sabiji

Oh God Thomas, what have you done? Now I have to buy an extra suitcase! Many thanks for the tip! The offers on their homepage look very promising!

Brian, in 2019 I picked up my daughter in Tokyo after she had spent a year mainly in Kyushu. Although our hotel was in Jinbocho, the few days were so full of appointments that I actually only made it to Isseido once - just before closing time. I was in Japan with my wife in 2022. In order not to burden her with too much “sword stuff”, I was only able to make two short visits to the NBTHK Museum and the National Museum. In the latter I was only in the Honkan, while in the Heiseikan (I think it was in the Heiseikan) the anniversary exhibition of the National Treasure Blades was on display. And I walked past it because my wife wanted to go somewhere else. (I only noticed it when I was back from Japan...) This year I'm traveling alone, so the focus is only on my hobby! And if I turn every single bookshop upside down this time...

Thank you very much! I remember the “Book Cafe Work”. Then I will definitely find the small bookshop mentioned.

I wanted to ask if anyone has experience in which antiquarian bookshops in Jinbocho you can find sword literature? I was last there in 2019, and can only remember Isseido, which had a larger art book section, but I had to stop due to time constraints.

I am extremely inexperienced, especially when it comes to Koshirae, but very curious. I also suspect that Tsuruta-San meant Higo style rather than Tensho style. On the other hand, Tensho and Higo-Koshirae are quite related in terms of evolution. The mount has some features that are more common in early koshirae - which doesn't automatically make it an early koshirae. The koiguchi is somewhat raised, and I also think that the kurigate is positioned quite close to the koiguchi. However, the tsuka has only a minimal hourglass shape and the fuchi is wide and has no tapering at all. This makes the saya-koiguchi-tsuba-fuchi transition look rather incongruous. Something is not right. At least as far as I can tell from the photos. And the high price is more likely to relate to the blade. Osumi jo Masahiro is a well-known Horikawa swordsmith.

Please excuse me, my English is miserable. It is generally assumed that Kinju was active in the Nanbokucho period. The most important argument is 1. the sugata of the works attributed to him, and 2. the typical Soshu style mix of that period. In my opinion, there are no existing dated works (except your dagger), at least not among the registered juyo. All dates are from oshigata of blades that either no longer exist or whose whereabouts are unknown. These dates cover the period between 1346 and 1369. The life dates from the Koto Meizukushi Taizen place Kinju much earlier and do not match the dates documented in Oshigata at all. However, there is a record of the Sanami school from 1450 (Seki Kaji no Koto) which states that the (legendary) Motoshige came to Mino in 1319/20. This dating is plausible insofar as Kaneuji also moved to Fuwa/Mino for the first time at this time, close to the Mino kokubunji there. This is exactly the time when the migration of Yamato swordsmiths began. At that time it was still in anticipation of the impending conflict between Go Daigo and his supporters (Mino -> Toki clan) and the Hojo regents and their vassals. Kaneuji, for example, changed the kanji Kane in his name after moving to Mino. Why wouldn't Motoshige have done the same and changed his name to Kaneshige? It is perfectly normal for swordsmiths to change their names at certain stages of their lives. But the Motoshige = Kinju (Shodai) variant is just my theory. There is no evidence for it.

If it were all that simple... I was lucky enough to acquire a Kaneyuki (Ko-Wakizashi) from a German member of the NBTHK-EB, who is also represented here in the forum. Kaneyuki is often traded as the son or younger brother of Kinju. Both blades, that of Kaneyuki and that of my Kinju, are noticeably different in character. Kaneyuki's hada is also very dense, but it shows considerably more nagare and is more hadatatsu - just as you would imagine a good portion of soshu to be. My Kinju's hataraki are finer and more subtle, while Kaneyuki's are more obvious and clear. There are also stylistic differences within the blades attributed to Kinju. The Fine Hada of Dmitry's Kinju is very similar to my Kinju. Other works, also frequently found in Tanto, show a pronounced Itame-Nagare. 1. one must not forget one thing: among the juyo there are only 5 or 6 signed works by Kinju. One is a tachi, the rest are tanto or ko-waki. As far as I know, there are no signed works by Kaneyuki. The majority are pure attributions to the best of our knowledge and belief with the current status. 2 In the Nanbokucho, an incredible number of swordsmiths immigrated to the provinces of Kaga, Etchu, Echizen and Mino. The majority were swordsmiths of the Yamato tradition, but also the successors of the Rai school and so on. Then there was the influence of Soshu-Den, which was spread throughout Japan by the so-called Masamune students. So it was also a very diverse, experimental time! It is therefore very difficult to say that certain schools or swordsmiths had just one style. Shizu blades differ, Norishige blades differ, Tametsugu blades differ, etc...

