Samurai Art

Simon, it holds significant value for numerous individuals. Being a respected and accredited dealer specializing in Japanese armour, collectors place their trust in knowing that what they acquire has passed through my hands. My reputation carries considerable weight, unlike yours. I empathize with your frustration as a lower end dealer. Kind regards David Thatcher

Nobuo Ogawa Sensei 熱田伸道 has recently started sharing insightful videos showcasing his craftsmanship in armour-making. I had the privilege of meeting Ogawa Sensei in Nagoya a few years ago and had the opportunity to visit his kobo workshop. Beyond his exceptional skill, he exudes humility and is a wonderful individual, always willing to lend a helping hand. During my visit, Ogawa Sensei generously corrected my kebiki-odoshi technique, a gesture for which I am eternally grateful. It's worth noting that he no longer utilizes urushi due to health reasons, as it unfortunately led to his battle with cancer. Therefore, his current works are beautifully finished with cashew. For those genuinely fascinated by the art of Japanese armour craftsmanship, I highly recommend exploring his YouTube channel for a closer look into his expertise and passion. Best David Thatcher

I recently imported a katana from the USA using Fedex. Long story short, Fedex UK cleared the sword, but then decided they would not deliver it. It had to be returned to the USA and sent via UPS, which had no issues. The logistics chain is failing Nihonto buyers/sellers. Now, there will be issues with using EMS from Japan as it passed to Parcelforce, and as we know, Parcelforce, Post Office, and Royal Mail are on the same network. Also, Parcelforce uses UPS to clear imports so expect UPS to follow. As to Labour wanting to ban swords, this is our most serious threat. I have contacted dealers in both BADA and LAPADA as I am a member. I hope non-accredited dealers, auctioneers and collector associations such as the Token will stand firm on this and work together. David Thatcher

Hi Piers, hope you are well. I've removed the pins from the stock, and the barrel is jammed in tight. I don't want to force it in case the wood has shrunk after being introduced to the temperature/humidity of my home. Maybe next time you visit, you can give it a karate chop? I've had a good month acquiring teppo. I met Ian Bottomley at the Birm Arms Fair last weekend and picked up one and another from the fair before. One in Hall 1 and the other in Hall 3 for £600.00 each. I can share some photos. I'll share the photos here. As you know, I'm pretty clueless about them. Best David

Colin, Thank you for the heads up on the auction at Del Mars. On the 28th, around 13.20 I was having a tea break and looked at Instagram. Del Mars came up on the feed, so I logged onto their website, and the auction was in progress. There were 6 lots to go before the teppo was auctioned. I completed the online registration and confirmed the account via email; however, the account had to be approved. i then telephone De Mars and asked them to approve me, they did, and it was one lot before the teppo. I placed one bid and won. Yesterday I popped down from Northnats to London and collected it. Is it a beast of a rifle, ten momme? Near mint condition, and I'm very happy to own it. I would have missed this without looking at NMB. Once again many thanks for the notification. Regards David

After speaking to Brian, I am making this post to establish the legal ownership of the Kokusai Nihon Bugu Shinko Kyokai Mr Andrew Mancabelli is making false claims to the ownership. He is not a representative, or an agent and has no connection with the KNKBSK. Raimu Japanese Antiques Ltd legally owns the KNKBSK. The logo (device) was designed by myself and is a registered trademark. The trading name is also a registered trademark. The KNKBSK is also an incorporated company. Mancabelli can claim all he wants, but until an international court says otherwise, he has zero rights to the KNKBSK or its IP. I invite Mr Mancabelli to provide legal proof and hard evidence of ownership.

mask repaired

Mask with damage

The tare is made from iron but had damage to the kirisuke, this was replied using kokuso.

Last example. Another menpo that had delaminated urushi

I had to remove all the urushi to replace some iron parts. The iron came from other old broken armour, which is perfect donors. The surface was primed by burning on urushi, and the mask was rebuilt using sabi and urushi layers.

The iron was rusted

The next example is a menpo. As you can see from the photographs, the condition was terrible.

The dô now fully restored and repaired using sabi-urushi, kokuso and urushi.

Another photo of the surface and condition

There has been a lot of activity of late concerning the restoration of Japanese Armour. As many are aware, I was a professional restorer for many years until I retired. I studied lacquering for four years under the guidance of Kitagawa Miho Sensei. I want to share with you two restorations that required urushi. I have been accused of cultural vandalism for my work, so I thought it would be best for the members to decide. The first example is a dô that was made from rawhide. The owner had the complete suit, so it was very important to ensure that the restoration would be invisible and that the finished work complemented the gusoku. Over the years, it absorbed moisture via the holes used for lacing. The result is delamination and cracking due to swelling. At first, I attempted to consolidate the cracking. However, this was in vain because the sections continued to expand and shrink, destroying to the repair. I decided to strip the lacquer and ground layers off completely. It took three years to dry the rawhide out before it could be rebuilt. This is a close-up of the surface, you can see that it was originally wrapped in hemp.

Arthur, most people know you used the fake account Date Masamune on Facebook to troll me. You are a troll. Your troll groups were closed down, and you have been banned from many SM platforms. The fact that you have to bring your trash to NMB is pitiful. Like all trolls, you fabricate information; you alter images on Photoshop and post hate and lies. Nothing good comes of this. You are toxic. I'm very busy running a successful business for extremely happy clients, I don't have the time to validate your existence. You don't mean anything to me.

