189 YEARS OF HISTORY

Kyugetsu is a famous brand of Japanese traditional Artwork Dolls.
Our history began in 1835 with the aspiration of one samurai to leave his sword behind and become a doll maker.
The 'craftsman's spirit' of the samurai who abandoned his sword and,
and the 'dollmaker's spirit' that has remained unchanged through the ages.

TENPOU

1835

In windy May, on the banks of the Kanda River, Kyuzaemon Yokoyama raised the nameplate of the dollmaker Kyugetsu.

kouka

1845

Kyubei Ⅱ, who had been training as an heir while helping his father Kyuzaemon, made a major decision at the age of 30.He left the place where the company was founded and moved to Kayacho 2-chome, and sent his 10-year-old son to serve an apprenticeship with Yoshinoya Tokubei in Kayacho 1-chome, a large doll and toy wholesaler at the time.

Bunkyu

1862

At the age of ten, the young Kyubei Ⅲ was apprenticed to a large wholesaler and received a rigorous education in line with the prestige of a long-established business. Starting with etiquette, behaviour and business practices, he was unfamiliar with the customs of a merchant family.

Meiji

1884

His son, Kyubei IV, inherited the business methods of his father, Kyubei Yoshinoya, from an early age and took over the shop at the age of just 23. The first thing he did when he became the owner was to revive the trade name ‘Kyugetsu’, which was given by Kyubei I at the time of the establishment of the business.

Taisho

1923

The signboard that currently hangs in front of the main entrance to the head office was made at the beginning of the Showa period, during the reign of the fifth generation, and was written by the calligrapher Toyodo Shunkai, who was also the abbot of Katorokuin in Kuramae, Asakusa, at the time.