atm

Both are possible. You can research blades advertised online that are of interest and then see them in person while in Japan. Seeing them in person is superior to online only. For example, you may find that a sword looks good in pictures but appears tired in person. And there are many reputable Japanese dealers who post much of their inventory online with prices. You’ll get that same price if you buy from them in person. English speakers at Japanese sword shops can be hit or miss. Aoi Art, Touken Matsumoto, Ginza Seiyudo, and Japan Sword are just a few in Tokyo that I know have good English speakers. Value varies, too. Some dealers have higher prices due to higher overhead, just like any other business. There are also really nice swords in the U.S. in your price range. You might attend one of the sword shows in Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, or Orlando to see what’s available and to continue your learning. I’ve learned a ton by going to sword shows, asking questions, and examining swords.

AOI describes it as a karasu-guchi, which certainly isn’t to their advantage. And it does seem to be on both sides. Perhaps @Lewis B is right and it formed after shinsa. The 61st Juyo Token wasn’t that long ago. Really unfortunate if it happened in the last ten years.

I have wondered that, too, @nulldevice, especially when they reflect a multiple-body test. I only recently purchased Sesko’s book, so I haven’t read all its 378 pages. Here’s a partial answer from it about the process: “These special kiri-tsuka had not only the function to provide a more robust hilt but served also as additional weight. The heavier the blade the more power there was in the cut and the better a blade would cut into or through a target. Apart from that, kiri-tsuka were also used to test ko-wakizashi and tantō under the same conditions as long swords. Normally mounted, such blades are too short and too light to enter a test medium in a representative manner.” He also talks about using lead tsuba to increase the weight of ko-wakizashi and tanto. But I don’t yet know if he discusses the definition of a complete cut with these short blades.

While I am not interested in purchasing this Ryokai, I am curious about how it reached Juyo with the karasu-guchi. I had understood that to be a fatal flaw, like hagire but in the boshi. Is it because this is an outstanding example of Ryokai that even a fatal flaw like this can be overlooked in shinsa? It would seem to negatively impact the price, though. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks for posting @Alex A. A friendly suggestion: you might generate more discussion if you offer more detailed thoughts of your own or pose a question. That would give others something to react to. Koto with saidan-mei are rare, but they are out there. I think I’ve seen 5 or 6 in the last year on dealer websites, including several on AOI Art. AOI has another one here: Taima Tomokiyo, although it is tired. I’d like to own a koto with cutting test, but I’ll wait for something better.

Nice job on the high resolution photos, @Lewis B. They show a lot of detail.

I talked to him about it on Friday. He is quite proud of the accomplishment of writing a book some others passed on writing. It sounded like a labor of love. I am not sure what you mean @lonely panet, Tsuruta-san and AOI Art have always dealt with me honorably.

I bought a Juyo signed Chikafusa (Fukuoka Ichimonji) tachi. I had identified a couple of other Ichimonji swords for my list, but I knew going in that one was out of my budget and another was a mumei wakizashi that was just average when I saw it in person. The other swords on my list were contenders and in budget, and I added to the list during the show. It was funny, I woke up Sunday morning telling myself to stop thinking about that Chikafusa because I could not afford it, and then a few hours later I was able to afford it thanks to Mike’s help. One other thing I just remembered—I was pleasantly surprised how willing dealers were to let me examine their swords, even multiple times. I tried to be somewhat reasonable about it by not asking to examine the crazy expensive swords. But I did look at some swords that did not have listed prices that turned out to be way out of my budget.

This was my first time at DTI, and it was a whirlwind trip from the US to Tokyo and back to the US in six days due to late planning. But I am so glad I went. Some impressions/advice for newbies: 1) There were something like 68 dealers. If you spend all 13 hours at DTI that it is open, you don’t have a lot of time at each dealer. And there were far more swords on display than I imagined. So I viewed dealer websites in advance, identified items I wanted to see, emailed dealers to confirm the item would be at DTI, and made a list of those items to prioritize seeing them. I had 10 swords on my list. I went to those dealers first and saw those 10 swords along with other swords at those dealers. Only then did I expand my search. I’m glad I had this plan. 2) Despite #1 above, I did not buy a sword from that advance list. I bought a different sword that a dealer did not have on their website yet. And I only bought it on Sunday, after I felt like I had seen everything I needed to see Saturday and Sunday to make a decision. 3) Relationships help a lot. I had met Mike Yamasaki at the San Francisco show. So when I saw him at DTI, I mentioned some things I liked. He took me to the dealer I eventually bought from, and Mike spent over an hour with me looking at a couple of blades he recommended. As the dealer was a longtime friend of Mike’s, Mike negotiated a great deal for me with no compensation for himself. I could not have gotten that deal on my own. It was the difference between buying that sword and not being able to afford it. Mike was super busy with other commitments and paying clients, but he was very generous with his time and knowledge. 4) Study swordsmith kanji. I am super glad I purchased the flashcards @Ray Singer sells and that I studied hard the kanji for smiths and provinces. Some dealers have English signage at the show, but many do not. If you can’t read kanji, you’ll be missing a lot. 5) I was amazed at the quantity, range of prices, and quality. Unlike US shows, there wasn’t much that wasn’t swords, fittings, or armor. Not much associated stuff, like books, videos, or prints. It is very heavy on blades. You want to spend a couple of thousand dollars—no problem. Want to spent a couple of hundred thousand dollars on a TJ Norishige, Yukimitsu, etc.—no problem. 6) Kudos to @Keichodo for organizing social after events while being also busy with the show. As I was traveling alone, being able to socialize with others and discuss similar interests was great. And Robert is such a funny and nice guy. But I agree with @CSM101, some therapy may be needed after what I experienced. I am sure I will think of other things as I decompress. I’ll post more as they come to me. And sorry, I was so busy that I forgot to take pictures.

