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The 4th Morioka Token Ichi was held for three days from Friday, May 9th at the Aina, Iwate Prefectural Information Exchange Center near Morioka Station. It has been held every year for three years to convey the Artistic beaty of Japanese swords to the three northern Tohoku prefectures of Iwate, Aomori, and Akita. Since the results have been not successful so far, we were prepared to withdraw if the results were poor this year as well. On the morning of Thursday, the 8th, the day before the event, we visited Hiraizumi, surrounded by fresh greenery, and toured the national treasure “Golden Hall [金色堂]” of Chusonji Temple [中尊寺]. We were touched by the expression of the paradise of the Heian period as envisioned by the Oshu Fujiwara clan, and prayed for the success of the event. As a result, we received a response like never before, as seen in newspaper advertisements and an article in the local Iwate Nippo newspaper. 92-year-old swordsmith Kiyofusa Yamaguchi [山口清房], who is a Mukansa [無鑑査] swordsmith, came to the venue for two days in good spirits and talked about swordsmithing. I have decided to hold the event again in May next year in order to meet the expectations of sword enthusiasts who are looking forward to the event.

The 4th Yamagata Token Ichi/Sword Fair was held for three days from Friday, April 25th at Yamagata Big Wing (Yamagata International Plaza). We had not only local customers who were purchasing Japanese swords for the first time, but also sword enthusiasts who came all the way from Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures. All of our staff are filled with gratitude to the customers who traveled from prefectures to visit our Token Ichi all over Tohoku. We will do our utmost to make our Token Ichi which all visitors will be glad to have come to!

The 6th Sendai Token Ichi was held for three days from Friday, March 14th at Yume Messe Miyagi in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. In addition to repeatedly placing advertisements in local newspapers, this time we received many items from a local sword collecter and sold many local swords listed in the book of “Sendai Domain Swordsmiths directory [仙台藩刀匠銘譜]”, which became a topic and was a huge success. Of the 18 swords sold, 16 were local swords. This shows the strong hometown pride that local sword enthusiasts have for their hometown. The three fulfilling days flew by and I had many great conversations with many local people.

The 12th Koriyama Token Ichi was held for three days from Friday, February 21st at Big Palette Fukushima in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. The strongest cold wave had been stagnant in the Tohoku district, and there were concerns about heavy snowfall, but fortunately Koriyama was blessed with good weather, and the local newspapers Fukushima Minpo and Fukushima Minyu Newspapers continued to cover the sales event, so it was very busy every day. It is very rewarding to hear many regular customers say they look forward to the Koriyama Token Ichi being held every six months. The next 13th Koriyama Token Ichi will be held in August, six months from now. We will do our best to meet the expectations of Fukushima sword enthusiasts !

I visited the private exhibition Fifty Years of Sword Making by Yoshimitsu Ohno[大野義光], Splendid Juka-choji hamon Blade” held at the Art Gallery of the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store. In addition to reproduce of the national treasure tachi Yamatorige[山鳥毛], 20 swords made by the prestigious Ohno Yoshimitsu swordsmith are on display and for sale. While the cost of charcoal and craftwork are rising, it must be said that Japanese swords are considerably cheaper than paintings and other works of art. I want this to be a good opportunity to raise the reputation of Japanese swords,” said Swordsmith Ohno Yoshimitsu passionately. The exhibition will be held until Monday, February 10th. Please don’t miss this opportunity to appreciate Swordsmith Ohno’s gorgeous Juka-choji hamon swords.

The 24th Noda Token Ichi was held for three days from Friday, January 24th at the Business Hotel Noda. This time, in addition to the local free paper “Chiiki Shimbun”, we also advertised the event in the Chiba edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun and posted posters at the four nearest stations on the Tobu Noda Line. Thanks to the good weather, the fair was busy and crowded every day. The first day of this event was the 89th birthday of my father, founder of Token Matsumoto. He worked tirelessly selling the swords for three days, chatting with familiar local customers. The first sales event of 2025 got off to a good start, and all the staff returned home in a happy mood.

The first Japanese sword class of the new year was held at the shop in Noda. It started in 2020 with Nakahara Nobuo sensei as the lecturer. Once a month on a weekend from 5pm for about two hours, participants will appreciate five swords and develop an eye for Japanese swords. Now in its fifth year, I am happy to see that the participants’ discerning eyes have improved.

I would like to extend our best wishes for the New Year.

Thank you for your patronage last year. In the new year, all of our staff will do our best to provide you with swords and sword fittings that will please you.  We appreciate your continued support this year.　(The first sunrise with Mount Fuji. Mt. Yatsugatake and Southern Alps illuminated by the first sunrise. Photographed in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture.)

I invited Nakahara Nobuo sensei as a lecturer and held the third study session for young sword dealers participating in my Nodakai sword auction. Nakahara sensei gave the lecture based on his 51-year career with swords, including his points of view how to appraise Japanese swords and sword fittings. I hope that young sword dealers will grow up and that they will all do good business and improve each other. After the class, we had Bonenkai, a fun year-end party with the teacher.

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.