Only twice a year, for nine days each time, Nevada County is treated to Kodo Arts Japanese Antiques, which in May will celebrate its 20th year in Nevada City.
The warehouse is filled with Japanese treasures, ranging from garden décor to furniture to art to lighting.
“I have been in Japan for a long time—45 years, exactly,” said Kodo Arts owner Jake Costello. “I was in the Peace Corps in ‘79 and went to Japan in 1980 and then in and out, in and out, but lived there most of the time. I fell in love with antiques, and probably about 1990 I started collecting for myself. And then I thought, wow, I want to make this my vocation.”
Around 1995 Costello started sending containers to America, his first show opening in Detroit on, of all days, September 11, 2001.
Costello prefers to refer to his business as a “show” rather than a store or shop for several reasons.
“It’s a show and a sale,” he said, “It’s a strange business formula. We are open to the public only twice a year, nine days (each time). I call it a show because I want to show Japanese culture. I want to show the beauty that I see in Japan. I am so glad to bring it over here.”
Costello—who spends most of his time in Japan—said that initially, he and his staff were showing in larger cities but ultimately decided that since they were going to be spending roughly half the year in the States, they’d like it to be somewhere beautiful and welcoming. Nevada City fit the bill.
“It takes quite a while; it takes two and a half months to prepare and do the show,” Costello said. “That means I am going to be here about five months out of the year. Nevada City…meets my philosophy and the people here, I love. And the community here. And actually this stuff goes really great with the people that are here, the houses that are here. In that way, we really lucked out finding Nevada City when we started (here) in 2005.”
Not only are the antiques in Kodo beautiful, but Costello is performing a service by salvaging the items, many of which would be eradicated if not for buyers and sellers like himself.
“A lot of this stuff would be destroyed if I didn’t get it out of Japan and bring it over here,” he explained. “Japanese houses, in the old days they had big wooden houses, they had space. They could have a garden with stone lanterns. Inside the house they could have a kitchen chest (tansu) and all these tansus were in old wooden homes in Japan and they had space for them. Now they don’t. So all this stuff would be destroyed.”
Many items, he added, come from Buddhist temples which were torn down, no longer able to maintain a congregation. He can sell those items in the States, he said, because the Japanese don’t believe in recycling religious materials. The “juju” belongs to the piece’s initial owner, and no one else. Westerners, for the most part, don’t share the same beliefs.
“I have an auction license,” Costello said. “Unlike America, where you would have estate sales, Japan doesn’t have that. So when an old house is torn down certain companies will come in and take everything and then take it to different auctions. Most everything is sourced at an auction, or there’s antique markets at these world heritage temples in Kyoto. So two to three times a month, all these antique dealers bring in things and you can shop there. You get to know the dealers so you can shop directly at their warehouses.”
Costello maintains a warehouse in Japan in addition to his Nevada City space and several others scattered about.
The months of preparation for each show—in addition to the May show, they usually host one in the fall—is hard work, Costello said, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We are preparing,” he said. “It is so much work. These tansus (and other wooden furniture)—this isn’t the color that I bought them in. I have a staff and we clean them. A lot of these chests were in old Japanese houses. A lot of these chests are from the late 1800s. Almost everything in here is pre-war.”
The hard work pays off, however, and on opening day Costello said it wouldn’t be unusual for 150 people to be lined up outside his warehouse doors. During the nine day run, the space is almost constantly full not only with locals but from people who travel from far and wide to find the antiques at wholesale prices. Costello estimates about 60 percent of his customers are from out of town, which delights surrounding Nevada City businesses who also reap the rewards.
As items are sold, others are placed on the showroom floor, with a revolving assortment of goods. Only on the nine days of each show can the public purchase Costello’s wares. The whole event is a labor of love for him and his staff.
“It’s basically a museum, but you can buy stuff, Costello said. “I am basically an ambassador of culture. It’s my love and my passion. I see a beauty, I see a culture that I’ve never seen before, and I am enthralled with it. I hope people see what I see or share my passion for it.”
Kodo Arts Japanese Antiques will be open May 10-18, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m at 571 Searls Avenue in Nevada City.
AloJapan.com