Dear Mr Chris Covington and Arthur Gotez aka (Eric) Bontenmaru, Fake Account (posts = 1) The armour you have posted did indeed sell for a considerable amount of money. The client is extremely happy with the purchase and is a member of NMB. No doubt your use of a fake account will remove any further embarrassment of your trolling by fooling everyone into believing you are a third person. The armour was purchased from Mr Fairey of KOA Antiques, a UK-based dealer, not Japanese. Mr Fairey confirmed that it was a composite needing restoration. It was therefore restored to the client's instruction where more suitable and tasteful components were sourced. The entire process was openly documented on Facebook and supported by my restoration website (as you well know). The completed armour was then submitted for Shinsa in Japan via my company, The Kokusai Nihon Kachu Bugu Shinko Kyokai (国際日本甲冑武具振興協) where it received the grade of Tokubetsu Hozon which was awarded by the shinsa team managed at the time by Mr Andrew Mancabelli. The armour is 100% real, and should you wish to fund a C-14 test, this can be arranged.

I totally agree; maybe all parties can work together to achieve this. Put an end to the backstabbing. The negativity is only down to personal agenda; it dirties and distorts the subject we love. Since I retired, I have promoted katchu on social media, with over 40,000 people on the platforms. I am working on a series of books on the subject that I publish for free to educate others using my limited knowledge of the subject. I like the JAS yearbooks and have all of them. There is room for everyone, and I request that you cease your campaign against me.

Brian, Your forum should not be where anyone can air their dirty washing. You have stated that many times. Maybe your tolerance has been swayed by a personal dislike, that's completely understandable. These squabbles are non-productive and serve no purpose. It's far better that the community is served with edible content that will not make them vomit. Over the past few weeks, you have allowed Andy to make some very questionable claims. He's actually attacking everyone; his remarks are aimed at Markus Sesko, Katsu Toyoda, the Japanese Armour Society, the NTBTHK, its everyone. Read his posts, and the arrogance of what he is preaching will spill over. Not everyone can make it to Japan to learn the arts, many try to do it on their own, an I welcome this. I was a restorer for years until I retired in 2021. I used the term katchushi because it was made popular by Soanes in the West. I have never been a katchushi; I was a Gusoku-shi. I fixed and repaired and assembled armour. I studied urushi under a Japanese teacher and learned the rest over years of hard work. Andy signed a blood oath to become the deshi (or at least that s what he tells others). Miura sensei was an amazing man with an amazing portfolio of work that has earned most people's respect. I actually don't like what Andy is saying because I find it damaging to his teacher's name. So let's ask Andy to produce the letter of transmission where the name miura was officially granted to him to use as his official artist name. He continues to swerve and fail to observe the law on the ownership of the KNKBSK; where is he informing the members that he owns something that he doesn't. That is very misleading and illegal, and when he sells his first counterfeit certificate, the police will pay him a visit. The KNKBSK is not a shinsa service; rather, it is a body to provide appraisals on a white-label basis for dealers that do not want David Thatcher written on their certificate, as that would be seen as a conflict of interest. No certs are issued to members of the public; the body is very small, with a few EU-based dealers. It is no competition for the JAS. Andy provided a service which has been terminated, he has ignored a C&D to destroy the now-discontinued paperwork. On your forum, he openly states that the TM are his own, they are not and the TM covers Japan. I would not like to see your forum used to promote or drive business to Andy where he would be taking peoples money illegally and issuing certification that is nothing more than worthless fakes. I'm not here to defend my name; I don't care what anyone says to be honest, as I just want to be independent of forums and the hassle and politics they create. I'm here to ask you to be careful about what you allow. Some of the younger members are very open to believing what they read and these posts of late are somewhat of a deluded fantasy. Andy will no doubt respond, nothing will hold any water, he only writes babble that can never be evidenced. I have stated my case Brian, and I won't post again unless a member (other than Andy) would like to know more about the KNKBSK.

Andrew, aka Miura anjin, I have been following your essays over the past few weeks. I am not sure, but you seem to be coming over as someone who is the self-proclaimed messiah of Kachu. You have studied under a katchushi, and he was very talented, but you are making questionable claims with no proof of transmission of title; it is very well known in Japan that you never completed your apprenticeship and broke contact with your teacher in his final years. You were excluded from his last exhibition, none of his tools, works or references were passed to you, and you were not invited to his funeral by his familiy. That should raise alarm bells; you can say anything now that he has died. What is your real motive here? You are running down everyone, from hobbyists to bonified associations, everyone is wrong, but you are right. So I ask you, where is your body of work? Where are your photographs of the armours you have made? Of course, you have nothing because your pretence of the client is confidential and you will hide behind it. All the other craftspeople post photographs and provide insight into their crafts openly on social media. But you hide yours? If you work part-time in the coffee shop (yoroi cafe) and restore armor, you are a lay-craftsman. When you posted, you told us you live as an artisan. Arthur is doing just that as he works full-time on his projects and is not restoring. I see many contradictions in what you write and many errors. I urge anyone to take what you say here with a pinch of salt. I'm calling you a fraud.