Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Open Access

Language：English  

CiNii Research

Language：English  

CiNii Research

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese  

CiNii Research

Other Link： https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-18K12282/

Language：Japanese

CiNii Research

Total pages：309p   Language：Japanese

CiNii Research

Total pages：451, 9p, 図版viiip   Language：Japanese

CiNii Research

CiNii Research

Event date： 2025.9

Language：English   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Venue：Tohoku University   Country：Japan  

A Gentleman and a Scholar: Nomura Shōjirō in Early 20th Century Kyoto
Michelle Kuhn (Nagoya University)

Not many shopkeepers are as famous as their shops, but in early 20th century Kyoto, Nomura Shōjirō (野村正治郎, 1879–1943) was renowned for his hospitality, his knowledge of antique textiles as well as his salesmanship. Shōjirō’s shop was not just a store, it was also a popular place for foreign travelers to relax, play billiards, smoke cigars, and enjoy Japanese delicacies served by Shōjirō’s wife and daughter. Moreover, Shōjirō kept guestbooks that contain messages from his clients between 1913 and 1939. The Nomura Shōjirō guestbooks are an invaluable resource that showcase the interests and identities of international tourists from Europe, the United States and Australia. As might be expected, the reviews of Shōjirō’s shop in the guestbooks are invariably positive. However, the glowing depictions of the shop are supplemented with compliments on the proprietor himself.
Given the volume of clients who passed through Shōjirō’s shop, it is unlikely that Shōjirō allowed every guest and customer to sign the books. Many signatories were internationally famous, and their autographs were an attraction in themselves. Present day restaurants and shops in Japan display autographs of TV stars and baseball players for the same reason. Other patrons, however, were chosen due to their interesting stories to document in the guestbooks. One refrain echoes through these entries, the shop was a fairyland and the proprietor was a wonderful man.
This presentation will consider the portrait of Nomura Shōjirō as painted by the messages written in his guestbooks, where he is described as a “delightfully entertaining emperor of all who deal in beauty,” an “art connoisseur,” “a guide and philosopher,” as well as shrewd merchant. Most of the foreign visitors to Japan in the early years of the guestbooks did not have Japanese language ability, they were entirely dependent on their translators and guides. Shōjirō was such a guide for his clients and as he welcomed some of these clients into his home as guests, they viewed him as a friend and not simply a merchant. This presentation will consider the depiction of Shōjirō in the guestbooks in comparison to the scholarly biographies of Shōjirō.

Event date： 2025.7

Language：English   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Venue：Tokyo   Country：Japan  

“The Brightest Spot in the Orient”: Nomura Shōjirō’s Shop of Dreams

Nomura Shōjirō (野村正治郎, 1879-1943) was an art, antiquities, and kimono dealer in Kyoto during the early 20th century. Shōjirō’s shop was one of several in Kyoto catering to foreign patrons, but unlike other shops, Shōjirō kept guestbooks that contain messages from his clients from 1913 to 1939. Similar to the way restaurants in present day Japan will display autographs of famous visitors, Shōjirō’s guestbooks contain messages from the rich and famous. Yet, messages from “normal people” are included amongst the autographs of foreign royalty, baseball players, and radio stars.
This presentation will analyze the changing socio-economic class, background, and region of origin of Shōjirō’s patrons in the 1910’s to after he handed over control of the shop to his adopted son, Shizuo in the early 1930’s. Within these changing identities, one theme runs through their comments, the Nomura Store was the best store they had been to in Japan. Shōjirō also had his own personal collection of textiles that he would show patrons while displaying his wares, leading many patrons to liken his shop to a “museum.” As Charles W Bartlett wrote in 1915, “after India, we found Japan perhaps a little disappointing… then Mr. Nomura showed us his treasures.”

Event date： 2025.4

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Venue：Nagoya   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2025.1

Language：English   Presentation type：Public lecture, seminar, tutorial, course, or other speech  

Venue：Nagoya University of Foreign Studies   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2023.11

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Venue：Tokyo   Country：Japan  

Type：Competition, symposium, etc.