Glimpse into Japan’s clockmaking heritage

Nestled on the tranquil island of Osaki-Shimojima, off Japan's southern coast, time seems to drift slowly. Believed to be one of Japan's oldest clock shops, its origins are shrouded in mystery, with no precise records pinpointing its exact founding date.

Time seems to drift gently on the island of Osaki-Shimojima, nestled in an archipelago off the southern coast of Japan’s Honshu, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

Here, elderly fishermen leisurely cast their lines from stone embankments into the Seto Inland Sea. The island’s historic district, Mitarai, is lined with wooden buildings that have stood for 250 years, their traditional clay tile roofs, known as kawara, a testament to the island's enduring charm.

Among these venerable structures is the Shinko Clock Shop, reputed to be one of Japan’s oldest clock and watch shops, though its exact origins remain a mystery.

“We can't pinpoint with certainty whether it’s the oldest, but it’s certainly among the oldest,” says Mitsushi Matsuura, 45, the fifth-generation proprietor of the family-run business.

Based on a local grave marker and some family records, the Matsuura family believes the shop began as a purveyor of rice and other goods in the late 1700s, transitioning to clocks during the Meiji era (1868-1912). Today, Mitsushi and his father, Keiichi, 79, manage the sales and repairs, while other family members handle accounting and administrative duties.

As I approached the shop, marked by a large red-case Seiko clock mounted above the door, the serene silence of the island struck me—this was a far cry from the bustling streets of Tokyo, which are over 16 hours away by train, bus, and boat.

Masako Takigawa, head of tourism promotion for Kure— the city encompassing the 17.5-square-kilometer (6.7-square-mile) island of Osaki-Shimojima and its 1,600 residents—notes that the tranquility of the island is a recent development.

“Mitarai was once a bustling port town, thriving as a strategic hub on the Seto Inland Sea from the mid-Edo period onward,” she explains, referring to the mid-17th to early 18th centuries.

Today, the island’s charm endures. Residents continue their tradition of greeting one another on the streets, and the district’s historic buildings, especially the vacant ones, are adorned with bamboo vases filled with vibrant seasonal flowers.

Visitors, primarily from Japan, come to admire the old stone pier, a historic lighthouse, and several notable buildings, including a former brothel housing nearly 100 women and the Otomeza Theater, a 1937 gem with tatami floors. A quaint guesthouse, housed in a 110-year-old building that was once a hospital, serves kakigori, a Japanese shaved ice dessert, flavored with local citrus fruits.

The idyllic setting of Mitarai even served as a backdrop for “Drive My Car,” which won the 2022 Oscar for Best International Feature Film, marking it as the first Japanese film ever nominated for Best Picture.

Among the island’s attractions is the Shinko Clock Shop. As I visited, several Japanese tourists paused to admire the shop’s window display, and some cyclists, marked by small Taiwanese flags, passed by.

“Today is busier because it’s the weekend, but weekdays are typically very quiet,” noted Mitsushi Matsuura, the younger Mr. Matsuura.

The shop's sales area, a narrow space of about 60 square meters (645 square feet), is situated near the entrance. The repair area, elevated one step, extends from the front to the rear of the shop, with a work surface positioned to benefit from natural light. The wooden walls are adorned with numerous clocks for sale and display, alongside advertising posters, including a 1910 poster from the Swiss watch company Tavannes.

On the wall of the Shinko Clock Shop hangs a framed black-and-white photograph, believed by the Matsuuras to date back to 1917. The photo features their kimono-clad ancestors, including Keiichi Matsuura’s father as a young child, standing in front of the shop, which has been located on the same site since its inception. The current building was constructed in 1919.

A highlight of the shop is a 6.5-foot grandfather clock positioned prominently against the back wall. This clock, crafted by the Ansonia Clock Company, bears engravings indicating its manufacture in New York City, where the company relocated in 1878 before closing in 2006.

This grandfather clock was purchased by Mitsujiro Matsuura, Keiichi’s great-grandfather and the family’s first clock and watch seller. To afford the expensive timepiece, Keiichi Matsuura recounted that Mitsujiro sold a house.

“The shop proudly displayed the large clock in the window so all the villagers could see the time,” Keiichi Matsuura explained. Remarkably, the clock still functions perfectly, provided it is wound weekly.