Markus

As announced earlier, I revised and enlarged my Index of Japanese Swordsmiths and the result is out now as 3 volume hardcover edition. Please see link below that brings you to my blog for further details: https://markussesko.wordpress.com/2015/05/06/new-swordsmiths-of-Japan-3-volumes/ And you better might not miss the 20% sale offered by Lulu right now and until May 10th! I mentioned on my blog that I need a few more days to finish the eBook version but I want to discuss here about what is the best way to do so. That means I want to do this as revision so that those who already got the initial eBook are able to download the new version and don't have to pay extra. Also we had the issue that those who downloaded the eBook Index a while ago are now no longer able to get free revisions as Lulu has changed copyright things in the meanwhile. My question now is: How to get the eBook to the early buyers? An option is sending out the PDFs via download links but this would mean that you are again excluded from downloading revisions. Other problem, I don't know who is affected by this as I don't have the names of course from those who downloaded it. So if we are going with the free file sharing option, it would be nice if just those step forward who really purchased the early eBook and not those who see this as way to grab a free copy if you know what I mean Other possibility would be to upload the revision and significantly lower the price so that you are able to download it again, quasi for a little fee, and be eligible to get future revisions and don't have to pay again. But this means that it would no longer be free as promised. So I am open for input!

I think your smith signed with SAIKO (西光), i.e. not Saikomitsu, as KO (光) is already MITSU.

There was a mid-Edo period smith with the name SAIKO (please see info below) but I have no records on the Showa man. But I will list him in my new Swordsmith index, that means he is no linger unrecorded Saikō (西光), Genroku (元禄, 1688-1704), Hizen – “Hizen no Kuni-jū Saikō saku” (肥前国住西光作), it is said that there had been a Kamakura-era Hizen smith with that name but no blades of this Saikō are extant, it is assumed that there might had been a certain connection to the local Hizen Saikōji (西光寺) temple, i.e. it is assumed that “Saikō” was a actually the nyūdō-gō of a certain local smith

Thanks Axel and wow, No 31! So about two months and 80 blades in between these two torokusho... This makes we wonder if actually just about 40/50 blades were registered every month at the very beginning of this system and when the March 29th blade was No 31, we are pretty much at "ground zero.

I am posting this in the General forum but Brian please feel free to move it to the Nihonto section if you think that it fits there better. I came across a torokusho quote on a tokubetsu-hozon paper (for an Inoue Shinkai blade) that is from May 28th 1951 and states number 110! So I am just curious if anyone ever had seen a lower number than 110 because as far as I remember, this is the lowest one I have seen.

Hi Jeremy, here are some links: http://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/katana/207/00.html http://www.token-net.com/soldout/201403-53.html http://winners-auction.jp/productDetail/2446 I am also so free to attach the relevant page(s) of my soon to be published revised Swordsmith index. P685-686.pdf

Curran, this is the bio of him as seen in my soon to be published revised Index of Japanese Swordsmiths. SugiyamaMasatoshi.pdf

Hey guys! If you have a second, I would like to redirect you to my blog where I just started a poll concerning the format of the revised index. https://markussesko.wordpress.com/2015/04/19/1437/ Thanks again for you attention.

Sorry, meant Sukenao as stated in the index. Thanks for the reference. So this blade is dated Shotoku 2 (1712) and the mei looks much more "artistically matured" than the one signed Sesshu-ju.

XXL please

Thanks for the update Steve. Have to add this mei to my Swordsmith Index that I am revising at the moment anyway. So seems you have an early blade from this Sukemasa when he was in his "exciting" earlier years in Osaka receiving his honorary title and learning from Sukehiro. What is the workmanship saying? Suguha or toranba in the style of his master?

I compiled upon request a little compendium. Its for free and Brian, you can add the PDF to the NMB links if you want. Check out my blog for details: https://markussesko.wordpress.com/ Thanks.

I am sorry that I was not clear enough in my initial post. No update is yet available as I just started with the correction, revision, and reformatting process. The steps in this Swordsmith Index revision process are as follows: 1. I really need feedback from those who worked with the Index or eIndex over the last three years and found errors (I will detect the typos myself so I am not in that much need of learning about wrong commas and the like.). 2. The so far available editions (German and English) provided by BoD will be discontinued. There will no longer be any German version or updates to the German version as this set hardly sells anyway (and with hardly I mean something like two sets in a quarter). 3. The completely revised set will be made available as hardcover volumes and as eBook on Lulu.com. There will be a paperback edition too that is later available on amazon. (Lulu does not make letter format hardcovers available via amazon, that's about the only reason for the paperback, i.e. that people will find something on amazon at all.). 4. I will send out manually and for free the new eBook to those who can't download it any more from Luku. (Also those who got the German eBook will receive the revised English eBook directly from me and for free.) So please stay tuned and I will announce all updates here in this thread. And again, any info as mentioned in point No 1 would really be appreciated!

I see. But we will solve that unbureauctratically. That means when it is done, I will send out eBooks individually and for free to those who purchased their copy before that deadline.

The eBook will be published as revised and not as a new edition. That means once you purchased a "copy", you can download every new version and don't have to pay again.

Hi all, Some of you might remember our lengthy discussion on a revised hardcover edition of my 2012 published two volume INDEX OF Japanese SWORDSMITHS. Well, it never worked out and the initial hardcover version never worked to be easy buyable from everywhere in the world. Also an errata and a correction of all the typos seemed to be overdue and so I decided to give it another try as a two volume hardcover copy on Lulu. With this, we don't have to care about a minimum number of buyers to get the thing started as it is print on demand. Also the price of the set will be noticeable lower as Lulu has way better royalties than BoD. Now doing so, I will slightly change the layout o ensure a better legibility, coming along with a larger font as I got feedback that the initial font was way too small. I attach a preview who a page of the revised edition might look like. And with this, you all come into play as I need some feedback to enlarge my own errata done over the three years. I have created an email address of its own for this, "swordsmith.errata@gmail.com". This is a "fire-and-forget" email address, that means I will not reply from there and just collect your suggestions and corrections. If you really have to discuss a thing or to, please get in touch with me via my regular address "markus.sesko@gmail.com". I will post the very same announcement on my blog. Thank you all for your cooperation! PS: The eBook version will be updated too of course. RevisionPreview.pdf

James, please drop me an Email at "markus.sesko@gmail.com" and we can work out some upgrade.

Sorry for that Brian (and members here). I thought that you all directly check my blog for the update on this. Offer will be up for a week so there is enough time to decide if you grab one or not.

Reacting to the fact that Lulu never offers eBook sales, I am preparing a little Easter eBook sale at the moment so please stay tuned.

Thanks Brian! I will try to get in touch with him via FB.

Hi all. For my book on Gendaito, I would like to get in touch with Dr. Jinsoo Kim. Has anyone a current email address as the one on his site "info@jp-sword.com" seems to be out of service. Thank you!

@Jason: The quality of the eBook should be the same as at the print versions as both use the same PDF as basis. I have never tried to print from my own PDFs but just did so and I can't see any quality difference than priting it with/from Word for example.

@Peter: Will do so in the future.

Seems to be base on this site: http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~osaru/midokoro.htm

I hope with this, the nightmare around this book is finally over... Why did it have to be this project to be so cursed and not one of my "Identifying Japanese ... Script" books which sold like in homeopathic dosages? https://markussesko.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/important-masamune-book-update/