Touken Matsumoto (English)

We have received the results of the January Shinsa for the sword fittings. This time all 25 applied for items were successful.  Of these, 14 have already been posted on the website so they have been re-posted with their new information. These items have been identified as genuine, have been attributed to a specific Tradition, and have been upgraded from Hozon to Tokubetsu Hozon. It is my hope that these new results will make these items more appealing.

https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/eng/new_updates_e.php?sj_id=478

We would like to inform you that there is a change in the Scheduling on the exhibition Sale Events.

• The scheduled 2nd Koriyama Touken Ichi from April 24th, 25th and 26th
  ⇒Has been Postponed to May 29th, 30th, and 31st.

• The scheduled 3rd Saitama Touken Ichi from May 29th, 30th, and 31st
  ⇒Cancelled

Regarding the exhibition and sales event “Touken Ichi” held monthly:

The “3rd Koriyama Touken ichi” that was scheduled to be held in April this month is being rented at the venue (Big Palette Fukushima) and doubled in size, and efforts are being made to improve ventilation, to avoid crowding, and closeness. It has been postponed for 3 days.

The “2nd Saitama Touken Ichi” scheduled to be held in May next month was decided to be canceled in consideration of the location (Omiya, Saitama City) and the venue (meeting room for rent).

In Touken Matsumoto, the “Noda-kai sword auction” for sword dealers, which has been held twice a month since January 1992 continuously were closed on April 3rd and 19th. Probably on May 3rd as well, it will be closed until the declaration of emergency is resolved.

In addition, we planned to hold the “Tsukuba Taikai” every year at the Hotel Edoya in Mt. Tsukuba, but this year we decided to cancel it.

I am distressed when considering the economic activities of the swords dealer, 40 participants who purchase and sell at the Noda-kai sword auction. However, the situation has changed to stop the spread of the new Corona virus infection, and people’s feelings are becoming more serious day by day, so I think that it is now time to consider our health and safety.

I hope that the spread of the Corona virus infection will end as soon as possible and that it will start to decline and that the world will return to normal.

We were able to conclude the 9th Chiba Touken Ichi safely. The spread of the new Corona virus has been reported every day by the media, so I considered canceling the event before it was held, just in case. Under such circumstances, there were many requests from the enthusiasts who wanted to come to the venue so we decided to do our best and tried avoiding the spread of the virus by thoroughly ventilated the venue, disinfecting our hands with alcohol, and wearing masks. It was a relief to hear from visitors that the atmosphere was good, and that in terms of income and expenditure we did well. However, it was an event that made me consider about managing such events at this time more than ever. The next event will be in October, half a year from now. We hope the Corona virus pandemic will be over and we can do our best to be positive.

Touken Matsumoto visited Kishu, Wakayama, the hometown of our sword polisher, Yoichiro Kawakami. Kawakami’s parents guided us to the Kumano Kodo and Nachi Katsuura, which are world heritage sites. We stayed and relaxed on the island in the Kumano villa Hotel, which is famous for an outdoor bath with a view of the sea. Also, we were able to say hello to Mr. Sadakazu Adachi, a swordsmith living in Ryujin Village, Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture. Luckily, during the time of our visit, there was a sword exhibition for “Contemporary Japanese Swords Exhibition” where the swordsmiths of the Kinki region participated. Mr. Adachi was also able to explain more about forging as we viewed the swords at the exhibition, including his one. All of our staff had a great time and were refreshed.

The Chiba TV’s morning news program of “Shakkito” introduced Touken Matsumoto shop on TV.  It was set to broadcast on the morning of February 28 (Friday) “Shakkito! Outing Information” section that introduces local shops. A director, a reporter, a cameraman, and  an assistant visited the store and filmed for about two hours. I tried to convey the charm of Japanese swords in an easy-to-understand manner, but I was nervous and I couldn’t put together a good story. I laugh at myself when the conversation with the reporter became awkward. I believe that the director will edit well from a viewer’s perspective.

The 2019 Dai Token Ichi has ended successfully. This is the biggest event where sword dealers from all over the world gather for the three-day event. There were over 73 sword dealers nationwide in attendance. All the shopkeepers were crowded with about 3,000 visitors in total, and worked hard to sell their items.
Thanks to the Dai Token Ichi, I was able to meet familiar customers, both domestic and overseas, who I could only meet online before. All the staff worked hard with the encouragement of many customers. I am thankful that I managed to reach my sales goal on the last day.
Next year, the Dai Token Ichi 2020 will be held at the Tokyo Art Club for three days from November 1st (Sunday). Both as a member of the Dai Token Ichi committee and as a sword trader, I will continue to do my best to promote the Dai Token Ichi and to increase its popularity both domestic and overseas in order to increase the number of visitors for the future.

