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Hello Nick,I have stopped using Fedex because I have become tired of arguing with them over what it describes as a clearance disbursement which is in fact a 1% fee on the stated value for clearing the item.This can become expensive on a big ticket item and they will fold if challenged but who wants to leave a very expensive item in Customs whilst you argue with them.EMS is efficient and fast with an item taking 5 days for delivery from Japan to Durban and a day less in Johannesburg ,the point of entry.The problem your purchaser may encounter is where the invoice is in excess of about $2000.They will sometimes allow a one off entry but second time round if it is valued for more will require an import permit.A number is granted on application which will suffice so this is not a lengthy process and there are agents who handle these applications.Other than that I suggest you read Darcy's excellent article elsewhere on the Forum if you have not already done so and quote the Code for importing antiques to avoid the purchaser having to pay Import Duty.I must say that I find our Customs Dept very easy to deal with which was not always the case.Regards,

Many years ago I purchased a daisho tsuba from him.It was Kiri mon on nanako and was not cheap.He claimed that it was made in the Edo period.Having decided to sell them, the feedback I received from experts was they were modern.Fortunately ,I still had the invoice and at the DTI last year I approached him personally to see how he stood on the matter.He disputed that they were modern but offered to refund the money if they were judged to be modern at shinsa or would immediately give me a store credit for half of the purchase price.That seemed a very fair offer to me and I was advised to submit the tsuba to shinsa which I did.They failed shinsa and when I showed him the rejection slip he reneged on his earlier agreement and offered only the store credit for half of the price with a very firm "take it or leave it." I then selected two papered tsuba from his site in settlement but was disappointed to discover on receiving them that the measurements for the one was incorrect and that in fact it was really of wakazashi size and not for a katana.He apologized for the error and offered to take it back but after taking postage,double Vat and everything into account decided to cut my losses.Regards,

Iida san from Iidakoendo ,a well known dealer in Tokyo kindly prepared the attached aid to illustrate the easily distinguishable features in the mei of the 1st and second generation Shinkai.Allow me to elaborate a little for the benefit of all. Nihon to Koza records that Shinkai is the eldest son of shodai Kunisada and is the second generation of Izumi no Kami.In the beginning he inscribed IZUMI NO KAMI KUNISADA in the same manner as his father .There are, however, some subtle differences in the mei which will be seen from the attachment.It will be noticed that the tagane that have been circled point downwards and to the left for the second generation whilst for the first ,the circled tagane angles to the left and the other points downwards. From 1672 he signed Inoue Shinkai.If anyone is ever in Tokyo I would recommend a visit to Iida san's shop.It is easy to find and he speaks good English.Regards, differences in mei ;1st and 2nd ge shinkai.pdf

I am not being critical of anyone who has expressed an opinion in this case because the response has been measured and patient.It should, however, not go unnoticed that there are collectors out there who think that sometimes a gimei call is more of an educated guess and if one ever has the urge to do so it should be avoided.It has been said before that if one is going to express an opinion we will all be far the wiser if it is accompanied by the reason for the opinion and if that is done there can never be any reason to complain because it is after all only an opinion.Most of us know that even the NBTHK sometimes gets it wrong.During my last visit to Japan I spent some time with Iida san from Iidakoendo.He had a number of Shinkai swords and gave me a little lecture on how to tell the difference in the mei between the first and second generation Shinkai .He recorded the differences in the kanji on a piece of paper which I will post later in the week for interest sake.Regards,

A couple of days later i visited another dealer and this time in the company of Paul Martin .I can highly recommend Paul for the consultancy services he provides.His professional approach is exceptional. Amongst other magnificent swords including a a Chikakage which had been a Tokugawa heirloom for six generations the dealer produced a Chogi in old polish.In spite of the old polish all of the activity was clearly visible.Words defy the pleasure of holding such a sword .The sword had a meibutsu of Hatchimonji-Chogi which meant nothing to me at the time.Again I dared to ask how the sword had been papered.The dealer simply smiled at my naivety and said that there was no need to paper the sword.Imagine my surprise when after returning home and doing a little research I stumble on the oshigata and commentary of the sword in Marcus Sesko's book on Koto Kantei.(perhaps someone can attach an extract which is on pages 178 and 179 ) Apparently the sword acquired its nickname for cutting a mounted rider through the helmet to the saddle during a battle and the name is derived from the sight of the two halves of the body sliding down the sides of the horse.So the question we should ask ourselves before we rush off and paper and polish everything is " Is it really necessary? " Regards,

I was in Japan last week and was surprised by the apparent contrast with the Japanese approach and the Western obsession of polishing and papering everything in sight.A well known dealer produced a First generation Tadayoshi from his personal collection.I am no big Hizen fan but even to my uneducated eye this blade was something special. i asked what papers he held and he replied that it had not been to shinsa.He added that he did not need papers as it was obvious to him that the mei was genuine.Now in the ordinary course of events I would be a little sceptical but the sword was not for sale so there was no need to impress .Indeed ,the sword spoke for itself .Roger Robertshaw the author and well know Hizen expert happened to be with me at the time and he concurred with the authenticity and suggested to me that a sword like that was probably published.More in Part 2. Regards,

Hello Piers,Please confirm when it ends.Looks like 16th June ?Regards,

Jean,If I agreed with you I fear we would both be wrong.Hope to see you in October.Kind regards,

Thank you all for your considered responses.Nice to get all the heavyweights singing from the same hymn sheet for a change.

