myamoto

To All: On april 5th I have send a registered letter to Kiyota Hiroki's wife and explaining the whole situation and finally asking for a full refund. The next day I received a reply by e-mail my money would be returned. On april 16th the money has been returned into my account so for now I am a happy man, although I still don't own a shinsakuto. Of course I would like to thank Pierre for his mediation in this unfortunate issue Regards, Marcel

To Brian, Chris and Ted: It's been a while since I checked this messageboard and by now I should be happy owning my shinsakuto and placing pictures of it on this messageboard, but..... Kiyota-san didn't do anything, so my worries I had back in 2008 about the first payment might have been correct. Here I am, 3 years later having done a first payment in 2008 of Yen 400.000 and now left with nothing, emptyhanded feeling sad and angry about this smitht's mentality and personality This doesn't feel right. I have given Kiyota-san 30 days to come up with a solution or other steps will be taken against him. I just had to let you guys know about this and I will keep this messageboard updated about the status Regards, Marcel

Thank you all for your kind replys. I will check with the airline beforehand Marcel

Brian thank you for pointing me into the direction of Guido's post. It is a good article with lots of information. One thing I don't get though. I thought it wasn't possible to have your sword with you when leaving Japan ( either in the cargo space or in the pilot's cabin ) but after reading Guido's story it seems possible to leave Japan with the shinsakuto. Marcel

Brian, could you please tell me how I could get the shinsakuto out of Japan once it is finished. I know I have to wait for almost 2 more years but i like to do my homework good. I know I can not take it with me out of Japan, but since I am buying it directly from the smith instead of through an agent i don't know ow i should get it into Europe with all the paperwork etc Thanks for any input Marcel

Barry and John, thanks for your input. We will have to wait and see what happens Does any of you know how this is taken up by the craftsmen themselves? Are they ok by this or do they have a troubled mind about this change?

Hi to you all, I recently heard from a source the NBTHK migt stop excisting because of bad behavior and might loose it's status as a sub-governmental organization. Does anybody knows more about this? What will happen with the annual exhibition for upcoming swordsmiths? Would love to see any input on this Regards, Marcel

To Chris Osborne: The smith is indeed Kiyota-san, a student of mukansa Kawachi Kunihira ( of whom I have a signed copy of his very nice book ) and he is indeed a very nice person Regards

Hi Brian, Thanks for the reply. Indeed it is a special project for me. Can't hardly wait untill I can see the very first pictures of the tamahagane, the hammering and the melting, when they start on my project. ( probably somewhere 2009 considering the exhibition is in 2010 ) I will be happy to post pictures after completion. I have send my questions about the koshirae to Usagiya. Thanks for pointing me in the right directions. Like I said there is not much information on the internet available on koshirae. At least I could not find it. I will let you know their answer Regards, Marcel

Hi All, Can someone point me into directions of a koshirae maker in Japan I have ordered a Shinsakuto which will be ready in 2010 now i am looking for a koshirae to fit the shinsakuto On the internet I could not find much information about a koshiraemaker ( only one name came up, but he is to expensive) How much would a new koshirae costs? Thanks Marcel

To Jos: I will get my shinsakuto, if all works well, in 2010. The smith already has an order for the NBTHK exhibition of 2009 so I have ordered mine for the year after. If the circomstances will be allright. ie. good tamahagame, etc The swordsmith is a student of mukansa Kawachi Kunihira sensei, so I trust him completely he will deliver a masterpiece. I would like to visit the to-ken meeting sometime since i am a real beginner on this ( although I wanted a Japanese sword for over 25 years now ) and the more input I can get the better it will be for me and my understanding for the blade. I would be happy to show the blade on a meeting but we have to be patient. I would also like to know more about declaring the shinsakuto into the Netherlands, maybe you can explain more about that to me Regards, marcel

To Bryan: Thanks for your input. The smith is indeed a member and won the Doryoku-show in 2007 My blade, if it will pass the jury, will be on display in 2010 so I will have to be patient ( gives me time to save money for the blade and the trip as well ) Marcel

25 people seen it so far and not even 1 reply on my question??????????

Last may I was in Japan and visiting a swordsmith was very high on my list for a very long time so i did visit a smith After spending a whole day tallking to him, see him at work, and having dinner with him and his appraissent/translator ( both are very nice person s) I decided to have him make a shinsakuto with oshigata for me. What I would like to know is how one orders a handmade shinsakuto. I told the smith I would be honored if he would make a blade for me that would be exhibited on the annual shinsakuto event held by the NBTHK. After returning home I transferd 1/3 of the price into his bankaccount but I don't have anything on paper. Is this normal ( I understand completely that a Japanese swordsmith has his pride and his honor ) but for a western person this might seems strange. I also need something on paper for the customs I guess to prove the actual price when entering my country ( btw I live in the Netherlands ) Could anyone help me out with this Domo arrigato Marcel