Brian Brooke

I suppose if it had read the title to this thread I would not have had to ask this idiotic question. Sorry.

It is very valuable and enjoyable to see photos such as these. Thank you for posting them. These all demonstrate "standing out hada" vs "coarse hada", correct? Is the proper term for this style matsukawa-hada? Brian

The old Hoju tachi that was listed on Sanmei is wonderful! Do Hoju school blades come up often? Thanks Brian

I admit the fact the seller and I live so close together is pretty crazy, and fortuitous. In fact it is a bit crazy. But the blade is yummy/wonderful. The hada is beautiful. It is the finest thing I can lay claim to. It is consistent with other examples of Chikanori's work. A similar blade was archived on nihonto.us and another earlier on Sho-shin. The ayasugi is not as "orderly", or structured. I don't know the proper term-- and I am sure there is one. Call it beginner's luck or something. My boys say I am crazy for saying it was "meant to be". Perhaps they are right. Best regards, Brian

Good morning. I was fortunate enough to see this sword when it was first posted and jumped on it--figuratively speaking. It turned out that Octavian the seller was about 25 minutes from my house and I just happened to be going to a Super Bowl party about 5 minutes from his home. It is a lovely blade and the ayasugi hada almost whispered to me. It was meant to be. I think that this blade, originating from the Dewa province near Mount Gassan, wished to remain in the north. This sword has a new home now, but did not need to travel far. The smith Chikanori has at least one juyo blade I think. This blade is lovely. Thank you Octavian. It was a pleasure to meet you. Warm regards, Brian Brooke

Hello, my name is Brian and I am a lawyer in Vancouver, British Columbia. My first baby steps into Nihonto came as a result of my father. My father had an uncle who served in the US military in the South Pacific after the Second World War. He had brought back an old katana that he was very proud of. As a young kid, my dad loved that sword and always always made a point of expressing his admiration and interest in the sword to his uncle. I think my dad hoped his uncle might make a gift of it to him one day, but this did not come to pass. The sword disappeared from the family in California many years ago. My father worked hard all his life and probably had the means to buy himself a nice old sword, but he never did. He put the needs of my mother and his kids first. He still spoke of his uncle's old sword through my childhood and young adult years. When my father turned 65 I purchased a fine and elegant papered old Uda tachi to try to honor him and his hard work on our behalf. My father loved the sword and was very proud of it. I think it gave him much pleasure and enjoyment while he was its custodian. All good things must come to an end, and Alzheimer's disease has taken my father's mind. And thus the Uda tachi has come back to me, and I love and respect it more because my father was its previous custodian. The history of this fine item is now personal. I am new to this wonderful and fascinating area or history and art, but I am a keen student. I hope to study and learn more, and in time to acquire more fine old blades for my own boys to cherish and care for as they grow older. I look forward to learning from you all about this most worthy and interesting area. Brian B