copies of the book to the shop. This Manga depicts a man named Honami Kotoku, who was a sword appraiser and polisher in the Momoyama Era and was heavily relied on by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. We want to thank Mr. Yasuomi Okoshi for his kindness and for his willingness to share his Manga story with us. Through his story, I will make efforts to convey to our valued customers the attraction of Japanese swords that are works of art that we can be proud of to the world.

Dear Sword Enthusiasts,

We would like to extend our sincere wishes for everyone’s continued good health.
It’s been three months since our Tokyo Nishikasai store opened on July 15th. There has been a significant decrease in the number of  people affected by the coronavirus, and there are signs of a bright economic recovery.
Therefore, we have decided to hold the First Nishikasai Token Ichi at our store from 10 am to 5 pm every day for a week from October 25th Monday to 31st Sunday.

The location of our Tokyo Nishikasai Store is 6-13-14 Nishikasai, Edogawa-ku, Marusei Building 3rd floor. It is a 1-minute walk from the south exit of Nishikasai Station on the Tozai Subway Line.

We are looking forward to your visit with a wide variety of attractive swords and sword fittings. To commemorate the first event, we have prepared a little gift for all the visitors. In addition, we will continue to wear masks, conduct a check on everyone’s temperature, and use disinfectants for hands.

We are looking forward to your visit with a wide variety of attractive swords and sword fittings. To commemorate the first event, we have prepared a little gift for all the visitors. In addition, we will continue to wear masks, conduct a check on everyone’s temperature, and use disinfectants for hands.

We are excited to see you and your friends at the First Nishikasai Token Ichi. Don’t miss it!

Very truly yours,
Matsumoto Yoshiyuki

On September 29th, 2021, the Dai Token Ichi Committee Members held a vote and decided to postpone the 33rd Dai Token Ichi 2021, which was scheduled to be held at the Tokyo Art Club for three days from Friday, November 19th.
As one of the committee members, I agreed with the decision that was unanimous. The reason why it was postponed is that it is difficult to ensure the carrying out of the preventive measures such as wearing masks, measuring the visitor’s temperatures, and disinfecting hands. If there are possibilities of not effectively administered, can we take the risk of canceling the event? It would be a disaster to cancel the event in the middle. This is why the Committee decided that the cost of failure and loss would be far greater than the benefits of success. The postponement will depend on the status of the Coronavirus in the future. It seems to be slowly improving, so we plan to consider holding it around May next year.

We opened a new shop on Thursday, July 15th. It’s just a 1-minute walk from the south exit of Nishikasai Station on the Tokyo Tozai Line. It takes about 25 minutes including the transfer from JR Tokyo Station to the subway Tozai Line, so it is very conveniently located. There are twelve glass showcases made of cypress installed in the 70 ㎡ shop. Moving forward with the motto “Everyday is an exhibition and sale”, all employees will do their best to create a prosperous sword shop that is trusted and loved by all visitors and customers. Please come and visit us!

Touken Matsumoto’s inhouse Polisher, Yoichiro Kawakami, submitted his polishing work at this year’s Competition of the Contemporary Sword Craftsman and won first place in the Excellence Award of the Hirazukuri Category and won second place in the Excellence Award of the Shinogizukuri category. From last year, he had received six awards of excellence showing his efforts to improve his capabilities. We take it as proof that the recognition has increased and the polishing skill has been recognized. This year’s blades are “Hida No Kami Ujifusa (WA-0264 on sale)”  and “Musashi Daijo Korekazu, second generation (KA-0308 sold)”. These swords are polished to bring out their features and make them even more attractive. Please take a look these two works that are exhibited at the “2021 Contemporary Swords and Artworks -The Ancient Techniques Inherited For Generations-” to be held at the Japanese Sword Museum from July 17th to September 20th.
Next year, we will aim for a special prize and have devoted ourselves to another year. It is an advantage for us to provide our customers with blades that have been skillfully polished in-house.

