blades87

I have been updating Jon Bowhay's website and recently came across three swords that he had polished: Koto period katana by Kanemitsu - http://yakiba.com/Kat_KaneMitsu.htm c.1750 katana by Aizu Michitoki - http://yakiba.com/Kat_AizuMichitoki.htm Showa period Gendaito by Yoshihara Kuniie - http://yakiba.com/Kat_Kuniie.htm I have added these pictures to his website as well and Jon Bowhay now has a Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jon-Bowha ... 7569951135 Enjoy,

The interviews have been re-posted after I fixed an issue with the video decoder. New links have been added to the original post and I have added some more videos today. Again, thank you for the feedback. Derek, I checked the Togishi Pt 1 video and the audio appeared to be fine. If one of the videos is not playing correctly, please send me the YouTube link to the video and I will look at it. Regards,

Hi, Adam. I will check the sound quality and correct it. The file may have been corrupted on upload.

Greetings, fellow NMB members. I have finally had some free time to convert some TV interviews with Mr. Jon Bowhay over to YouTube and have posted two of them. Please send me any feedback regarding the videos, which were converted from VHS, so there is some inherent flaws and damage due to the age of the tapes. I have at least two more videos to post, one of which is from another togishi, whose name slips my mind at this time. I will ask Mr. Bowhay to provide me with information on the video before I post it. Also, when I get the time, I will try to get subtitles added to the videos that are not in English. This effort will take some time to complete. This video contains two interviews with renowned togishi, Mr. Jon Bowhay. The first interview is from CNN in English and the second interview is from a Japanese news broadcast (Teleport 6). The interviews show Mr. Bowhay polishing a sword and applying a hadori finish to the hamon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z1jXnKuMZg This video contains an interview with renowned togishi, Mr. Jon Bowhay. The interview is from a Japanese news broadcast and features Sensei Naoji Karita, who was Mr. Bowhay's instructor throughout his apprenticeship. The video also shows Mr. Bowhay polishing the mune and practicing Iaito. This video contains part one of an extensive interview with renowned togishi, Mr. Jon Bowhay. The interview is from a Japanese news broadcast (NHK Tonight) and features Sensei Naoji Karita, who was Mr. Bowhay's instructor throughout his apprenticeship. The video also shows Mr. Bowhay polishing the shinogi, explaining how to properly sit on a togidai and working on swords in various states of the polishing process. This video contains part two of an extensive interview with renowned togishi, Mr. Jon Bowhay. The interview is from a Japanese news broadcast (NHK Tonight) and features Sensei Naoji Karita, who was Mr. Bowhay's instructor throughout his apprenticeship. The video also shows Mr. Bowhay polishing the shinogi, explaining how to properly sit on a togidai and working on swords in various states of the polishing process. This is part one of a documentary on Japanese sword polishing (Japanese) This is part two of a documentary on Japanese sword polishing (Japanese) To learn more about Mr. Bowhay and Japanese sword polishing services, visit http://www.jonbowhay.com or http://www.swordpolisher.net. Regards,

Greetings to the members of the NHB. I apologize for my long absence, as my career has absorbed much of my time and I have not had any time to commit to my sword hobby. I spoke with Mr. Bowhay recently over Skype. He is well and is working hard on his many endeavors. Simon, I will tell Jon that you have attempted to contact him. I hope you are all well and I plan to take some more time to get involved in the NMB. Cheers, Toby

Before Jon left for Japan, he gave me a list of books he recommended that discuss the history of Japan. I have bought most of them at this point from Amazon, which has some pretty good prices, even for first edition books! -Blaker, Richard (1973). The Needlewatcher: The William Adams Story, British Samurai. Rutland, Vermont. Charles Tuttle Company -Sansom, George (1958). Japanese History Trilogy ( pre-1334, 1334-1615, 1615-1867) -Cooper, Michael S.J. (1994). Rodrigues the Interpreter: An Early Jesuit in Japan and China -Statler, George (1969) Shimoda Story -Satow, Sir Ernest Mason (1998) The Diaries and Letters of Sir Ernest Mason Satow I have also picked up a book by Giles Milton, Samurai William - The adventurer who unlocked Japan. I am reading my way through the books when I get a free moment. Work and graduate school take up a lot of time. I am a quarter of the way through the Needlewatcher and I am pretty impressed with the historical depiction of Japan under the rule of General Ieyasu. Enjoy.

