Touken Matsumoto (English)

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.

The Nada-kai Sword Auction Semi-Annual Event took place on December 3rd in a hotel convention room in Noda. This is the third time this year that the semi-annual convention was held on December 3rd in line with the annual convention on June 3rd. Thanks to all of you, this year we were able to set new records, albeit only slightly better than the past two years, in terms of attendance and turnout. It was a fulfilling day for all the staff.  The Noda-Kai Sword Auction first started in 1992 and is now 31 years old. At this event, fifty-five sword dealers gathered and bought and sold a lot of swords and fittings, making this semi-annual event exciting. We will strive to continue to boost the spirits of our Noda-Kai Sword Auction into the future.

On Saturday, November the 25th, the 3rd National NBTHK Convention was held at Hotel Ryogoku in the presence of Her Royal Highness Queen Akiko. It also commemorated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the NBTHK,  a public interest incorporated foundation, as well as the 45th anniversary of “Tatara,” method of iron manufacturing. Nearly 300 participants related to the sword society gathered that day. I also attended as a member of the All Japan Sword Dealers Association. It was a rare opportunity to meet with many sensei, friends, and acquaintances, but due to an injury I was unable to move around and only made conversations with those around me. I was filled with honor. In addition, Hiroshi Yamada, a member of the House of Councilors, gave a congratulatory speech and mentioned the selection of the living national treasure swordsmiths, the international appeal of Japanese swords (contemporary swords), and the traditional method of iron manufacturing “Tatara culture.” These three items are expected to gain support from politicians. It was a major event for those involved in Japanese swords to aim for future development.

The Dai Token Ichi 2023 was held successfully. This year, the number of participants was 70 dealers. The event was held on November 18 and 19, since the period was shortened by one day to make the event even more fulfilling. From the opening time of 10 am, the waiting line was 30 to 40 minutes long, but because of the good weather, many visitors from Japan and overseas didn’t mind the wait. This shows just how enthusiastic they were to enter and view the items that were for sale. Unfortunately, just a few days earlier I injured my Achilles tendon forcing me to sit in a chair for most of the event. When I met people, everyone was asking why I was wearing the cast on my leg. I was embarrassed but was grateful for everyone’s concern. I really enjoyed this year’s Dai Token Ichi. I could meet many old friends, acquaintances, and was even able to make new friends.  I am already looking forward to next year’s Dai Token Ichi. 

The 9th Koriyama Token Ichi was held at Big Palette Fukushima for three days starting from Friday,  September 22nd. In addition to advertising on social media such as Facebook and local newspapers, the local newspaper came to cover the event and published articles about it, making it a lively event with many sword collectors and future sword enthusiasts in attendance. There were many visitors at the event who purchased Japanese swords for the very first time. We were happy that this was the result of our careful customer service and thorough explanations so that they could make their purchases with confidence. They could rely on us to provide the information they wanted to know.  The next Koriyama Token Ichi will be held in March of next year. We will continue to do our best to offer attractive products that sword enthusiasts in Fukushima Prefecture will look forward to seeing! We hope to make it another successful event.

The 9th Nishikasai Token Ichi was held at the Tokyo Nishikasai shop for five days starting from Wednesday, September 6th. This time as well, we placed advertisements in the metropolitan area editions of the Yomiuri Newspaper morning edition that covers Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa Prefectures. Also, we utilized social networking services, such as Facebook, in an effort to attract customers. It is my impression that the social networking services were effective since in addition to familiar regular customers, there were many young people visiting the shop for the first time. We made every effort to create a good shop atmosphere and provide detailed explanations so that these new faces will become sword enthusiasts and regular customers in the future.

We will place an advertisement in the Toto Yomiuri newspaper on August 25th in the edition No. 1930 as an advertisement for the Tokyo Nishikasai shop. The Toto Yomiuri Newspaper is an affiliate of the Yomiuri Newspaper and was first published in 1975. It is distributed as an insert in the morning edition of 15,000 Yomiuri Newspaper readers’ households in eastern Tokyo; the entire Edogawa-ku, Koto-ku, Sumida-ku, and Katsushika-ku, and some areas of Adachi-ku, Taito-ku, and Minato-ku. After many meetings with the representatives of Toto Yomiuri, we were able to come up with an ad design that we were satisfied with to help promote our shop. We hope to increase our local awareness and attract more customers in the future.

