Company Information
The weight of the eight Stradivari violins
At present, it is said that there are around six hundred Stradivari
violins across the world out of which nearly two hundred are in
personal possessions of musicians and collectors, out of which only
about f ifty are available for trade.
As this illustrates, Stradivari along with other prestigious old violins
are extremely limited in number. They are never traded in standard
instrument shops but in a network of selected merchants across the world.
Celebrating our 40th year, Nippon Violin has devoted our attention
and care to every aspect of our service which solidified our name as
a trusted player in the market and our position in the network.
As a result, we now house eight Stradivari violins in total, some which
are in our possession and the rest entrusted to us by the owners.
The fact that eight of the fifty tradeable Stradivari violins in the world
are under our management is both sobering as well as a testament to
our achievements and recognitions to date.
In addition, two Guarneri del Gesù violins worth over ten million
dollars and thirty instruments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars
each sit under our roof. With great awareness of this responsibility,
we will continue to do our utmost to serve the global music community.
Company Profile
- Name
- Nippon Violin Co., Ltd.
- Foundation
- 1980
- Capital Stock
- 10,000,000 yen
- Representative Director
- Sota Nakazawa
- Address
- Dorumi-gyoen Bldg. 4F&5F, 5-29-7 Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, zip 151-0051, Japan
- TEL
- +81 (0)3 3352 7021
Profile of President and Representative Director, Sota Nakazawa
Born to a musical family – his father is a violin repairman and his mother is a violinist – and grew up being in contact with international musicians since small. Moved to U. K. to study at an international school while frequently visiting the main auction house Sotheby’s and Peter Biddulph Ltd., an internationally renowned connoisseur to see and touch celebrated instruments since he was in his teens. After graduating from Faculty of Foreign Studies at Sophia University, he entered Dentsu, where based on the experiences as a salesperson, he worked on many musical and cultural projects as a media planner. Became the representative director of Nippon Violin Co., Ltd. in 2014. Joined the study of Guarneri del Gesù, a celebrated violin, at the Research and Investigation Center in the Violin Museum of Cremona City, Italy in 2015. He has touched over 70 Stradivarii so far, including ones he dealt in. In 2018, he was the executive chairman and representative curator of “Tokyo Stradivarius Festival 2018” where 21 Stradivarii gathered at one place for the very first time in Asia and its main exhibition gathered about 13,000 visitors for 7 days, also gaining attention from over the world. Awarded Grand Prix in the category of Digital Craft in “Spikes Asia,” the largest creative festival in Asia, held in Singapore in 2019. Vice Chairman of Carnegie Hall Notables Japan.
History of Company
- 1980
- Muneyuki Nakazawa started his private business of handling string instruments.
- 1983
- Gengakki Duo Co., Ltd. was established as a string instrument dealer.
- 1986
- Very first in Japan, we published a translation of “Antonio Stradivari - His Life and Work (1644 - 1737)” written by William Hill, with permission from W. E. Hill & Sons to translate and publish it.
- 1988
- Very first in Japan, we published a translation of “The Violin Makers of the Guarneri Family - Their Life and Work (1626 - 1762)” written by William Hill, with permission from W. E. Hill & Sons to translate and publish it.
- 2004
- Established a group company, Tone Wood International SRL, in Cremona City in Italy to specialize in highly graded wood.
- 2007
- Co-organized the first Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition. It has been held annually since then.
- 2013
- Deposited violins in Maserati.
- 2015
- Celebrated its 35th anniversary.
- In Jan 2015, we made a contract of exclusive sale of Antonio Stradivari 1718 “SAN LORENZO Ex, Viotti” with J & A Beare, one of the largest instrument dealers in the world.
It was deposited in a domestic foundation in the same year. - Very first as a Japanese string instrument dealer, we deposited Guarneri del Gesu 1734 “Prince Doria” to a violin museum in Italy for a limited period.
- 2016
- Acquired the archives of information on violins, references and photos from William Moennig & Son, a major dealer in USA.
- 2018
- Cooperation with Stradivarius Summit Concert.
- Joined the inspection of A. Stradivarius 1718“San Lorenzo” carried out by the science team of Museo del Violino (the violin museum) in Cremona.
- Press release of “Tokyo Stradivarius Festival 2018”at the Foreign Correspondents’Club of Japan.
