Gakusee

Actually, in the UK if you know where to look there are some good opportunities to view quality swords. Those sources include the meetings of the To-Ken of GB and Northern ToKen, some museums which allow studying of their blades through reputable societies as the aforementioned, events linked to NBTHK and other such organisations etc. And of course - fellow collectors. The depth and breadth are nowhere near the US but there are solid opportunities. And for those who can afford to travel and are NBTHK members, the Bonn and Munich sessions of the NBTHK European branch in Germany are superb. On top, in ToKen GB we are trying to broaden the events a little (e.g. the Ashmolean museum event a couple of months ago, the Chiddingstone event a couple of years ago, some other forthcoming museum meetings etc) Michael

Yes, John - see you in the Tavistock Hotel on 3 Dec It will be good to catch up with Peter too. Michael

For the avoidance of doubt, Paul can arrange for a sword to be polished by a variety of polishers in Japan and he has numerous contacts in that community. In that sense, he is not restricted to one or two polishers and it is best if everyone discusses their preferences with him directly. Michael

A Nidai Muramasa wakizashi (not so common, by the way, as he made mostly katana and tanto length blades, as well as various yari) will likely cost ten times as the current Ebay pricing of this item. In fact, Tsuruta san sells at least one Muramasa tanto per year, sometimes two, and usually prices them at 3.5-4million yen (again - tanto, not wakizashi) depending on Hozon vs TH certifates they come with and the lavishness of the koshirae. Supporting one of the posts above, I have seen how dealers do paper and upgrade items when they know exactly what they have. In fact, Tsuruta san himself had a splendid hitatsura Muramasa wakizashi, which he papered to Juyo, and was displayed in last year's new JuTo exhibition. He never put that sword officially on his Aoi Art website for sale but sold it nevertheless. Personally, I would question the nakago shape if you are trying to match Nidai here, as well as request to see the nakago close-up from all directions, including the mune. Finally, please note the clever seller wording 'late generation' in the description. He does not state nidai or sandal even but 'late', which one could construe as beyond sandai (let us not go into the number of generations here - suffice it to say, it also does not look like a Masashige). Good luck, Michael

Brian and mods, there are often instances with pictures uploaded in the forum that when I click on an image using my iPhone, I do not see anything. What happens is that a new Internet tab is opened and it just says 'about:blank' instead of an image which I can zoom in and review enlarged. Any help with that? I wanted to have a closer look at the tsuba Flo has kindly posted but the images are not there to zoom in. Thanks a lot and apologies for sidetracking this visual feast, Michael

Dear all, I am trying to assess if there is enough interest here to share the c. $1500 cost of a translation by M Sesko of the 35 textual pages of Kanzan's book Ise No Toko. It is the leading expert publication on the Muramasa school (the master and his students and followers). There are over 50 pages of oshigata and photos accompanied by 35 pages of text and diagrams. A link to the book is here: http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b578-ise-no-Toko Thanks Michael

Back in July the price was 4-4.5m yen for it. I wonder why he took so long to put it forward. I have viewed it in hand and it is a wonderful little thing. Michael

Derek, It is true that Muramasa smiths were considered Muromachi smiths and hence they would normally be excluded from ToHo. However there is also the exception granted to famous smiths (so a mumei M. blade or Edo blade by a famous smith might still receive ToHo papers, theoretically, if in excellent condition). What is your personal experience? Did you try (and succeed) with your Muramasa blade with the partially obscured (but still distinguishable) mei? That will be an informative precedent. Thank you for sharing your experience in advance. Michael

Hi Jean Apologies - in the late evening rush I forgot to include the required moniker. I preferred to spend the time to read the necessary legislation in order to help Nick (with whom I have had only positive experiences to date). I need to figure a way of automatically attaching my signature at the bottom when using my iPhone so that I do not omit it in the future. I do not post frequently but have been a user for many many years. Also, one of my nationalities is Bulgarian, hence the input. Best, Michael S

Gents, we can generalise and have bad experiences in every country, especially with the tightening of national rules and posting regulations of various carriers. Use code 970600000 for articles and antiques over 100 years of age. Provided you have indeed secured the funds and have declared the good as antique it should hopefully work (even though I have not shipped to Bulgaria). Also, the various Chinese replica wall hangers can be bought and delivered there. Genuine Nihonto are rare but available in some antique shops in the capital.

Dear all I have finally managed to scan the NBTHK flyers I took with me when I visited the exhibition (which I did twice during my stay in Tokyo - so remarkable was it). I took those with the conscious intention to share them with our ToKen Society members but also with the NMB. I have to preface my subjective comments below by admitting that I am an ardent Bizen den aficionado and to me that was the greatest collection ever (mind you, my Tokyo visit also included marvelling at the Kokuho swords Sadamune and Munechika in the national museum). My absolute favourites were the two Tomonari tachi, the two Masatsunes and the Nagamitsu. All of them had the most vivid, resplendent utsuri imaginable, which glowed from afar even in the dimly illuminated showroom. Darcy B had previously written up about one of these two Tomonari tachi - in my view, the pinnacle in swordmaking, it was rumoured that Masamune had admired it and tried to emulate it (after Ishii Akira - please refer to Darcy's website - I have extracted the quote and hope Darcy does not mind as it eloquently and succinctly describes the magnficence of this sword). That tachi has a nagasa of around 93 cm, if memory serves me right and is the largest Koto sword I have seen (the overall length easily exceeding 120cm overall, probably more). It is remarkably well preserved, with visible mei and so many activities that one could spend many hours studying it. Among Tomonari's signed tachi, this is the longest and has a very powerful feeling. It is more than 3 shaku long, and the jihada is a consistent itame hada from the moto to saki. Masamune, who established the Soshu Den school, is supposed to have admired this sword, and particularly its very natural ko-midare hamon and the nioi-guchi. The entire hamon, including the ha-saki, has fine thick ha-nie, also a controlled but varying thickness of the kinsuji, niesuji, and frequent sunagashi. The hamon is similar to those of Ko-hoki swords, which have a wild feeling or presence and an interesting hamon. Among Tomonari’s swords, this was made not later than the Heian era, and has a dynamic shape and at the same time, a very elegant look, and we could say that this is one of his best works. One of the two Masatsune (the earlier one) was similar in calibre and elegance (while the later one was perhaps not so elegant in terms of hamon but still a sword with great sugata and ever-so-fine kitae). The Naritaka also held their own strongly and of course, the Ichimonji swords (of which I expected more examples - perhaps to come in the next phase of the exhibition?) were amazing. The Osafune swords were also very impressive - starting from the founder Mitsutada through to the even more flamboyant Nagamitsu and the more quietly beautiful Kagemitsu tanto. I have attached the flyers and map for those who might decide to go and visit this first instalment. The trivial cost of 300 yen for members is negligible given what is on offer. Unfortunately one cannot take pictures in there without a special permission. Michael S Supreme Sword Country Bizen 1.pdf Supreme Sword Country Bizen 2 - English.pdf NBTHK map.pdf

