Welcome to Bushi-ya (武士屋)
Nice to meet you,
my name is Luca and i am the owner of this shop located in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan.
My love for martial arts and my passion for traditional Japanese culture brought me from Italy to the land of the rising sun on a permanent basis since 2009.
I met my wife here in Kyoto and now we have two wonderful children.
As a child in elementary school, i fell in love with this country and i dreamed of one day wearing a real samurai armor. Who could have imagined that decades later, i'd find myself here?
In Italy, i spent 15 years training in Okinawan karate, cultivating bonsai, and appreciating japanese art. Once moving to Japan, i immediately immersed myself in iaido, a martial art that utilizes the japanese sword: the katana.
In Kyoto, fate led me to Mr. Izawa Tomou, a collector and expert of the samurai heritage, who hails from a samurai family himself. It was through him that i embarked on this journey in 2010.
Bushi-ya began as a shop selling samurai antiques ( see below: The Bushi-ya's origins ) to which is connected a workshop for restorations and create new finishes.
In recent years i have developed the idea that it would also be nice to propose cultural activities.
Here in 2025 we introduced our first two experiences:
1) Wear a restored 16th century armor.
2) Weave your katana handle.
As the owner of Bushi-ya, my dream and intent is also to share the history, symbolism and wonders of this fascinating world with others.
We are look forward to welcome you.
Best regards,
Carteri Luca
( Bushi-ya )
The Bushi-ya's origins
Bushi-ya was founded by Carteri Luca in Kyoto in march 2025, but its roots date back to 1955.
In 1955 Mr Izawa Tomou, a collector and expert connoisseur of the samurai world, established his shop calling it: “Mononofu-ya”.
Mr Izawa, born in Kyushu in 1915, is not only an expert connoisseur, he himself comes directly from a samurai family, and he is the 49th generation.
In other words we can say that he is a modern day samurai.
A fine and upright person who deserves all my respect.
The word “Mononofu” means Warrior, but unfortunately it is an ancient word that is almost never used anymore. Over time, the original word was lost and replaced by the term “Bushi” while the Japanese characters 武士 have remained unchanged.
As i said above, in 2010 i met Mr. Izawa.
Initially i worked as an interpreter in his shop ( Mononofu-ya ).
My passion for wood carving and my manual skills led Mr. Izawa to introduce me to various craftsmen, from whom i learned the basics for the polish of rusty swords, the restoration and creation of new handles and scabbards. Finally we decided to establish a workshop alongside Mononofu-ya.
For 15 years we have been running Mononofu-ya together meeting fantastic people from all over the world. I am incredibly grateful to Mr. Izawa for his unwavering trust and for allowing me to immerse myself in this fascinating world.
This year (2025) Mr. Izawa turned 90 and, leaving me to carry the torch of Mononofu-ya,
he decided to retire.
Thanks also to his encouragement, i have decided to realize my dream.
I decided to open my own shop where i want to offer not only antique and collectible pieces, but also engaging experiences that are accessible to everyone.
I wanted to call my shop “Bushi-ya” in tribute to Mr. Izawa, and to his shop,
feeling a strong bond with him. Bushi-ya is therefore a sister shop of Mononofu-ya and
in Japanese characters it is written in the same way: 武士屋
By the way！
Bushi-ya is written: BUSHI (武士) warrior and YA (屋) house/place.
In the literal sense: “House of the warrior”.
As the logo of the shop i chose the Sanskrit character: “hāṃ” (カーン)
This character is used to represent the god of immovability called "Fudoumyou" ( 不動明王 ) and is said to be the incarnation of Dainichi Nyorai, who appeared to correct people's bad intentions.
This character was particularly appreciated by the samurai warrior class and is often found engraved on blades as a protection and to strengthen the firmness of the spirit.
I hope that by visiting our shop, or by participating in our experiences you can feel within yourself this sense of inner peace and steadfastness of spirit.