About

 I began dealing in Japanese antiques in Monmouth Street around 1965-66, in partnership with Emile Boin in his shop Sakura, in Monmouth Street, London WC2. After a year together, he decided that he wanted to be a full-time lacquer restorer (which he had been studying for some years under Mr Kaneko, a Japanese teacher) and asked me whether I would mind finding another shop. He had originally sold modern Japanese artifacts from Sakura. I found a shop a couple of hundred yards away in New Compton Street, from which I traded for five years, until the lease ran out. Again I found a shop nearby, in St. Giles High Street where I traded for another five years, again  until the lease ran out. My next and last shop was in Museum Street, where I remained from 1975 until 1991. Since that time, although retaining my love for Japanese art, and having been a consultant to Christie’s, I have also been involved with other things,  writing many articles for the Netsuke Kenkyukai and then the International Netsuke Society Journals and two or three for the the Bulletin Association Franco-Japonaise.

7 New Compton Street:

58 St. Giles High Street, London WC2

23 Museum Street, London WC1

With Nihon Token online I hope  to have more time to share things of interest with like-minded people. These will include Japanese works of art, travels in Japan, Japanese buildings and other things from odd corners of Japanese society and culture.

Mike Dean.