Matus

Hi Sergio and Jon, have you posted pictures of your Sadamori blades? If not, what about adding them (and mine) to Jon's article? BTW, do you know the article "Long Live Unpopular Schools"? I think it covers the subject of "non conformal" schools in an excellent manner... Matus

@Micha - yes, it's the same sword. @Jon - I know your article very well. It actually helped me to decide to get this sword. Really an excellent source of information for Sadamori. Thank you for that! Matus

The blade came in plain shirasaya with silver habaki. I took the pictures with a Canon Powershot S3 IS and then selected & resized the relevant parts with Paintshop Pro. I can upload hi-res pictures on flickr if anyone is interested. Matus

Hello, could anyone please help me with the translation of this origami? It's the NBTHK Hozon paper for my den Reisen Sadamori blade. I would like to know what's exactly stated there. Thank you in advance! Matus

Hello, finally I managed to take a few pictures from my first Nihonto. First let me express my gratitude to all who (esp. Mariusz), who were trying to give me guidance on my way in the Nihonto world. After a long search, I came across this little blade - an o-suriage mumei wakizashi atributed to den Reisen Sadamori (Nambokucho period). Length 47 cm, sori 1,2 cm, width 3,1 / 2,4 cm. NBTHK Hozon paper. Looking forward to your comments! Matus

Many thanks for all your suggestions! Matus

Hello, which books on Japanese history would you recommend? I came across the Cambridge history series (rather costly) or the three-volume Samson work. Thank you, Matus

Hi Brian, I don't feel discouraged, rather on the opposite. Seeing all those blades, just a single click away, it's really easy to let my desire take control. On one hand, desire is OK in fields where I know my subject, but Nihonto is definitely not covered in there... so a straightforward comment is like a cold shower - it wakes me up :-) The only thing that makes a bit sad/jealous - given the time I can afford to devote for Nihonto study, most probably I will be never able to discuss this topic on par with you guys... Nevertheless, my dream of one quality old Nihonto in my collection is still alive :-) Cheers, Matus

I already ordered the book, but then will read it after Nagayama... concerning early Muromachi blade - I start to realize, that quality will have its price. For a beginner, it was quite stunning to see 500+ year old blades priced below 3K... thanks to this forum I realized that the age is not the most important aspect and while the blade being rather old, it can well be a metal tsunagi... Cheers, Matus

So I decided to buy two books instead of a blade now - "The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords" and "Facts and Fundamentals of Japanese Swords: A Collector's Guide". Looking at your posts here, I got pretty scared from bying something right now. Before, I basically cared just about hamon presence (besides the period and kizu) and maybe papers, but it doesn't actually mean a lot as far as I can see now... In the meantime, I saw a superb early german flintlock pistol and some nice french blades... damn, this hobby is really a nightmare when it comes to choices... but if anyone has a good early Muromachi blade for sale, don't hesitate to contact me :-) Still, the artistic vs practical blade is not very clear to me... any examples please? Cheers, Matus

Hello Grey, I got your point. I understand what you're saying and you are 100% correct. On the other hand, what I learnt both in my profession, during my studies and also as a collector/hobby-historian, the true masters (especially in the more complicated fields), can answer novice questions and explain complex/hidden notations very clearly, with an overview and deep understanding and foremost in a way, that motivates the novice to further study... Cheers, Matus

Hi guys, thanks a lot again for all your comments. I remember one statement I read in the past (don't know exactly on which forum) - "there will always be another sword". And also something to avoid impulse buying :-) @ Mariusz (and of course everyone here): You wrote, that "The Shitahara school was known for practical swords, but their artistic value is low." What's the difference between an artistic blade and a practical one (in general)? Any pictures would be helpfull. If you could recommend a single book as the starting point to a novice like me, which one would it be? The connoisseur's book of Japanese swords? It probably makes no sense to buy 10 books at once. BTW, my preferences already changed a bit - some time ago I wouldn't consider a blade in shirasaya, now I know better. Cheers, Matus