I have three videos of Jon being interviewed by CNN, Teleport 6 (Japanese) and another news organization. I also have some videos from 8mm film of some traditional katana training by some masters Jon had studied under. Really cool footage. Just need some time to get the converted and uploaded to YouTube.

I wanted to pass along some information regarding the whereabouts of Jon. He has recently moved back to Japan and I had a chance to meet up with him prior to leaving. One last hurray at our favorite Mexican restaurant before he took off for Japan. His website is up and running and I know that he checks the NMB often, so please feel free to reach out to him and if you are in Japan, he will make a most excellent tour guide. I am already planning a trip to see him next year. I have some videos from interviews Mr. Bowhay conducted while he was in Japan studying the art of the togishi. Really interesting stuff. As soon as I get them converted, I will post them on YouTube. I will also post a list of some books he recommended on Japanese history. I have ordered a couple off of Amazon and have two in my collection right now. Cheers, Toby

I checked with Mr. Bowhay regarding the spelling errors pointed out by the members of the NMB, which I greatly appreciate. Please feel free to submit suggestions and potential errors to me. From Mr. Bowhay: Not yet. Mr. Bowhay is still in the U.S. Thanks again for all of the feedback and I have some members who are going to submit pictures of restoration work Mr. Bowhay has completed. There are a couple of articles on the website that I need to fix so that they are readable and I hope to have those articles corrected this weekend. Cheers,

I have had the distinct privilege to spent a quite a bit of time talking about a whole host of topics outside of the nihonto genre. During the course of our conversations, I learned that Mr. Bowhay was interested in promoting his art on the Internet and I have been working with Mr. Bowhay to develop a website that highlights his talents, promotes his art as a sword polisher (togishi). That being said, I invite all of you to visit Mr. Bowhay's website, http://www.jonbowhay.com. This site is still undergoing some construction, but there is quite a bit of content online and I have a couple of videos posted on YouTube. I will be posting more contenting and videos when I get them converted over. If you have any pictures of restoration work that Mr. Bowhay has performed and would like to share some pictures, please send me a private message. Please enjoy the website. Cheers,

One issue you face with a nagasa with a groove in it is that the blade will be difficult to straighten if it is bent. Also, looking at the level of pitting on the blade, you will have a lot of material to remove in order to restore this blade will probably result in a lot of core steel being exposed.

The month looks like March. showa ju hachi nen san gatsu 18th year of Showa, third month

I noticed that as well, Kawakami-san. David, get some choji or mineral oil and wipe that blade down to prevent rust. Thin coat of oil that is wiped off with a soft tissue should do the trick to preserve the blade. Check out Grey Doffin's videos on sword etiquette on YouTube. Video 2 talks about preserving the blade.

Looks like it has been polished off. The sword is really shiny.

Here's what I see that makes me think that this is not a low grade Showato. Other members, please feel free to comment. 1. The temper line is very well defined. Referencing B.W Robinson, that ha looks like the Gunome pattern. 2. The kissaki is long, versus the shorter kissaki that I am accustomed to seeing on WW2 style guntos. I have some pictures of an WW2 sword with no stamps and is signed: http://www.quanonline.com/military/mili ... ord_20.php If you look at the ha on this sword, it is pretty straight compared to your sword. Here are some pictures of a signed, stamped machine made sword with a ha similar to your sword: http://www.quanonline.com/military/military_reference/Japanese/sword_23.php Here are some reference other WW2 blades: http://www.quanonline.com/military/military_reference/Japanese/sword_26.html http://www.quanonline.com/military/mili ... sword5.php My guess is that this is not a low grade sword. You would not see the ha in an oil quenched sword, which is normally the process used on low grade Showato sword to hardened the edges.

I would not make the assumption that this sword is made by a low grade Seki smith without seeing the pictures of the sword. I checked the JSS database and there is a Yukifusa listed: Yukifusa 行房 Ushu ju 1865 TS436 Go ahead and post some pictures. Thanks.