Here is a picture of the Hada of a Kinju judged O-Suriage Waki. From today's perspective, Kinju is considered the founder of the Mino-Seki tradition. But first and foremost he came from the Yamato-Senjuin tradition. Early Mino should therefore first be viewed from the Yamato tradition, in which Soshu characteristics were more or less strongly and experimentally interwoven. The question of various generations of Kinju is a separate field of research and would lead too far here. Personally, I subscribe to the idea that the original legendary seki founder Motoshige and Shodai Kinju are one and the same person, and that the nidai was essentially created in the middle Nanbokucho.

If you are in Tokyo ‘at the end of the month’, I would recommend the antique market in Kawagoe, which always takes place on the 28th of the month. I've already been to a few flea markets in Kyoto, Tokyo and the surrounding area, but I've never discovered any really nice tsuba (at least for my taste). Once there were really better pieces to be found at a dealer, but I could have bought them in Ginza for the prices they were asking. And that's how I've done it so far, by buying from the well-known dealers in their shops. You have the advantage of being able to compare favourites directly, and you usually get a discount if you pay cash.

I think this was originally a little over 2 shaku long. The sword is somewhat machiokuri, so the nakago was also shorter, and it will have been a classic katate uchigatana.

I had already posted this Ko-Shoami here in another context. This piece was also mentioned in Touken Bijutsu. It was written that it was by no means typical for ko-shoami. Furthermore, it was pointed out (as FlorianB already wrote above) that rectangular hitsuana create a certain archaic aura and give the impression of age.

The mount has old papers, but the ratio of the Koiguchi-Fuchi proportions still bothers me. Something is not right. I also tend to favour the new Hozon. The blade is more typical of Shimosaka than Hida kami Ujifusa. But never mind. I'm more surprised by Tsuruta-san's eyesight. Where does he see a turtle in the menuki? Typical menuki for ikebana friends...

This should be the Nihon Tosogu Kenkyukai (NTKK)...

or here:https://tsuba.info/nbthk/

Well, I hope you draw the right conclusions from this.

Uwe, no offense meant, I'm trying to be a peacemaker again. I think I understand what Jacques means in this particular case: the viewer should focus only on the basic hamon progression, ignoring the hataraki (ashi, etc). Beginners in particular are overwhelmed by the wealth of information. What is important (at the moment) and what “I can put aside for now”. I just got a freshly polished blade back from Japan. The blade now shows its properties much more brilliantly. I show it to my wife, beaming with joy. “And what is this here?” and she points to a micromillimeter-fine rust hole. What does this tiny blemish matter? She doesn't see the brilliant hada, the great ji-nie, the finely scattered, rich ko-nie of the deep, radiant nioiguchi. The tiny hole is important to her. So I also believe that Jacques meant that the viewer should first block out the hataraki.

Dear Jacques, this is not meant to be a criticism and I am far from being good at Japanese. But shouldn't it be “notare ni suguha majiri”? So the notare was mixed into the suguha? Depending on how you turn the sentence structure, it makes a different sense. “Suguha ni notare majiri” would rather mean that Suguha was mixed into a dominant notare. But I'm not a grammar expert and would be honestly interested to know if I'm right or wrong.

So I'll try again, it would be a shame to lose the thread, just from my point of view, or rather the way I learned it. At least Jacques seems to accept Ko- and O-midare, just not the poor ordinary Midare. Simply midare can be divided much better into "tens of" different subtypes of Notare and Gunome and even more specific ones. The decisive factor is which characteristic predominates. This characteristic is usually mentioned first. If the Choji predominates in the Midare, it is a Choji-Midare. If the Midare dominates over the Choji, it is Midare-Choji. If I write Sugu-O-notare, everyone knows that it is a Suguha that undulates here and there very gently and regularly. Sugu-Komidare would be a Sugu that shows the irregularities here and there in a very small range of action. With a Sugu-Kogunome, you could easily identify the Tani and Yakigashira mentioned by Jacques in a narrow range of action. And so on, etc. Ultimately, all the terms for the properties are a set of terms that can be largely combined to describe a Hamon as differentiated as possible. These deeper differentiations can certainly be argued about. The properties can be interpreted differently by different people. A good example: there are various Oshigata for well-known blades, which can obviously differ considerably. Of course, a Sugu does not become a Gunome, but it has definitely happened to me that I would have mistaken two Oshigata of the same blade for Oshigata of two different blades. But that is what I have already written elsewhere, I remain quite relaxed about it. I always read my Kinju as Konotare with Tsurete properties. Tanobe-Sensei later clarifies: "...ko-notare ga tsure-gokoro ni midareru Hamon..." And here we have "Midare..." again.