In my early years of collecting I was advised by a longtime collector that if I sent a sword for polish I should always ask for a Juyo polish.I was somewhat skeptical and having read somewhere that the polisher knows best what to do I assumed that a highly regarded polisher would always always use his best endeavours to achieve the optimum result.Fast forward and with a number of polishes behind me I now realize that superior polishers can do many things in a polish and in repairs and that sometimes direction is required albeit in a tactful manner if the removal of a hakabore or the closure of an opening is required.I know that a certain Western polisher is renowned for concentrating his efforts on the preparation of blades for Juyo shinsa so the question is whether a normal polish will suffice for Juyo shinsa or is extra attention required ?Regards,

Those studs which act as the mekugi usually unscrew clockwise.Regards,

I have dealt with Kelly on three occasions and have been very happy with the results.I was unsuccessful on the first auction and my money was returned in full the next day.In the last auction I purchased two large Japanese screens for a not insignificant amount of money .These were sent to him by the seller,expertly repacked and delivered in 10 days.Regards,

Hello John,May I just caution you about considering all of the merits of submitting this blade for shinsa before you do so.For starters the cost compared to the added value of papers should be considered.If you submit the blade to the NBTHK and the signature is found to be gimei you are faced with making a decision about the return of the sword or having the gimei removed and the nakago repatinated.Don't assume any polisher can do a decent job which is not a constant reminder that the nakago has been tampered with.Once the gimei is removed it is then necessary to have the blade re-registered as mumei before a re -submission to shinsa and all the time the costs are adding up .At the end of the day you will have a mumei wakazashi possibly with an attribution to some lowly rated group where your costs far outweigh the enhanced value resulting from the papers.By the way reliable agents are now charging 40000 yen for handling fees in and out of Japan and that increases with each necessary exercise.Regards,

I would recommend http://www.shoubudou.co.jp. I bought a sword from them two years ago and have had regular dealings since then.The shop started in 1925 and is currently operated by Ohira san and his mother ,his father who was a highly respected dealer having died a few years back.His English is sufficient and they always seem to have something of interest available.This year I purchased an original Higo koshirae with a samegawa saya with the tsuka bound in old leather with huge tiger/leopard menuki.Good people to do business with. Regards,

Brian,I thought of you and know you would have enjoyed the experience as much as we did.Robert Hughes kindly invited us to a dealers' auction.Each dealer is handed what looks like a soup bowl on which his identifying kanji is written on the outside and a felt pen with an eraser on one end.A red matt about a metre wide and five metres long is then spread on the floor with the auctioneer sitting cross legged at one end .Each dealer's name is written on a board and in turn produces whatever sword he has for sale.The sword and any papers are placed in the middle of the matt and each interested party has about 10 seconds to inspect it.Any party wishing to bid writes his bid on the inside of his bowl and the inverted bowl is skidded along the matt to the auctioneer who inspects each bowl and declares the winning bid.If the seller is unhappy with the bid he retrives his sword and throws 20000 Yen onto the matt for the successful buyer to soothe any hurt feelings.If there is more than one successful bidder the parties draw straws to determine the winner.At a predermined time a halt was called to the proceedings and Bento boxes handed around with refreshments. The whole evening was conducted in a festive spirit and the Gaigan made to feel very welcome and encouraged to bid through Robert.What was most interesting was to see the prices paid by dealers and how market prices were established by real competition.Regards,

Hello Justin, I have a koshirae with a similar Mon on the fittings.I am open to correction but my research revealed that it is the MOKKOU Mon which is a cross section of the flowering quince.There are apparently 24 variations of this Mon one of which was favoured by Oda Nobunagu.Regards,

I was once told by a respected collector that I should not bother to go to Japan as I would never get to see or be offered the choice pieces.I would like to expose that myth as it is simply not true. It may take a while until the dealers recognise you and qualify you as a serious buyer and not a tyre kicker but once that occurs they will take time, share their knowledge and the very best swords will be brought out of the cupboards.This year in the week before the DTI I visited a couple of dealers I have done business with in the past .We were shown fantastic swords in quiet surrouldings with none of the pressure that goes with the show.At the DTI there are more swords under the tables than on show with the result that unless you know exactly what you want it may be missed.My recommendation is to go early and visit a few sword shops .Not only will you see more but for my part I learn more.Regards,

The three Japanese friends in the photo are Hiroi san ,Izumi san who is Ford Hallam`s teacher and Ikeda san a renowned polisher who gave the lecture in Kamakura organised by Robert Hughes.A big thanks to Robert for organising the lecture and to Charles Coyne for showing us around Kamakura the following day.Regards,