If I were considering buying this sword, I would want to see large pictures and lots of them. These pictures are too small to make an educated decision on buying the blade. The price is way too high for the fittings (shirasaya). I would not buy this blade based on those points alone. Cheers,

Dr. Richard Stein's website (http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm) offers a lot of information on Japanese swords. Traditional VS Non-traditional swords http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/showato.htm List of Seki Smiths http://home.earthlink.net/~ttstein/seki.htm Looking in John Slough's book, I do not see Yukifusa listed. Can you post some pictures of the nagasa? Looking for the hamon (tempered edge), hada (grain pattern), fittings (koshirae) and sword tip (kissaki). During WW2, family swords were converted to fit into military fittings. These swords would not have markings. Also, the sword could be a modern period sword (gendaito), which would not have the military stamps on it because it was made before the military mass production push. Hope this helps.

I was looking at the tsuka ito and it appears to be wrapped in the katate maki style, according to the diagrams shown on Thomas Buck's website. http://pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/tsuka/tsuka.htm If you are using a point-and-click digital camera, I would recommend placing the sword in a natural light setting and using some type of fast action sports setting. This increases shutter speed, which minimizes washout.

I looked up Moji through one of the translation sites I used and was going to inquire if the kanji used on the mei was classified as a "radical". http://tangorin.com/words/%E3%82%82%E3%81%98 So if I read the mei correctly, Mitama Moji is the province and Hiromasa is the name of the sword smith, correct?. I was trying to determine if Mitama Moji was the name of the town or province where Hiromasa came from or if it is the smith's full name, as I have not been able to locate the province. I am going to check a book I bought from Grey to see if I can dig up some more information. Thanks for your help, John. I learn more every time I dig into the topic of Japanese swords. Cheers,

Thanks for the kanji clarification, John. Looks like I misinterpreted hara for hiro. Going to look into mo ji, as I have not seen those kanji before. As promised, here are pictures of the nagasa, nagako and kissaki. overall length is about 34" Cheers, Toby

Alright, cranking through the ura mei: First two: 三王 sano? ---->CORRECTION - 三玉 Second kanji is gyoku Last three kanji: 治正作 (harumasa saku or osatada saku) Harumasa or Osatada? Neither are listed in Slough's book, so I am going to dig a little further. I will post some pictures of the nagasa and nagako soon. I found a Harumasa on the Nihonto club website: http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/HAR11 I am stuck on the middle two kanji, so if anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate the assistance. Here is what I have so far - 三玉 (?)(?) 治正作 Thanks,

Good morning, NMB. I have a huge favor. I got a couple of really beat up blades that I thought were scrap. However, as I look at this one mei, I think it might be legit and if it is, I am keeping the blade instead of selling it for scrap. What are your thoughts? The more I look at it, the more I think it may be legit. EDIT - I am keeping this blade. I have been staring at late Showa kanji too long, so this mei looked odd at first. A little baby powder made the characters stand out better.

Nice looking tachi, Damien. As for polishing the sword, I would recommend letting a professional sword polisher (togishi) restore your sword, given its age, type and condition. Fred Lohman offers polishing services, as does Jon Bowhay and a whole bunch of other very qualified individuals who are on this forum. I would recommend finding a togishi who is located near your town. Check out the Links section of the forum to learn more about some of the restoration services. Cheers,

Hi, Zeug. The hilt (tsuka) is traditionally covered in ray skin (samegawa) because the ray skin is coarse and provides grip for the hilt wrapping (tsuka ito). Out of courtesy and respect for the members on this forum, many who experts on traditionally made Japanese swords (Nihonto), we ask the people who post questions sign their first name. There are a few people out there who use the knowledge of the members in order to secretly promote the sale of their swords. While the forum is here to help individuals and does assist individuals who do sell their collections, we ask that people be up front about their intentions, which is why the NMB has a policy of signing posts with a name. People like Stephen, Grey, Jean, John S., Ford and a whole host of other individuals have a wealth of knowledge they are willing to share with the forum. I am new to collecting Japanese swords and there are a lot of folks who have shared there knowledge with me, which I, in turn, share with others. It's simply a matter of etiquette and respect. Check out the links at the top of the forum to get more information on swords, koshiare (fittings), swordsmiths, kanji and a whole host of other information that will expand your knowledge on Japanese swords. Cheers,