Well, on the latter point, I definitely wrote that I don't recommend it at official meetings. I have already made a few oshigata, holding a blade in every conceivable position to the light in order to be able to see the characteristics of the hamon exactly. In fact, it is absolutely necessary. But I can't do that at a meeting. Besides, I can still see best with the traditional way. But I can certainly understand Jacque's basic idea (reading from the cutting edge to the shinogi). Maybe you can do it that way for yourself. At home, of course. I'm more of a calligraphy person. I read the blade the way the Japanese wrote it, from top to bottom (okay, sometimes upside down ;-)) For me, the boshi is the head, the face of the sword, the main theme of the hamon is the body, the yakidashi region is the foundation, the base. I do it this way because I can put the sugata in proportion at the same time. For example: is the shape right? Am I unsure about this, do I see something yakidashi-like? No? Does the blade have fumbari? No? So possibly O-Suriage... And no, a yakidashi is not something that is necessarily only found from the Momoyama onwards. Of course, in Shinto, the yakidashi is sometimes strongly defined. But a hamon always arises somehow in the Ha-Machi region. Sometimes with a bang (Koshiba), sometimes with a delay (Yakiotoshi). The same applies to the boshi, especially the character of the kaeri. If you see such information in combination with the sugata, I have usually already decided on a certain direction during the kantei. That's why I, at least, read a blade from top to bottom, like a scroll. At least that is my view, I have tried to explain it and am open to objections from which I can learn. I think that's how a good discussion works.

Uwe, just forget it! I have also offered a discussion here because I partly disagree. I have also already pointed out here that the way Jacques recommends holding a blade should not be used at a meeting and an official Kantei. No reactions whatsoever. Jacques holds the Nagayama in front of him like the 10 commandments and does not accept any comments or respond to them. I do not mean to diminish the importance of the Nagayama in any way. Who am I to do that? It is extremely difficult to write basic books without overwhelming the interested beginner, but at the same time not giving the advanced student too general information. It is always a great balancing act. Anyone who has already written lectures on the subject and has drawn on extensive sources and literature knows that they have to think carefully about their words in front of a qualified audience. That is why you have to research carefully. It is not uncommon to come across contradictions, and sometimes even incorrect statements in sources. Incorrect, in part, because such information is now considered outdated. This is quite normal, and that is why preparing such presentations is a lengthy process. Formulating your own theses from your own research paper - if you identify them as such - is certainly fruitful. "For this or that reason, I am of the opinion that..." has a completely different potential than "that's the way it is because it says so, basta!" It is often recommended, especially for beginners, to invest in books first. The correct thing would be to invest in books in parallel to a practice of studying blades, guided by an experienced person. More than 30 years ago, I also bought every book I could get (back then there was no internet). The result was that I thought that my run-of-the-mill blades looked like the Kotetsu or the Chogi in the photos in the books (on which you could basically hardly see anything). It was only when I was invited to a meeting of the NBTHK-EB many, many years ago that I realized that I had to completely change my opinion. I was just beginning to see and understand. There is no substitute for practice! But there always has to be someone experienced who explains to you what you see and what you have to pay attention to. It is very important that you say what you see yourself. But also what you are not able to recognize at the moment. Only then can the teacher intervene and help. I know that unfortunately not everyone has the opportunity to do this. At the same time, however, I also want to smooth things over. This thread is not about anything fundamentally wrong, but rather about nuances - about points of view - which basically have little impact on the overall result. I also don't want to start a war of terminology. That's not worth it here. Everyone - or at least some (I think that's a better description) will notice that with increasing experience you become more relaxed and flexible, rather than more cemented and rigid. The reason is simple, nothing is set in stone. There is nothing that doesn't exist. You always learn something new, which can also change your own opinion. You always know people with whom you can exchange ideas well, and people with whom you're better off not talking.

As an “amateur expert”, I want to agree with Jussi. I have also learned that there are two main types, Sugu and Midare. It helps to familiarize yourself with the Japanese language and script. There is either a hamon with a straight (sugu) or a restless (midare) character. Starting from this basis, terms such as gunome or notare etc. denote characteristics of a hamon that is NOT EVEN, i.e. a midare. Gunome - alternating “eyes” like an amplitude, or notare - “eyes” like gentle (sea) bays. I don't want to shoot up your thread. But I don't necessarily agree with some of it. But of course you are welcome to discuss it. In any case, I would advise the inexperienced novice not to hold a blade crosswise with the cutting edge down in front of him if he is ever invited to a kantei or blade inspection. It could be the last time he is allowed to take part...

I don't really know... Your purely technical paraphrase above is the definition of “Yakiba” and could possibly lead to misunderstandings! I would describe “Hamon” as what the root word already contains: “pattern of the cutting edge” (defined by the course of the Nioiguchi).

NBTHK EB

Yes, of course, I was referring directly to Lewis' question.

Can't this be done via the Juyo Nado Zufu volumes of the respective sessions? It should be easy to see there...