It was in June 1936 that Toya first opened its store in Ginza.
The efforts of my father, the previous president, bore fruit during the difficult times of the February 26 Incident. My father's wish to show products made in Kyoto to customers in Tokyo was fulfilled, but why Ginza?
I feel that thinking about what makes this place different from other places will lead to future developments.
The encyclopedia explains that the origins of Ginza began when, shortly after the Tokugawa Shogunate was established, Ieyasu moved the place where coins were minted from Sunpu to the area around present-day Ginza 2-chome. However, it seems that the development of the town began between 1873 and 1876, when, at the initiative of the government of the time, the area between Kyobashi and Shimbashi was turned into a Western-style brick street.
( Booklet Ginza 15th Avenue (From Issue No. 170, 2011 )
Therefore, although only 130 years have passed since then, I have heard that none of the stores that opened in Ginza at that time remain today.
I'm not sure if there are any shops in Ginza, but even if there are, they are probably only a few. Compared to Kyoto, where I was born, one of the characteristics of Ginza is that shops change frequently.
Stores that were popular and successful in their local areas continued to come in, and my father often said, "Behind the store they come out with everything they have: the sensibility that goes into coming up with popular products, the craftsmen and skills who make them, and the many customers who continue to support them."
I like the use of the word "tosagete" (pulling something down). It really captures the feeling.
New, powerful stores from outside the area revitalize the area and maintain or even increase its value. They bring in new blood from elsewhere.
So, with all sorts of stores putting together elaborate stalls like this, it seems like the event will end up looking like any other trade fair held around the country.
However, this is not the case in Ginza. The stores in Ginza are highly individualistic, stocking unique, exquisitely crafted products that cannot be replaced anywhere else, and selling high-added-value items that can only be found in that store.
Realistically speaking, judging from the land prices and rents in Ginza, if one were to invest from scratch, it would not be viable to sell products that are sold anywhere, and low prices would not last long.
It can only be affirmed when you take into account the advertising effect, antenna shop, or showroom elements that disregard profits.
In many ways, it is a "completed store" that brings with it "a completed product," but it is necessary for it to take the next step to evolve into a "store that is quintessentially Ginza."
In our case, we create our products with a sensibility of "elegant refinement," and this has been the case ever since my father opened his shop in Ginza.
It incorporated the elegance and sophistication of Kyoto with the chic of Edo, creating an atmosphere that was refined without being unsophisticated, and chic without descending into vulgarity. In short, it took the best of both worlds, and that is why it changed after coming to Ginza.
Customers in Tokyo have started to tell me that "Toya's products have a certain neatness to them," but they are clearly different from the products made in my grandfather's time.
It is unclear what will happen to Ginza in the future, but it seems best to at least consider the issues facing individual stores separately from those facing the district as a whole.
As a town, there are various development plans, problems with transportation access, and efforts to disseminate information through various initiatives and events, so this is a major government-related matter and I would like to leave that aside for now and focus only on our store.
( Booklet Ginza 15th Avenue (From Issue No. 170, 2011 )
As I mentioned earlier, we want to show our customers something unique and one of a kind about our store, and this ultimately leads to the production of original products.
In other words, it is direct sales from manufacturing. It may be better to say that it is a retailer with many elements of a manufacturer, or a manufacturer that can also handle retail. Depending on the industry, this may not be possible due to issues with production lots, but fortunately, Kyoto pottery has long been produced in small quantities with a wide variety of items, so it is flexible and possible to create new products even in small quantities.
Including painting, you can find out how many pieces can be made in a day, how many pieces can be painted with one bag of real gold, etc. In any case, you can find out the net cost that will always be incurred no matter where else it is made.
We are confident in our prices because we decide the appropriate selling price for each product based on the cost price. How do we feel about rice bowls that cost 10,000 yen each in the current situation where 100-yen shops are popular? There are products that we think are cheap even at 10,000 yen each, and on the other hand, there are products that we think are expensive and worthless even at 100 yen each, so we want to approach things with a sense of value, discernment, and aesthetics.
We want to maintain the standard of our work and provide better products at a fair price. We believe that the basis of our business is honesty and sincerity.
Toya has recently, albeit belatedly, begun selling products online, and although it is still early days, our dreams are expanding as we now cater to a global audience.
With the boom in Japanese food all over the world, it seems that Japanese tableware is no longer just for Japanese people. In Kyoto, a tourist-filled shop, it is not uncommon for English to be used every day and for all sales that day to be from foreigners.
Only when a country values its own culture while accepting the cultures of other countries can it be called truly international.
We would like to spread our wings from the Ginza of Japan to the Ginza of the world.
(Booklet Ginza 15th Avenue (From Issue No. 170, 2011)
