The Life of a Watch Enthusiast MT: "I think I've collected almost all of the antique Japanese boxes."

FEATURES Magazine article

2024.09.27

Orient Citizen Seiko

Mr. MT was featured in the first installment of "The Life of a Watch Enthusiast" in the March 2012 issue of this magazine. He began collecting Japanese-made watches because he wanted to buy things made by Japanese people, and with the help of antique dealer Mr. BQ, he continues to add to his collection. However, his collection is not limited to watches. At the end of 2018, Mr. M opened a private museum with a collection of watches and home appliances from the 1950s and 1960s.

MT-san
A 55-year-old businessman working in the insurance industry, he had a collection of Japanese-made watches, but moved to a new one at the end of 2018. He has now completed a private museum that not only houses watches, but also antiques from the 1950s and 60s. As a Japanese-made watch enthusiast, he is likely one of the world's leading collectors of both quality and quantity.

Photographs by Yu Mitamura
Interview and text by Masayuki Hirota (Chronos-Japan)
[Article published in the July 2019 issue of Kronos Japan]

"Maybe the places where I used to play are gone, so I'm making them myself now."

MT-san opened a shop in Shimonoseki called "a candy store for adults" that is part store, part museum. At the entrance are two cars that M-san wanted lined up. On the left is a Bluebird 410. On the right is a Bellett GTR. Both are in very good original condition. "I used to have a Bluebird 510, so I chose the old 410. The Bellett is the car I wanted to drive as a child."

　At the end of 2018, I received a call from my old acquaintance, BQ. "MT, who we previously featured in The Life of a Watch Enthusiast, is doing something interesting. Would you like to come and see?" Mr. M, who lives in Shimonoseki, is probably one of the leading collectors of antique Japanese watches in Japan, or even the world. However, his collection has already been featured in the magazine. If he had simply added more watches, there would be no need to go and see them again. "No, that's not true. He's trying to create something like a museum."

　We got off at Shimonoseki Station and drove for about 10 minutes. Just inside a small shopping street near the port, we found the "store." It looks like a garage, but it's too tidy. It also looks like a store, but there's no commercial vibe whatsoever. Mr. M, the person in question, appeared from the back. We were led to the second floor, and it was clear that this was nothing less than a museum. And it still had the same atmosphere as the 1950s.

The second floor of the "store" is lined with antiques from the 1950s and 1960s. None of them are for sale, by the way. Not because he doesn't want to sell them, but because "my values might be different from those who want them." All of the paper items in the room are wrapped in film to prevent deterioration. A typical example of Mr. M's perfectionism. "I do it myself, and my wife helps me too."

"In fact, I don't just collect clocks, I also collect home appliances. So I needed a place to put them all. So three years ago I bought a building. It was built in 1950 and was originally a pharmacy. I renovated it, and the second floor was completed in the fall of 2018."

　As soon as he sat down, Mr. M turned on the TV. Yusaku Matsuda was vaguely visible on the black and white screen. I remember TVs in the countryside looking like this.

"I fixed my black and white TV and connected a digital terrestrial tuner and DVD player."

Mr. M says he has almost all the boxes from Japanese watch manufacturers. His favorite is a Seiko box made in the late 1950s. They all look the same, but there are several variations. The watch on top of the box is Seiko's first automatic watch. It's completely original, including the strap!

　Mr. M was born in 38. He says he was attracted to the things he saw and used as a child, and eventually expanded the objects of his collection from clocks to "other" things. Washing machines, refrigerators, fans, televisions, radios, and more. Of course, he continues to collect clocks. He currently owns over 700 Japanese antiques. Mr. M says, "I have more than that, but I've given up counting." He also says, "I think there are over 300 clocks lined up at the entrance. I don't know the exact number, though."

　Being an obsessive person, Mr. M diligently collects products from around 38, even when he is busy. He buys up mountains of pamphlets from that time, as well as home appliances from online auctions and antique shops.

Royal Jupiter green dial, Orient Star Dynamic

Two interesting models from Orient. On the left is the Royal Jupiter with a green dial. According to the supplier, BQ, "I've hardly ever handled this." On the right is the Orient Star Dynamic. It looks like a normal model, but it's actually a 21-jewel model, and no sales announcements or other documentation have been found other than in posters. A phantom watch.

"I just can't seem to like new things. I only started using a smartphone three months ago. I've driven about 30 cars up until now, but they're all second-hand. The jeans I'm wearing now were bought at a second-hand shop for 1000 yen." There are many people who like second-hand things, but it's refreshing to see someone who is so thorough with their purchases. "I usually drive a current Lexus, but they're all second-hand. They're the same price as a new car, but for some reason I always choose second-hand." He says he deliberately bought second-hand cars, and liked them so much that he ended up buying two. "I thought about buying a third, but my wife was against it, so I gave up."

　But why did Mr. M want to create such a place?

Mr. M says, "I must have six or seven Seiko Autodata watches." This is a complete set with the original box, strap, and tag. It's typical of Mr. M to prefer understated watches over "showy" watches. Manufactured in the early 1950s. It's highly likely that Seiko used this type of box until the late 1950s.