As has been requested by some customers, we have been able to create a new function to show a more detailed photo of the swords. You can click the magnify button of each item page of the swords to see 3 to 4 times closer detail compared to previous image. It may take a bit more time to load due to the larger photo size but the wait will be worth it. Touken Matsumoto does its best to accommodate the request of all customers.

The 8th Chiba Token Ichi was held for three days at the Chiba Seminar Room near the Chiba Station on September 6th. Despite the hot weather, I appreciate all the participants who attended this event.  At this 8th Event, I was able to show my official certificate of a sword appraiser issued by the All Japan Sword Traders Association. Customers were able to rely on me for also my sword appraiser comments. However, this time, I purchased more than I was able to sell. I must make a better effort to encourage people to become a sword enthusiast to further educate the world on Japanese history and culture.
Next day of this Event, Chiba Prefecture was severally damaged from the Typhoon that hit the area. I would like to express my sympathy to those affected and wish everyone a speedy recover from the damage.

 

Every June, the Touken Matsumoto group enjoys a yearly trip to oversease in show of appreciation and hopes for continued support.
This year was the 5th time and we went Bali, Indonesia for the second time. Bali is a memorial place because I worked in Jakarta, Indonesia for five years from 2002 to 2008 at my previous financial job.
I was able to really enjoy the trip using my language skills in Bahasa Indonesia that I still remember. My staff members and I were able to refresh and will move forward with our best efforts this year and look forward to June, 2020.

On the 10th of June, the All Japan Sword Traders Association held a board member’s election. I was re-elected for another two years. I will do my best to enhance and increase the sword market. The previous retirement age limit of 70 years old was abolished allowing anyone the opportunity to became a board member. Fukami-san, from Ginza Choshuya became the chairman again.

Touken Matsumoto held the Second Kyobashi Token Ichi on June 7th, 2019 for a three-day sales event at the Gallery Kubota in Kyobashi. The rainy season in Japan has started and rained all three days. However, the location was very convenient and close  to the train station allowing all the guest to stay relatively dry. Ohkoshi Sensei, who supervised the manga drawing of Honami Meito Hiroku (the secret record of the swords of the Honami Lineage), also had the chance to visit. I also made an advertisement poster to help increase the appeal of this event. The performance of the event was better than expected. The Third Kyobashi Token Ichi will be held on October 11th for the three days at the same location. We look forward to seeing you there.

 

On May 6th,  Noda City Museum held a demonstration event of sword polishing. The polisher and lecturer was Mr. Yoichiro Kawakami, who is one of Touken Matsumoto’s staff members and was supported by his student Mr. Hendricks. Despite that day being on the last day of a long holiday, there were over 50 sword enthusiasts in attendance and we didn’t even have enough chairs to go around. They were able to show the polishing process on a large screen, so all the attendants could see. Mr. Kawakami has plenty of experience giving lectures about the process and did an outstanding job. His student Mr. Hendricks, who is also a presenter and a university lecturer helped make the event a success. This Noda City Museum Event will continue until May 27th. Please come by and visit us there.

Touken Matsumoto held the Noda-kai Sword Auction Event in Tsukuba. This was the third time this year to celebrate the 27th anniversary of the start of Noda-kai. More than fifty sword traders were in attendance and event space was filled with swords and sword fittings. The Event started from 10:00am and continued until 5:00pm. Throughout the Event everyone was active and enthusiastic. The overall results of the Event were more than twenty percent than the previous Event. I was very happy of this Event’s success. After the auction, we enjoyed a dinner party with a fun Bingo game instead of last Event’s performance.

We had the First Kyobashi Touken Ichi at the Gallery Kubota in Kyobashi. This is a convenient location next the Tokyo station and close to Ginza. There were visitors from the Tohoku and Chubu regions who visited by Shinkansen. Okoshi Hiromichi Sensei, a writer of Feudal Japan manga, visited and enjoyed seeing the exhibit. He was kind enough to present us with one of his Manga that came out on February 15th, “Big Comic.” At the event, I was successful in creating a good atmosphere among the enthusiasts. The next event, Second Kyobashi Touken Ichi will be held in June 7, 2019 at the same location for three days.