The 34th General Meeting of the All Japan Sword Trader’s Association was held at the Tokyo Art Club Building. At this year’s general meeting, board members were re-elected as their two-year term expired. Mr. Nobuhiko Fukaumi (Ginza Choshuya) was reappointed as the Chairman by mutual election of the members.  Currently, this association consists of 164 sword traders. We have struggled to operate this association with the ongoing Corona-virus pandemic. I have also been reappointed as a board member. I will do my best to do what I can to better contribute to the association.

Since from the start of the Covid-crisis, EMS has been placed on hold and other carriers are unable to transport swords since they are considered weapons. I am happy to announce I am once again able to send swords to the United States through the services of UPS. So, I encourage anyone who is ready to place an order with Touken Matumoto to do so. I look forward to hearing from you.

On March 31st and April 1st, I took a trip to Shinano for two days and one night to see Zenkoji Temple and Matsumoto Castle. It was the perfect time to make a trip when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom under the clear blue sky. At night, I stayed at the Tobira Onsen Spa and was able to relax and not think about work for a short time.

On the second day in Matsumoto City, I visited the Shiseido Sword Shop. Fortunately, the shop owner Mr. Shimojo was there, and although it was a spontaneous visit, he was very polite.  He said that his business was successful and the number of subscribers to his sword sales catalog that is issued four times a year had reached 12,000 within Japan. He also said that of over the 100 items listed in the sale catalog, they are almost sold out each time. He explained that he personally writes the detailed descriptions working mostly by himself.  He appeared to be a very energetic person, and I could feel his strong determination in making his business successful.

From April 1st we start the new fiscal year, so today I will take a rest and will do my best again from tomorrow!

In order to improve the image of our brand, we have created a new logo. It has a deep meaning. The overall image is of “Matsu” a pine tree. The pine tree is a symbol of longevity and is also a part of the Matsumoto name. The bottom right is the shape of a sword. The line design is in the image of Mizuhiki, that is a traditional ribbon used for celebration and joyous occasions. These three symbols represent the heart of Touken Matsumoto. We hope our customers, clients, friends, and family will enjoy the new logo as much as we do.

I visited the Japanese Sword Museum and saw the Umetada Exhibition that lasted until February 21st, Sunday.
To help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, it was necessary for me to make a reservation in advance at a convenience store for admission on Saturday(20th). Many sword enthusiasts have asked me, “Have you ever been to the Umetada Exhibition?”  So I held high expectations of the event. I was moved by the many Umetada swords that were exhibited in one place. I was able to study the various dragon engravings in the blades, which was a great experience. I was also fascinated by the exhibition of the masterpieces; including 6 national treasures and 10 important cultural properties. Although the number of visitors was small in the morning when the museum opened, around noon many more people visited, especially a larger number of women. I could feel the popularity of the swords even in this modern time.

Currently, Touken Matsumoto has in stock two Tsuba related to the Umetada Tradition. This is highly recommended work and is reminiscent of the Tsuba at the Umetada exhibition! Both of these have passed the Tokubetsu Hozon Token.
● TSU-1923 Chrysanthemum, Made by Umetada Tachibana Tadayoshi, Mid Edo Period, Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu

● TSU-1698 Chrysanthemum and Vines, Mumei, but attributed to the Umetada Tradition, Early Edo Period, Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu

The 16th Noda Token Ichi was held for 3 days from Friday, January 29th, and the 7th Kyobashi Token Ichi was held for 3 days from Friday, February 5th. Having two consecutive weeks of events was difficult to obtain the reservation of the venue. Also, between these two events, I hosted the Noda Kai Sword Auction as I usually do on the 3rd of every month. It was a very busy few weeks.  In holding the event, we did our best to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by taking the necessary precautions, but there were fewer visitors than normal due to the travel restrictions in place. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the visitors who visited us during these difficult times. We will continue to take precautions and to make the sales events a satisfying experience for those customers who are able to visit us.