CSM101

Of course we do both. But we start with the sword on the right. Next week or so... Uwe G.

Okay. Pick one. Left or right? Uwe G.

Gentlemen, please come to an end. 3…….2……1. Time is up! I really thought, that this was to easy. Because the answer is: Bishu Osafune Morimitsu and Oei something So congratulations to Wim and Chango. And to all, who tried to solve the puzzle. But what are the points to come to this conclusion? Very well, it is the combination of a slim, elegant sugata, the mix of itame with mokume and the nioi-based hamon with notare, midare and choji with a tight nioiguchi. If you see something like that you almost know that this is Oei Bizen at it´s best. At this time three smith (SanMitsu) worked in Bizen – Morimitsu, Moromitsu and Yasumitsu. So, if you have chosen one of them, then I would say that you hit the pot. And whoever has a -Mitsu in his solution. Muromachi Sukesada is an elegant solution. But overall the Muromachi Sukesadas worked later and were inferior in quality. Sukesada is more robust. The tapering is not so much. Muromachi Takada is equally good. Next time, please take a closer look. The sugata for Takada is not so elegant and the hamon is not so wild but more uniform. The boshi is different, too. Fun fact: the blade once belonged to John Yumoto, author of “The Samurai Sword – A Handbook” I know, that you need to hold a sword in hand to make a proper kantei. So I have chosen a very easy example. The next kantei is open for everyone. And more puzzling. And now for something completely different: What did you win? First of all: experience. Kantei is something you have to make often. Read books and compare. Take some good swords in your hand. Learning by doing is the motto. And the next is: Each one of you, who gave his opinion got a PM with a download link for the HiRes-Version of the photo (14 MB as JPEG). Because this is Kantei! And in Kantei you can only win. I hope, you enjoyed it. I have a GlenAllachie from 1996 by now. Uwe G.

Me, too.

@ggil: Sorry, that happened after scaling, because ura was smaller than omote. My fault! In reality it is the same. The final version will be perfect then. Closing time is 02.02.2017. Hey guys, 111 views and no answer?! This is an example right from the books. Just a lttle story: at the last meeting we had a kantei and I gave an answer 800 miles from the right spot. But at least I had the guts to give an anwser. Okay, I had to cut off my left little finger as a punishment. Uwe G.

Dear members, in the past Jean sometimes tried to improve our knowledge by posting some photos for kantei. Now I have a photo of a blade for a kantei, too. Nagasa: 48,3 cm, motohaba: 3,0 cm, sakihaba 1,9 cm. This is a kantei for beginners. So only for member with 100 posts and less. It´s easy and it makes fun. Don´t worry, when you are wrong. This is learning by doing. Please post your answer. I will make an explanation in a few days. Have fun! Uwe G. If you want to download the photo: http://daten-transport.de/?id=AK8PCRnqWq5x

Dear fellow Members, the meeting in Bonn was well attended as always. And because of the Year of the rooster it was a special theme for kodogu. The other theme was fittings from the Muromachi era. For rooster there was a daisho tsuba pair from Ishiguro Masatsugu and some menuki. And for Muromachi fittings: Ko Tosho and Tosho, Onin, Yoshiro, a pair of fuchi/kashira, etc. And this time some very beautiful swords were on display: #1 = Yamaura Kanetora, Kiyomaro-school, son of Saneo #2 = Sekishu Sadatsuna #3 = a signed tachi Ko-Bizen Chikakane, Tokubetso Juyo token in perfect condition. There are only two signed blades existing. #4 = Jitsua, Juyo token, Son of Sairen and father of O-Sa #5 = a wonderful utsushi of Yamatorige by Ono Yoshimitsu It was a great meeting and I want to thank all the members who brought the swords and kodogu. The rest of the photos you can find here: http://www.nihontophoto.com/nbthktreffen2801 Uwe G.

Dear Admins, if I violate any copyrights, then please delete this post. But here is the famous photo from Fujishiro-san explaining Nie and Nioi. The text is in german. But I think it is selfexplaining. Uwe G.

