Paul Martin

Could anyone privately send me the name and contact details of the fully trained polisher in Canada please. Is it Seto san? Best

The plans for a German version, and possibly Polish and Russian, are already underway. Best

The English version Kantei books were all sent out this morning. US should receive them in a couple of days. International in about a week. Thank you all.

Genroku period smith from Harima. Also, signed 播州住人重貞作 Further info in the Kokon Kaji Bikou, Toko Soran, Shinto Koto Taikan and the Nihonto Jiten. Note: carved Poeny in a circle. (Nihonto meikan third edition)

We have just added a paypal button on the store page of http://www.thejapanesesword.com for those wishing to purchase the Nyusatsu Kantei Guide. And with great thanks to our own Carlo (Tsubame), and Jean Laparra, we will soon be having Italian and French Editions. More to follow... Best

Dear All, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is release of the book is to be delayed by about a week. To all those that have contacted me. My apologies I shall keep you all updated. The good news is that in the near future we shall be also be producing French and Italian versions. Once again, my apologies for the delay. Best

Don't carry them in the boot of your car unbagged and easily accessible, or wear gaudy tracksuits and speak using lots of r's, you could get in trouble with the Japanese police. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcOojlo2 ... div-f-5-HM

We had a problem with the contact form, but that has now been repaired. Sorry for any inconvenience. Please try again. Best

Sorry for the commercial type plug, but we are days away from the release of our pocket guide to nyusatsu kantei. If you are interested in pre-ordering a copy, please order from the contact page at http://www.thejapanesesword.com it is w 4.25" x H 6.87". 50 pages. $12 +pp It comes in a handy size (unlike most sword books) and is beneficial to sword enthusiasts of all levels. It has basic information for beginners, blade shape charts, explanation of the rules of kantei and most importantly a Koto, Shinto dozen list for easy navigation when practicing nyusatsu kantei. Sorry for the bandwidth, but I felt that the western sword world needed this amazingly important tool in order to be able to practice and build their confidence in nyusatsu kantei.

Thanks Grey, Sounds good.

Hello All, Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced, pleasant hotel near to the Met. Or have any other tips for that. Also, what is the New York Sword Society's schedule. Best

I would further add, that mamori-gatana, or Omamori-gatana also serve as spiritual protectors for brides and newly born babies for protection from bad spirits. They are often worn in the obi next to the breast on brides, you can often see them peeping out with the tassel on the end. They may be real or symbolic in this case. They are also used in funeral rites (mainly symbolical tanto are used in this case) to protect the person on their next journey. This may its roots in Kofun burial rituals. The koshirae for brides often depict images like snow laden bamboo, a wish from a father for his daughter to persevere and bear the weight of the new conditions that have been put upon her, as new brides often go to live in the grooms household. If all fails and she feels that her, or her family's honor is at stake, the tanto can be used to defend herself or commit jigai. The All Japan Swordsmiths Association hold an annual exhibition of newly made Omamori-gatana and koshirae at various venues around Japan. Originally, it was only tanto, but now it has been expanded to long swords too, as they also incorporate elements of spiritual protection. Additionally, there are still sometimes exorcisms of houses where a sword is used in the rituals. Best

Dear Ed, Please go to the Boston Museum of Fine arts. Speak to a curator named Joe Earle. He should put you in contact with Morihiro Ogawa, a former staff member of the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Arts Swords (NBTHK, Japanese sword museum) in Japan and a direct student of Kanzan Sato. Ogawa sensei visits Boston on a semi-regular basis. Best

Jeremy, Tachi are not suitable for iai. The curvature is centered in the lower part of the blade. When thrust through the sash like a katana, the tsuka will rather acutely point towards the ground making nukitsuke rather awkward. The curvature of period tachi was adjusted by hammering the softer nakago to remove some of this curvature in order for them to be mounted as katana. In addition, the upper part of tachi (monouchi etc) are straighter in comparison to katana. Particularly with healthier blades, when drawn as a katana this will slice the inside of your saya more than usual and 1. wear it out quickly and 2. be rather hazardous after a while. Tachi were not really for designed for iai.

It IS free

Hi All, Belated Happy new year. Latest report on the Annual Swordsmiths Exhibition (still going on) at Yasukuni Jinja this year. Wasn't sure where to post it, Shows, Youtube box, etc, so opted for general http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=su9tSYTwbGs Best P

Thanks Barry. Paul

Hi List, Could someone pm me Cary's latest working contact details. An acquaintance of his in Japan wants to contact him. Best Paul

Horikawa Kunihiro

Kiyomaro

The group hasn't quite disbanded. Murakami sensei's top student Nakahara Nobuo (see NMB article on suriage) still lectures all over Japan, writes articles for Shunka Touen Magazine, and has students. Also there is the Shunka Touen kantei kai presided over by polisher Inutsuka Tsuneyuki, the son of Inutsuka Tokutaro of Token Oshigata Taikan fame.

The same, but "Ikura desu ka!?!

Maybe the difference is Indian and African (looking at the ears that is)

Moriyama san, Thank you for the links and the clarification. as they say `ii benkyou narimashita`. Next, time I am speaking with someone I will ask them `are you sure thats what you mean, don`t you mean yaki-namashi or yaki-namari. By the way, is that a troglodyte in your hamon there?` :D By the way, one of my sources got back to me to revise the info he gave me that conferred with Moriyama san`s explanation. I have to wonder if this is a case of words coming into common misuse like `tempering`. Tempering is misused on such a huge scale, that even people who know what it really means sometimes use it as an abbreviation of explaining the whole hardening process. As I am sure Grey was doing in his explanation.

Moriyama san, I was actually going to suggest the same in my last post. That I wondered if the terminology had been adopted slightly differently for swordmaking as opposed to everyday (or engineering) Japanese. EDIT. I just spoke with a third party who said different again. He said yaki-modoshi was tempering, and Yaki-namashi was removing the hamon to start again which previously was also described as tempering or annealing. Best