Well, it's not so straight forward. It's quite tricky to distinguish between a target pistol and a duelling pistol. In general a duelling pistol shouldn't have any aiming aids nor the ability to adjust the trigger sensitivity (here I don't know the proper english word). Other than that, it's impossible to tell them apart. And I definitely won't dispute the greatness of English gunmakers! Back to the original topic - as I said before, without extensive travel, it's nearly impossible for me to see many blades in reality. I have been to almost all sites listed here and just AOI ART offering is more or less in line with my requirements / financial possibilities. Cheers, Matus

Thanks fot the hints gentlemen. BTW, Mariusz, how do you know that the katana has been shortened? Is it just because of the length (61cm) or by the way hamon is "flowing" in kissaki? Matus

Hi Paul, many thanks for your comments - I think you hit the nail with the "first time buy". I went through this several times in different areas, sometimes I was lucky, sometimes not. But it was always an experience that you never find in books, no matter how many you've read. In my opinion, the internet forums changed this a bit, as you can interact with people and discuss in advance with experts - the only problem here is to know, what you actually want. But then again, many newcomers don't actually know what they want or they just thin they know :-) So yes, I take all the previous posts (even if they sound not so positive) and appreciate that the authors spent the time writing their comments. I'm also aware, that my current Nihonto knowledge is very limited, but... Thanks again! Matus

Hi, to explain my motivation & background - I collect mainly french napoleonic blades and early flintlock firearms, although having a few pieces that don't fit any of these groups. I also very much appreciate antique furniture, paintings and books. My motivation is first of all history. Knowing history from books is one thing, but to actually see and feel the history (by touching and using the real objects) is very fascinating to me. It also enables me to have a deeper understanding of what was the life back in those days. Moreover, in today's mass-market product world, seeing the antique objects, being actually all originals, crafted with special skills and love and this is also very important to me. Now, why a Nihonto? I was always fascinated by the consistency of the Nihonto throughout the history - the basic shape didn't fundamentally change in almost 800 years (whereas in Europe the changes were rather dramatic). And the second aspect is the age of the blade itself. That's the reason why I'm looking at the Muromachi period. I just would like to add a 400+ year old quality blade to my collection. Call me naive, but I feel a piece of Japan's history should be present in every arms and armour collection. I fully agree that the school/smith is of greatest importance, but let me give you an example: Someone would like to have a cased set of duelling perkussion pistols. It's well known, that the the best are from Francotte, Lepage or Lebeda which are priced 10000 EUR and above. But who can say you will not appreciate a set for half the price (or even less), if it's complete, well made a signed by a less known gunmaker? So this is how I view Nihonto as well. As long it's not a fake, there's no Kizu, for myslef there is value. Now the question comes, what's the value of course... and since I'm not a Nihonto expert, I need an advice here. I know these 3 blades are not the "Lebeda's" or any kind of undiscovered gems, I just would like to hear your opinion about them - are they genuine, un-altered, solid pieces? In the country where I live, there are unfortunately no societies or sword shows, where I could get hands-on experience. Therefore I can just read (and ask) all the forums and browse dealer's sites. Thank you, Matus

Hi, finally I decided to get my first Nihonto. After a year of considerations, after weeks of intensive browsing and reading (I don't want to say studying), I figured out, what I'm actually looking for: old blade (late Muromachi or earlier), no Kizu, with Koshirae. So far, I'm not able to appreciate style or school or smith - for such I would need much more to learn, so this will maybe come in the future. Currently I'm really fascinated by the age of such blades and the blade itself (Hamon, Hada). I found 3 candidates from AOI ART, which I'm considering: 1) Katana, early Muromachi period http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/katana/10326.html 2) Wakizashi, late Muromachi period http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/wakizashi/10447.html 3) Wakizashi, late Muromachi period http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/wakizashi/10453.html I would be very much interested to hear your expert comments on those. Thank you, Matus