There is an exhibition in the Sword Museum in Tokyo: Masterpieces in the Museum´s Collection until 31.03. before closing and reopening in January 2018. http://www.touken.or.jp/english/index.html Uwe G.

Hi Greg, Bizen Saburo Kunimune: No. Uwe G.

I dont know if it helps. But I tried to make it a little bit more readable. Uwe G.

I just saw this in several Mino blades. In one of my first katanas it was very prominent. Uwe G.

Thank you all for your help. Masame in the shinogiji is usually more common and a honsanmai construction in a hirazukuri blade confused me a little bit. Some words about the blade. It is signed with a single kanji: Sa. I know, that there are several generations and Oishi Sa, etc. But this one is not Soshu. But still a blade to enjoy. Uwe G.

Okay, here is a full lenght photo. I hope you can tell me more now. Uwe G.

A full lenght photo? Maybe in the afternoon. Uwe G.

Hello, at the moment I have a wakizashi at home. Hirazukuri, nagasa 38,8 cm, sakizori. Special feature is: you have two different kind of steel. The upper part is in itame, the rest in masame. My question is: do you see that often or is this a a trademark of a school and time? Thank you for your help! Uwe G. 3,16 MB download: http://daten-transport.de/?id=7NPUV3gJXE6D

Grev already got a PM from me. At the moment I plan to be in London in May 2017 for 5 days. I hope, that there is a meeting in London. But I can change the dates. No problem. Uwe G.

Hello all, I just wanted to write, what happened in the auction. First of all, I have to thank the people of Hermann Historica. They are very helpful, nice and friendly and whatever you ask, they never lose their temper. Great people. The auction itself was very interesting. A lot of people and you had the chance to meet guys you only know from the NMB. Some old and new friends and the other ones. And then: Heaven and Hell, Hope and Despair, Testosterone and Headshaking. Just a lot of fun! The last chance to see the collection as a whole. Some helmets and armors are already gone. The Myochin Koi is still there. But not for long. Last chance to see it. I think for the next 20 years there is not such an auction in Europe. Uwe G.

Because you asked for pics: http://www.nihontophoto.com/dieott-kollektion Uwe G.

At the moment the upload for photos doesn´t work. At least not for me. But here is the link: http://www.hermann-historica.de/db2_de/aktuelle-auktion-2.html Uwe G.

I think tomorrow you can see the results. And then you will just fall on you back. Helmets Nr. 31 estimated 3.800 EUR SOLD 40.000 EUR Nr. 58 estimated 900 EUR SOLD 58.000 EUR Uwe G. Edit. results are online

Nr. 223 Koi-carp Myochin: estimated 8.000. EUR Sold 170.000 EUR

I would not buy it. Not even with a price of 200 Dollar. There is nothing in the blade that makes it genuine. Uwe G.

I was in London this week for a little lecture about Nihonto Photography. But first I wanted to visit the British Museum. I´ve heard, that they have a Sukehiro. And that´s what I wanted to see. But the Sukehiro wasn´t on display. They have a wonderful armor, a Muromachi Sukesada with a fine tachi koshirae, an Etchu no Kami Masatoshi. And a Shintogo. Kunimitsu! And this is really worth the trip. If you ever come to London, visit the British Museum. Room 94-2 is for Japan. Then I had the chance to meet some very nice people (again). Thanks again to paulb for the invitation. And a special Thanks to Darcy and Richard K. George for the permission to use some of their photos. Some words about the Shintogo: a very classical sugata, elegant with a thin suguha hamon in nie. But the really amazing thing is the quality of the steel. Jinie, chikei and nie utsuri. If you have “The 100 Masterpieces from the Compton Collection” than you can read a little bit more about the blade. Sorry for the bad photo. The blade is behind glass and the distance was 40 cm and I worked freehand. But better a bad photo than no photo. And next year I will stay longer. Uwe G. London: http://www.nihontophoto.com/london-28-09-2016 Shintogo Kunimitsu: http://www.nihontophoto.com/shintogo-kunimitsu PS: THEY HAVE A SHINTOGO!

Short Update: The price for the amazing catalogue is 30,00 EUR and end of next week available (hopefully). Uwe G.