- Limited republication of Japanese translation of “Stradivari – his Life and Work (1644-1737)”
- Featured on The Strad, a music magazine in UK, as one of the largest stringed instrument dealers in Asia.
- Supervised “TOKYO Stradivarius Festival 2018 – Exhibition of Miracles from 300 years history of Stradivarius” held at Mori Arts Center Gallery.
- EXHIBITION BOOK was published attendantly on“TOKYO Stradivarius Festival 2018 – Exhibition of Miracles from 300 year history of Stradivarius,” with descriptions of 21 Stradivariuses.
- 2019
- EXHIBITION BOOK, published attendantly on“TOKYO Stradivarius Festival 2018 – Exhibition of Miracles from 300 year history of Stradivarius,” was included in the book collection of Library of Congress of USA.
- Nippon Violin Matsumoto Shop was newly opened in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture.
- Awarded Grand Prix in “Spikes Asia,” the largest creative festival in Asia, held in Singapore.
- Provided Cartier’s special event“Crystallization of Time” with a violin.
- “Nippon Violin Society” was started to bridge instrument owners and performers.
- 2020
- The 40th anniversary since its foundation.
- NIPPON VIOLIN TRUNK SHOW 2020 was held in New York.
- “SOLE 24 ORE,” the most popular economic magazine in Italy featured on our representative director.
- Nippon Violin Official YouTube Channel was started.
- “TOKYO Stradivarius – 1800 days of battles” written by Sota Nakazawa, our Representative Director, was published by Nikkei BP.
Shop Information
Nippon Violin Tokyo Head Shop
- Address
- 4F& 5F, Dorumi-gyoen Bldg, 5-29-7 Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, zip 151-0051, Japan
マップアプリで見る - TEL
- +81 (0)3 3352 7021
- FAX
- +81 (0)3 3352 1665
- E-Mail for general
- violin@nipponviolin.com
- E-Mail for repair
- repair@nipponviolin.com
- Opening times:
- 11:00 - 19:00 (Sun: 11:00 - 17:00)
- Closed on:
- Tuesday, national holidays, Golden Week, summer holidays, Year-end & New Year’s holidays
- Access
- 4 min walk from East Exit of Yoyogi Station, or 6 min walk from South Exit of Shinjuku Station
Please make an appointment by phone before visiting us.
Nippon Violin Matsumoto Shop
- Address
- 2F, Fuki Bldg, 1-9-14 Ote, Matsumoto, Nagano, zip 390-0874 Japan
マップアプリで見る - TEL
- +81 (0)263 87 5931
- FAX
- +81 (0)263 87 5951
- matsumoto@nipponviolin.com
- HP
- https://www.nipponviolin.com/matsumoto/
- Opening times:
- 9:00~18:00
- Closed on:
- Sunday, national holidays, summer holidays, Year-end & New Year’s holidays
Please make an appointment by phone before visiting us.
Nippon Violin Ueda Shop
- Address
- c/o Nakazawa Hall, 6-3-26 Chuo, Ueda, Nagano, zip 386-0012 Japan
マップアプリで見る - TEL
- +81 (0)268 24 8174
- FAX
- +81 (0)268 24 8174
- ueda@nipponviolin.com
- Opening times:
- 10:00 - 19:00 (Sun: 10:00 - 17:00)
- Closed on:
- Sunday, national holidays, Golden Week, summer holidays, Year-end & New Year’s holidays
Please make an appointment by phone before visiting us.
Nippon Violin Group
Concert Office Arte
- Planning and organizing concerts
- Management of Nippon Violin Art Salon and Nakazawa Hall
- Address:
- Rm. 401, Dorumi-gyoen Bldg, 5-29-7 Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, zip 151-0051, Japan
- info@musicalte.com
SARTORY TOKYO
- Dealer of instrumental bows
- Address:
- Rm. 104, Dorumi-gyoen Bldg, 5-29-7 Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, zip 151-0051, Japan
- TEL
- +81 (0)3 6709 8835
- info@sartorytokyo.com
Affiliates
- Kimiko Nakazawa’s Official Website
- NPO Corporation NAGANO Musical Education Support Center (NAGANO International Music Festival)
- Piano Doctor CO., Ltd. - Expert of piano tuning, repair and selling