Has anyone recently (in the last couple of months) shipped from the UK to Japan and from Japan to the UK? Paul Martin suggested to me last month that sending from Japan back (to the UK) is best done via FedEx. When sending to Japan the best option is Parcelforce Global Priority, according to Paul. However, I have seen a lot of negative publicity in this discussion thread around FedEx and that they would not send swords out of Japan as of late. It seems that EMS has a direct (International EMS Guarantee) service to the UK but, again - has anyone used them successfully to receive swords in the UK? Thank you very much, Michael S

Markus I believe the translator you are looking for is Gavin Frew. http://www.kodanshausa.com/authors/9/ Indeed, it will be great if we see more publications in English from the NBTHK. Kind regards, Michael S

This is massive: today through 24 November, get 30% off all softcover books with code FLASH30 and 50% off all hardcover books with code HC50 Should make great X-mas presents... Michael

Dear all, We are glad you find the To-Ken Society of UK archives useful. This was the main purpose why earlier this year we decided to publish our archives on the web for nihontophiles' benefit. They contain a wealth of information and research collated by some of the most knowledgeable UK collectors and experts over the last fifty years. We are in the process of extending the archive with some more of the old programmes, and in combination with the UK sword register (Clive's oeuvre), they present a valuable source of study. Best, Michael

MATEY25 gives 25% off printed books until 22 Sept. Michael

Darcy, Could you please elaborate on what you mentioned: "Juyo at the moment is also 'very very difficult' and extremely unpredictable. So there have been good blades like this that look to pass the Juyo threshold that have come into the market without Juyo papers over the last couple of years". I have heard similar statements from others but conflicting and contradictory explanations or guidance as to why, and how to discriminate when submitting to Juyo shinsa. Many thanks for your views. Michael

Dear bibliophiles, Please note the following promotion being run by Lulu for two days: 25% off all print books through 14 August with code TWODAY25. Separately, I have been trying to find e-book Lulu codes but these seem quite scarce. Best, Michael

Thanks, Chris - appreciate your feedback. Others I have heard/identified good feedback on include: Kenji Mishina, Tsuyoshi Morodomi, Ono Takahiro, Mizuta Yoshimasa, Sasaki Takushi, Fujishiro Okisato but again, I was trying to identify certain strengths and preference of specific togishi. Eg, that polisher is very strong at Bizen, this polisher really specialises in Hizento-to, polisher X is particularly good at yari/naginata, etc. Eg, there are numerous very knowledgeable collectors and contributors to this forum who work with a multitude of polishers - how do they decide which sword to send to which polisher (aside waiting periods and assuming we are considering quality blades which are worthwhile investing in) I shall again go to my example of Mr Fumio Sei - I have not previously heard of him but he has been recommended as someone who does a really good job of polishing yari, is fairly experienced (several decades) and the price is competitive given his expertise. Michael

Dear fellow members, There have been various posts in the past about specific polishers but many have been discreet or unclear about the name/identity of the polisher. This could perhaps be attributed to concerns about defamation, offence, etc. Many of you have said that certain Japanese polishers are better at specific schools or periods, or have a preference (and thus really put their hearts into polishing) for certain smiths. Could you please mention some of the polishers you have used in the past and your experience and view of where they are most "at home". More specifically, who would you recommend for an Ichimonji blade in a very good state of polish (but probably not at Juyo level, which I am considering submission for)? Lastly, has any of you used the services of Fumio Sei and what are your impressions? If you prefer you could send me a private message in case of concerns. Thank you very much for all your views. Michael

Piers, Impressive - especially that they chose you, as non-Japanese, to take groups around. It is the best testament one can receive about one's ability, knowledge, recognition, etc. And thank you for the detailed account and the pictures of the Muramasa blade. Hopefully we can get together when you are next in the UK. Best, Michael

Paul, Many thanks for the upload of the magazine edition and, hopefully, there will not be any copyright problems. Your photography and presentation of the various blades, koshirae and tosogu are great. I hope the exhibition will soon come to the UK as well. Ganbatte kudasai. Best, Michael

Many thanks to both of you for preserving this important legacy! Michael

Piers, It was great to meet you at the To-Ken meeting and thank you for the lovely items you brought along. Hopefully, we shall see you at some of the other, perhaps the summer, meetings Michael

Dear all Thank you very much for all the responses - kindly appreciate the feedback. I shall try to take some decent pics of the koshirae and post them here. I shall also do some reading on Kyo Sukashi tsuba. Best, Michael