"I guess I've had a desire for space since I was little. I might have been interested in places. When I was little, I would go to play and never come back. I would make temples and other places my base of operations. And I would play in cheap candy stores. Maybe I want to make a cheap candy store. Not a children's candy store, but an adult candy store," he began, as if ruminating.

"I collect a lot of things, but I don't have a camera. Maybe that's because my father never bought one. We did have a radio, and a black and white TV. And we kept buying new ones every time a new product came out." Rows of home appliances lined up in the former pharmacy. These were probably things that Mr. M had seen as a boy.

"I like cool watches," says Mr. M. "Isn't this one really nice?" he asks, bringing out an Orient Star Hinomatic from the mid-1950s. It's not an automatic watch, but has a center second hand. It's the first Japanese manufacturer to feature a hacking function. The watch was only produced for three months.

"My father was a carpenter. We lived in a one-story house in Kobe, but he added a second floor on his own and it became a three-generation household. My great-grandmother, her younger brother and his wife, and our family. My father made me help with the carpentry work, painting walls and things like that. So I like that kind of work of making things, and of course carpentry as well." Three years ago, Mr. M bought a former pharmacy and has transformed it into a place he loves.

　Mr. M's "desire for space" is particularly evident in his watch collection. There are many watch collectors out there, but he wants to preserve his watches in as much of their original form as possible.

"I think I've collected almost all of the antique boxes made in Japan. I want to restore them to the condition they were in when I first sold them."

The inside of the charming "store" is packed with washing machines, refrigerators, and promotional items from the 1950s and 1960s in the former kitchen on the ground floor. But that's just a small part of what's inside.

Domestic antique clocks

The shelves on the second floor are lined with antique Japanese-made clocks. These are rare "functional clocks." Naturally, they all come with their own boxes.

　He showed me a Seiko Autodata from the 1950s, completely original, including the box and tags. He said he bought the watch 10 years ago and later added the box.

"I didn't buy them in this format. However, from what I've read in documents from that time, they were probably sold in this combination."

　However, Autodata is a tough choice. Come to think of it, when we interviewed him previously, Mr. M's collection did not include many "functional" watches such as Grand Seiko. Even now, he says he only owns around 30. "I don't really need a 'Grand'. I'm happy to only buy the ones I like." BQ, who was also with us, added: "Mr. M only buys watches based on his own preferences."

When he purchased the store, the interior was in a state of disrepair, so Mr. M worked to restore it by covering the mud walls, which could not be repaired, with wallpaper.

The first floor, a former pharmacy, is filled with built-in shelves. Clocks are lined up on the shelves. As you would expect from a collection that has been collected over more than 20 years, they are all rare.

　Mr. M drives a Lexus and collects antiques as a hobby. He even bought a house as a place to display his collection, so he is clearly rich by any standards. In fact, his main home is a stylish apartment. With that much money, one would normally want to collect only expensive and rare items.

"I don't need designer clothes or nice suits anymore. I don't need a rare watch. I don't want to drive a Ferrari. I just want to create something."

Watch-related posters from the 1940s to 60s

Mr. M also has a large collection of paper items. This is a collection of clock-related posters from the 1940s to 60s.

Citizen "Parashock" poster

The second from the left is the famous Citizen "Parashock" poster. All of them are in excellent condition. The rest of his items are basically stored in his apartment.

　So what is Mr M planning to do?

"I've actually asked the stores on either side of me to sell their stores to me if they ever sell them. If we expand the floor space, we'll be able to store a wider variety of items. I'd also like to acquire the building across the street, which is for sale. It's five stories tall and has 265 square meters of floor space, so maybe I could turn it into a museum."

　However, Mr. M doesn't seem to have any desire to open a shop. He just wants to have an "adult candy store" where he can display the things he likes and serve tea to people who come. In fact, this "store" is only open for a few hours during the day on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The reason he doesn't list the address or anything else is because "he wants only people who read the article and find it interesting to come."

Above is a store display from the 1960s that Mr. M would like to recreate someday. He says he doesn't have a complete collection yet, but he has arranged them in the same way. Clockwise from the top right, they are: Diamond Flake, Dressy, Record Master, Alarm, Chronometer, Homer, Chronometer, Chronomaster, and Jet Autodata. It seems like he has almost everything, but Mr. M says, "I still don't have the boxes for the Orient Luminous and Citizen Auto."

"Actually, I'm currently building a small row house behind this building. It's a row house-style sweets store. I don't intend to open a restaurant. I just want people to be able to gather and have fun."

When passion for a place reaches this level, it's genuine. But the question remains: Why did Mr. M want to arrange the space to this extent? He bought a house for antiques, and collected boxes for antique clocks. He wouldn't do something like this unless there was a very good reason.

"The city of Kobe where I was born and raised was almost completely destroyed in the Great Hanshin Earthquake. The shopping street under the elevated railway where I bought my secondhand clothes and Seiko 5 watches in high school is also on the verge of disappearing. Perhaps I'm making my own place because I no longer have a place to play."

Mr. M's collection is now not limited to watches and home appliances, but has expanded to include celluloid pencil cases, character tableware, and for some reason, toasters and electric stoves. His wife says, "I have no idea what it means." However, every weekend, the family spends a few hours in this "store." "For some reason, it's a place where I feel at peace," she says.