Antique dealer Kunihiro Iida, 66, specializes in tea ceremony utensils. His tiny corner shop, Iidakojitsudo, is just 500 meters from Tokyo Station's Yaesu side, in the historical district of Kyobashi. Built in 1971 by the famed carpenter Kisaburo Fujii — who studied under Ogi Rodo, the grandmaster of sukiya architecture typical of traditional Japanese teahouses — Iidakojitsudo's building stands on legendary ground. It was here, in Iida's father-in-law's house, that Maeda Nansai (1880 — 1956), the famous Edo craftsman, created his sashimono masterpieces: furniture and objects with mortise and tenon joinery. Iida is such a perfect fit for this shop, so saturated in the atmosphere of the past and frequented by legendary figures, that he himself is becoming a personality. Acclaimed as a walking-talking history book, other antique dealers often turn to Iida in their search for knowledge and the true sense of wabi-sabi.
It's easier to recognize our own culture's worth when we see foreigners appreciate it. Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), the great art collector, often visited Japan. On one of these trips, he traveled to Kyoto to pay his respects at the grave of Honami Koetsu, one of his favorite artists. Back then the Japanese had neglected Koetsu's grave, which was, like a nearby teahouse, in disarray. After seeing that an American would travel all the way to visit it, though, Kyoto's residents not only cleaned up the site, but they also created the Koetsu-kai, a tea ceremony event in Koetsu's memory.
Kansai dialect is perfect for business. People in Osaka say hello with "Mokarimakka," which means "How is business?" "Bochi bochi," meaning "Not bad," is the reply. These expressions keep one's mind on the money.