       

The 2nd Yamagata Token Ichi Sales Event was held at the Yamagata Big Wing for 3 days from Friday, July 28th. The weather outside was scorching hot the entire weekend but the venue inside was air-conditioned and comfortable.

There were many sword enthusiasts who visited thanks to the kind words from the NBTHK branches located in Yonezawa, Shonai, and Yamagata and advertisements in the local newspaper. At the event, I was able to enjoy talking with the local enthusiasts and collectors. We didn’t meet the goal of selling 10 swords, but we were able to sell 6 and 3 of those were to first time sword buyers. I feel this was a good result for the 3-day event. During the day, I gave explanations to visitors, and in the evening, I was able to eat delicious Yamagata cuisine.

Next year in 2024, the 3rd Yamagata Token Ichi Sales Event will be held for 3 days from Friday, July 26th. We will do our best to prepare a wide range of attractive swords and fittings so that Yamagata enthusiasts can look forward to the next Yamagata Token Ichi Sales Event. We look forward to seeing you then!

The 21st Noda Token Ichi was held at the Business Hotel Noda for three days from Friday, July 14th. Although it was an extremely hot day in the Kanto region, many customers visited the event. From this event, we changed the sword racks from a wooden cloth stand to a transparent acrylic stand so that the exhibits can be clearly seen. We also placed an event flag at the entrance of the venue to create interest. We were able to exhibit a sword display box to promote a new sword appreciation style. This was the 21st time to hold the Noda Token Ichi. It is held every year in January and July. There were many customers who were looking forward to this event, and all the staff worked hard to welcome and take care of them. Thanks to everyone, our efforts paid off. I will continue to do my best for all future events!

Mr. Keisuke Nakamura, a sword case maker, visited us as a customer yesterday. Our store was posted on his blog. Please take a look although it is only in Japanese. (https://note.com/katana_case_shi/n/n9aabe3df57b8) Based on the concept of “living with swords,” Mr. Nakamura has commercialized a “sword display box” that allows you to appreciate swords in your daily life. By displaying a beautiful sword in the sword display box, you can enjoy the sword anytime without worry. If many people have more opportunities to come into contact with swords, the number of sword enthusiasts will increase. Also, it would encourage the act of inheriting the swords by the next generation.  I have high hopes for the sword display box. It may become an important product that will greatly change the traditional style that sword enthusiasts love.

My wife and I visited Kyoto to visit the grave of a previous boss of mine back at another company, who I asked to be the witness at my wedding 32 years ago. He suddenly passed away in January this year. At the time of my marriage, he was the general manager at my previous job and I respected him. It had been 13 years ago since the last time I met with him.  I wanted to tell him that I had met my goal of becoming a sword trader in person, but I did so at his grave at the Daitokuji Temple. It has been a long time since I visited Kyoto and I visited famous places as well. I found Kyoto to be very international with tourists from all over the world. If you haven’t visited Kyoto before, you should try to see this beautiful and traditional city.

This year was the 9th vacation trip with my staff and business partners. Our yearly vacation is held every year in June, which is the fiscal year end for our company, so I can show my gratitude for the current year and help to encourage our efforts for the next year. For the past three years, we have visited Okinawa due to the Corona crisis and the difficulties of international travel. However this year, for the first time in a while, we went overseas. We visited Da Nang, Vietnam, which was surprisingly inexpensive even if you stay in a luxury hotel. So I was able to thoroughly enjoy the hotel stay, Vietnamese food, and sightseeing at the local ruins. We will do our best to successfully close this year and to ensure the continued satisfaction for our customers next year!

The 8th Nishikasai Token Ichi was held at the Nishikasai shop in Tokyo for 5 days starting from June 7th. Although the rainy season has started in Japan, many customers visited the shop and it was a success. This time we exhibited attractive armor and koshirae of both yari and naginata. They made a good atmosphere for selling and our performance was the best ever.  I want to say thank you very much to all the visitors, business partners, and to our staff. Token Matsumoto will continue to do our best to be a sword shop customers desire to visit. We hope you will stop by and see us.