Mark S.

I wanted to hear opinions before I gave mine… but I asked the question so it’s only fair I give my opinion. At first I was ‘interested’ as some of my collection includes items that may be considered ‘on the fringe’. But I have this habit of taking the pictures of items and printing them out to full scale. When both sides of the picture are placed back to back (as in the first photo), the shape doesn’t seem too odd. However, when printed to scale and only one side is viewed, the blade has a distinct ‘humpback whale’ shape that did not appeal to me. The boshi also feels wrong, but is understandable based on how the blade attained its current shape. Also, the price was a bit high for a discussion piece. This piece is wakizashi length of 34.9cm. On the plus side, it did receive NBTHK Hozon.

With the passing of Yoshikawa-sensei (NTHK) and Miyano-sensei (NTHK-NPO) and Tanobe-sensei not officially a part of NBTHK Shinsa (I could be 100% wrong about that, and if so, I humbly apologize), although he still does sayagaki attributions…. who are the current notable people in the Shinsa/kanei world whether in the above mentioned organizations or other? Just wondering who the current and upcoming crop of leaders in the field are?

While going through some dealers, I came across a blade. Of course this will come down to personal preference. Is it just too awkward to look at or do you appreciate the method to ‘save’ a damaged blade? This just happens to be a blade from one of my favorite schools so I am torn on my feelings about it.

I HIGHLY encourage everyone to attend. Mark makes sure these sessions are well worth your time and Matt has some wonderful blades. Both Matt and Mark make the presentations approachable to newer attendees, but very educational for more seasoned veterans. If you are there… GO!

I am sorry and did not know this Grey. If you want to contact Brian and ask him to delete this thread I am not going to say a word. I had no idea this was ‘stolen’ and only wanted to ask what this was.

So I found a free download of the Nihon Toko Jiten (Koto and Shinto). I hope I am not sharing anything ‘wrong’. However, it doesn’t seem to match an English index I have or some of the sample pages of the books I can locate on-line. Is this an earlier version or something else? https://archive.org/details/nihon-toko-jiten

Papers should be a start of your research journey, not the end. They are a very educated opinion, but there is so much more to learn depending on what they say or don’t say.

Just ordered one. Looking forward to it!

Thank you Moriyama-san. Generous with you translation skills as always. Also, thank you Piers.

If someone has a few moments, may I please have the translation of the ‘art name’ for this chashaku? Pics of the inside of the storage box and storage tube attached. Thank you.

Derek… Where/when did you study tea ceremony?

Uchiko from Robert Benson is of the highest quality. The uchiko is already processed. It just takes a day to put the ball together…

Pm sent

Live fairly local so this is my regular show. As always… can’t wait!

This will be my first time attending the Orlando show. Looking forward to it!

Today’s dumb question. When I click on Dealer Showcase, I used to see each individual dealer and then be able to go to that dealer. Now I see just a running list of posts with the dealers all mixed together. Did I accidentally change a setting?

He took the time to reach out to me with some kind words when I needed them most. Seemed like a warm, genuine person. Such a shame… I wish his wife and family Peace in the days ahead.

When someone has a chance, let’s hear some thoughts on the show. I was close to coming this year, but some things came up and I had to defer.

My initial reaction is that the Kane kanji with the 5 lower ‘strokes’ seems a bit ‘odd’. It is usually 4 strokes… but I am far from an expert in this area.

Sorry… old game for kids. Please excuse the hijack…

Or the funny bone from the Operation board game.

Tsuba is tea ceremony (Chanoyu) equipment theme. Feather (haboki), iron pronged stand for the tea kettle (go-toku), tea scoop (chashaku), and small ceramic tea container (chaire). I very much like this theme.

Not to hijack… but a couple pics of the car too wouldn’t hurt my feelings…

One reference from Sesko’s A-Z of Japanese Swordsmiths: KUNIYOSHI (国吉), Keian (慶安, 1648-1652), Bingo - “Bingo Fukuyama-jū Kuniyoshi saku” (備後福山住国吉作), real name Kodama Tōshirō (児玉藤四郎)

Mei reads: Bishū Fukuyama-jū Kuniyoshi saku 備州福山住国吉作 Bishū 備州 consists of three provinces: Bizen 備前 (east) Bitchū 備中 (central) Bingo 備後 (west)