Yanaka Matsunoya - Perfect Handmade Tools For Daily Life

A Trip to America Enlightens Owner Matsuno-san

With a relaxed atmosphere common to a downtown kind of family-run business, Matsuno-san greets customers in his shop dressed in a casual polo shirt. He also speaks fluent English, having spent time abroad in America during his younger years.

When Matsuno-san graduated from university some forty years ago, he headed for Kyoto where he spent time learning about handbags at one of the city's long-established shops. After studying handbag design, pattern-making and production, he embarked on a journey around the U.S. before finally returning home.

When Matsuno-san traveled around America in the 1970s, LEVI'S blue jeans and other brand name products using durable materials, were just coming into fashion.

Influenced by what he saw, Matsuno-san began wondering if there was a potential market for these kind of products in Japan as well.

Thick sake glass (small size - 1200 yen plus tax) and saucer (800 yen plus tax)

1970s Japan was an era that saw home centers emerge, and the selling of mass-produced plastic goods. These low priced products became a huge hit and there was a growing sense among consumers that traditional handicrafts were expensive items.

In spite of this, Matsuno-san went out and met various artisans and discovered that industrial handicrafts made from durable materials did have potential in Japan. Since then it's been his hope that consumers will also come to appreciate the goodness of these products.

So in order to spread the word about handicrafts and daily goods, Yanaka Matsunoya was born.

Traveling Japan in Search of High Quality Handicrafts

All products in the shop were made by craftspeople who Matsuno-san has actually met. These goods go on sale in the shop only after the artisans have been met and each item has been personally checked. Products are not limited to Japan: high quality products from overseas also line the shelves.

Straw Kettle Rest (medium size - 2000 yen plus tax)

There are more than one hundred different kinds of products in the shop, and each one lists where it was made. If you go to the Matsunoya Homepage there are photos of the craftspeople who made the products. These photos allow the person who buys a product to feel a warm connection to the artisan who made it.

With an aim to eliminating the long-held belief that handmade goods are expensive, the price of Matsunoya's products are coming into line with the price of mass-produced items. This pricing system allows customers to easily purchase items they like, while ensuring that the craftspeople who poured their heart and soul into making the products, also receive their fair share of the sale proceeds.

When we asked about the shop's recommended products, without any hesitation Matsuno-san brought out a handbag. THREAD-LINE is the shop's original brand that's personally designed by Matsuno-san and produced by an artisan in Kyoto.

"Even though women can use men's handbags, men can't very well use women's handbags can they," commented Matsuno-san, who then went on to explain that this was the reason he created a handbag that everyone can use. He emphasized that his handbags are very durable.

While he showed his product to us he talked about his thoughts and feelings surrounding it.

Handmade, Useful Items

While having the spirit of a Japanese craftsperson and a unique way of thinking that was honed in America, owner Matsuno-san circles the globe in search of high quality goods for his shop. But even though he has a global perspective that looks out towards the world, he also hopes that the quaint, rustic atmosphere of Yanaka Ginza never changes.

When I first met Matsuno-san, we sat on the two red-colored beer crates (photo above) under a clear blue sky, with the sound of cicadas chirping in the background. As he talked passionately about how Matsunoya got its start, his eyes gently lit up, and I could feel myself being deeply moved upon hearing this story.

Yanaka Matsunoya. This is certainly a place where customers will be greeted with warmth and kindness.

*This article was originally written in traditional Chinese, then translated and re-edited first into Japanese, and then subsequently into English.

Yanaka Matsunoya

3-14-14 Nishinippori, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo 116-0013