As a matter of interest have a look at the auctions at http://www.klefisch.com There are two daisho coming up for sale tomorrow at reasonable estimates.Regards

Hi Jamie,Having been through the daisho phase and paid a few school fees along the way I would sugest you consider whether you would you buy the blades as stand alone items and if so at what price. More often than not one pays a premium for a daisho with blades. My experience is that most daisho blades unless top end items are of not of the quality one would usually seek to acquire.In the process I would personally be on my guard that the signatures are in fact genuine.I have not even looked at them so will not comment other than to say that unless you have expert advice ,prepare to be disappointed.The koshirae are what that are and the price probably says it all.When I first started collecting a very well known dealer told me that most collectors start off buying a daisho and then a kabuto.I was no different. I purchased what I thought was a very nice daisho and enthusiastically had gimei signatures removed and sent the blades for shinsa.Years later my tastes had changed and the daisho was sold at a substantial loss.Regards,

Hello Charles,I have used Robert Soanes on a four occasions and he is a pleasure to do business with .Not only is his work very good but he is reasonably priced and delivers on time.Need I add that this is a rarity in restoration work.Regards

To all those visiting the DTI this year I would urge you to attend the Kamakura lecture.I was introduced to Ikeda san by Ford Hallam four years ago and he has polished a number of blades for me.He is a top class polisher and has a genuine interest in Western collectors.One often reads that there are no experts outside of Japan .Here is the chance to hear and meet a real expert .I once read in the book One Hundred Masterpieces from the collection of Dr Walter A Compton of a story of well known authorities on Nihonto who were flown from a conference to his hometown by Dr Compton in his private jet to look a his collection.One of the party was a certain Mr Ikeda. I asked Ikeda san whether it was any relation and he replied that it was his father and that he remembered the story very well as related to him by his father.Of Robert Hughes I can only say that whilst he is probably a very good Professor he certaily missed his vocation as an Events Organiser.This should not be missed. Regards,

I was not surprised to hear from a fellow collector that the practice these days is to replace an habaki after having had a sword polished and placed in new shirasaya.I reflected on this and wondered whether this was indeed only a Western practice because I had purchased swords from Japanese dealers where the old habaki had been retained.Fairly recently I purchased a sword from a well known American dealer who had been collecting for over 30 years and the subject arose about which he had this to say ... The old Japanese collectors at that time took pride in retaining a > "serviceable" Habaki, if they were to have restoration. I have seen an > old Habaki retained many times by Japanese collectors. You do not see > this today. Such Japanese might never get their swords polished or may > have never pursued papers - unless they were to sell. I have seen that > many times; but you do not see this today. I have seen and heard of > many, many occasions where a Kicho paper would be sought - nothing > higher. Or later just a Hozon. No drive for a higher paper at all - > and it was explained to me when I began collecting, by Japanese, that > this was a matter seen as a proper conduct. > In other words, the old Japanese collectors held a pride in such > things as using old Habaki and in not chasing things with money. They > held a pride in a strident conservatism. To be not garish and not > flamboyant, specifically. Perhaps we should think twice about replacing old serviceable habaki .I certainly will.Regards,

An interesting aside. I was in Kyoto about 3 years ago and Ford Hallam ,a friend and I visited an armour shop or museum as it was called although almost everything was for sale. We were surprised to discover that a Lord Ii was in fact alive and well.He told us that he was the x?th Viscount Ii and that his ancestors had fought at Sekigahara and that one had lost his life at Osaka castle.To say that I was totally overawed would be and understatement as he showed us red armour purportedly that of his famous ancestors and told us `war stories`involving his ancestors.We were later to discover that the title had in fact been acquired and that nothing was as it seemed. One of the first lessons I learned in Japan was not to take anything at face value and that one should get advice from trusted people who are only too willing to help.I am not surprised to now discover that the red armour we were shown was unlikely to be that of the Ii family if indeed all of it is in the Hikone Castle.We live and learn. Regards,Peter

I find Chris`s response to my question about the preferred Japanese method of collecting and Paul`s latest entry most interesting.After collecting for about seven years and no particular speciality other than a large collection of daisho and an assortment of good quality Shinto blades I think it fair to say that I had no real direction. This came to a head at the last DTI when my Japanese polisher whom I had known for three years and has only recently invited me to address him by his first name sat me down and told me that he preferred to polish Kamakura blades followed by Nanbokucho etc.During the period I have known him we have become friends and it was obvious to me that there was a message in this statement. Questions were asked and discussion followed.Basically the advice given to me was along the lines of what Chris has stated and I was told in the most tactful manner that rather than buy three blades of what he regarded as mediocre quality, I should buy a good Kamakura blade.I took his advice and have reduced my collection and will continue to do so. I have also now bought some high quality Koto blades and feel that I am starting to scratch the surface in the direction I should be going.I am told that this is part of the evolutionary process followed by many collectors such as Paul. Regards,