"Kingyoya Toen" in Shichiken-Cho, Shizuoka

The roots of Kingyoya Toen date back to the Taisho period.
They raised goldfish and carp in fish tanks and sold them in their shop or by having salespeople travel around the city to sell them, and from autumn to spring they also sold pottery.

In 1927, the second generation owner, who was 19 years old at the time, was working at a pottery shop in Nagoya. Although he closed his goldfish shop and changed the business model to specialize in pottery, he wanted to retain the individuality that made him known as a "goldfish shop" and so decided to use this as the store name.

The History of Kingyoya Toen

Located in Shichiken-Cho, the heart of Shizuoka City, a castle town, this historic shop had been operating with the desire since it was founded to "convey the feelings of the people who made the pottery." However, with the changing times, large home furniture stores and stores offering inexpensive, decent products began to appear, and as a result, the shop was faced with an unavoidable decline in regular customers, and finally closed in 2009 (Heisei 21).

The flow of time and the role of Kingyoya Toen

Even though the stores have closed, we can see that, contrary to the rise of large stores, there is still a slight trend towards a rethinking of mass production and mass consumption.

Since our founding, we have valued the creators' thoughts and the stories behind them, and have communicated these to our customers face-to-face.

The importance of the "passion of the maker" and "story" is still valued and remains important in the workplace of professionals who handle tableware, but now that the store has closed, they can no longer communicate this to customers who can no longer see them face to face. Is that really okay?

By learning about the stories and profound depths contained within the vessels themselves, people around the world should be able to attain greater spiritual richness.

I came to believe that it was Kingyoya Toen's role to "communicate this to the world."

Tableware for commercial use has a definite charm that sets it apart from mass-produced, cheap items.

What is important to me is to find value in living with "things that move you emotionally" in this age of material consumption, and to live each day "with a sense of quality" by learning about ancient wisdom and customs.