Nicholas Fu

Hello friends, I also wanted to share, I found a website post by Katana_case_shi who went to the first half of the exhibition and took pictures of EVERYTHING for us to enjoy! for those of us who could not make it to Japan due to the Pandemic. I for one, would absolutely kill to be there right now and to see the exhibit. But heres the next best thing. Some really beautiful stuff there. I hope he goes for the second half which actually starts today and captures those as well, although I doubt it. Please enjoy. https://note.com/katana_case_shi/n/nd8f7ee9d5a04

Hi everyone, I have decided to let one of the swords within my collection go in order to fund another piece into my collection. Here is a beautiful Tachi made by the late Mukansa smith Hiroki Hirokuni made in 2013 just before his passing. It is one of his last works. The Tachi is a Long and wide blade at the bottom and tapers towards the top. It has a Deep Koshii-sori (curve is deepest at the bottom of the blade) The hamon is a thick and wide suguha. The Tachi is aimed at the Aoe school. The blade is in flawless condition. The Specs are: Blade Length: 78.1cm (2 Shaku 5sun 7bu) Motohaba: 3.2cm Tip Width: 2.2cm Motoshige: 1.7cm Sakikasane: 1.4cm Sori: 2.9cm 13,500 Aud Negotiable. Sincerely, Nicholas P.S. Here is a video of Hiroki Hirokuni -

I also just recently put through an order about almost 2 weeks ago through Paul Martin, for a blade to be made by Akamatsu Taro Kanetsugu, the head of the family. Yes their blades are lovely. Many of their blades are very wide and thick with O-kissaki. Heres a website that showcases alot of their work. https://www.higotora.com/ So yeah, I have a Matsuba Kunimasa Commission order that should be done within the next few months, And I guess I have to wait from anywhere of 6months up to a year or even more sometimes, for my Akamatsu Taro order. @16k Would you happen to be able to share any photos of your Akamatsu Taro blade? If you would like to :D.

It is so nice to hear you say that Piryohae3, I personally love Shinsakuto and mainly collect them. I know I'm against the majority, and but I do still admire and appreciate older Jidai blades.

I am having a blade made by Kunimatsa Matsuba, I went through Paul to order the commission I shall update and post pics etc once it is done.

Hey Everyone, I just wanted to start up a thread to ask. Has anyone ever have a sword commissioned by a Smith in Japan? If so - Which smith did you order your blade from? -What Kind of blade did you get? -Were you ever happy with your order? or Has the blade ever turned out not the way you wanted? - How long did it take? And anything else you'd like to share about your experience of ordering a commissioned order. I have placed a commission order for a blade, but am still in the waiting process for it to be finished. I used an intermediary through Paul Martin, who is great by the way.

Thank you so much for the in depth answers. By the way Andrew its me Nick!

Hi everybody, I just wanted to know if anyone knows any modern swordsmiths who are practicing and making blades in the Yamashiro and Mino tradition. I know most swordsmiths these days create Bizen style blades because they are the most popular with collectors. and after Bizen style blades, it’s Soshu den. However, I was wondering if people knew of other swordsmiths who attempt to make blades in the other styles. I know that the late Hiroki Hirokuni and Osumi Toshihira we’re mainly the only modern smiths who made blades in the Yamato tradition. Just wondering about Mino and Yamato den blades of modern times.

Hello Everyone, My name is Nicholas and I am from Melbourne. I have recently started my nihonto education and have been studying and trying to learn non-stop in the past month. I have bought several books, such as The Connoisseur's book of Japanese Swords by Kokan Nagayama, The Japanese Sword by Kato, Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths, by Kapp and Yoshihara; and The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths, by Tsuchiko and Mishina. I am most interested in Shinsakuto, the more modern and contemporary blades. Although, I do not own any nihonto yet, I plan on starting my collection soon. I am currently most in love with Ono Yoshimitsu and Yoshihara Yoshindo's work. Excited to meet you all and share our appreciation of some nihonto!