I recommend hiring @SteveM to translate this sayagaki for you. His fee is reasonable and he provides a nice printable translation.

I’ll be there both days, so I will give a report, too.

I’ll be there. Looking forward to it!

UPS offers a higher insurance limit, but I still prefer EMS/USPS. Every sword I have received from Japan via EMS required a signature, and my local USPS carriers honor that. My local UPS, on the other hand, has left high value items outside my front door, despite a signature requirement and me being home to receive the package. I think porch pirates are a greater risk than internal USPS theft.

AOI Art included them in my two most recent EMS shipments from them. Thankfully, we did not need to track them. Including an Airtag is a good idea, especially if a sword’s value exceeds the EMS insurance limit.

Please let us know what you learn from the dealer. He did the same to one of mine, although it looks like he used something more aggressive as there are some scuff marks on the adjacent buffalo horn. I think I can easily (and carefully) buff those scuffs out.

The meaning of “den” has been discussed a lot here at NMB, including: here It is good to remind ourselves from time to time how it is intended within context.

I think your display looks great so far. I display mine, too, as I enjoy looking at them even in passing. I keep mine in shirasya, though. I made sword racks that are screwed to the back of the display case. Each rack has six slots and is made from MDF that I cut with a scroll saw and then smoothed out with a router. Since you’re covering them anyway, they don’t need to be pretty. I bought a cheap sword stand from Amazon and used it as a pattern to design and construct mine—mainly to get the spacing and shapes. Once cut, I glued thick felt to it to cushion the shirasaya and koshirae. Over that is a white satin sheet (also from Amazon), which hides the stand and helps highlight the swords and fittings. But with your dark background, a black satin might also work well to highlight the swords and fittings.

I like it a lot. In hand, Tanobe sensei’s attribution makes more sense to me than NBTHK’s attribution. And I like the combination of the big, weighty (albeit shortened) Nanbokucho form with the elegance of the suguha hamon.

Maybe I am misunderstanding your intent, but you seem to suggest this is a reason to question Tanobe sensei’s credibility. But these things are not mutually exclusive and more context is needed. A blade having kizu or ware does not automatically disqualify it from achieving Juyo or receiving Tanobe sensei’s praise if it meets other criteria. Yes, Tanobe sensei is human and one person. That said, I am more likely to place his opinion over a shinsa panel due to his depth of knowledge and expertise. Others think the opposite, which is fine, too. As discussed on NMB earlier this year, I have a TH mumei sword that NBTHK attributed to Den Aoe. When submitted to Tanobe sensei for sayagaki, he declined to write it as Den Aoe and explained his reasoning. Instead, with my consent, he wrote a glowing sayagaki as Ko-Mihara Masaie. If you look at this sword, I think you’d agree that the NBTHK shinsa panel got it wrong. After all, they are also human. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/47932-seeking-advice-on-tanobe-nbthk-different-appraisals/

Anyone who does not already have the eSwordsmiths and eEncyclopedia books should grab them immediately. I refer to them constantly.

A good student of any discipline learns from many sources, including hands-on/in person experiences, books, written descriptions, and videos like posted above. The best asset any student has is an open mind.

Some Uda school, early Edo Norifusa, and Hankei blades have matsukawa-hada.

Pierre—you’ll find a lot written about the very famous Norishige and his unique matsukawa-hada here at NMB and in many other sources. There are other swordsmiths with matsukawa-hada, but Norishige’s is distinct, in my opinion. It is beautiful.

Here’s what Robert Hughes emailed me earlier this week: Tokyo DTI Additional Events For 2024 1) Sword Study Session at Cinq on Thursday, October 31st.. On Thursday, October 31st, there will be a sword study and dinner party again in Ginza at the Italian Restaurant Cinq (same venue as previous years). Location is quite convenient. Participant fee is yen 5,000 (for the venue) and the dinner party will be sponsored by Mr. Hisashi Saito of Seikodo. Once again, the date will be Thursday Nov. 16th. Arrival time will be from 5:30 p.m. for the sword study. Discussion of swords at 6:30 and the dinner party will follow the sword study at around 7:15 ... Attendance by advance reservation only. Cinq - Access For the Thursday study session, it is very easy to find the venue "Cinq" from inside the Metro System (subway). You go to Ginza Station (on the Ginza line), then go up one level from the platform to the underground concourse and find the B-6 exit. The restaurant/club is called Cinq and it is half way up the exit stairwell. So, you don't even have to exit onto street level, it is right inside the metro underground network. It is very convenient....no long walk or need for a taxi. Pay participant fee on arrival at the venue. The actual street address for Cinq is Ginza 5-4-3 Taikakukan B1 which is the building with the B6 subway entrance, so go down the first flight of subway entrance stairs and you will find Cinq at the first stair landing. Cinq address: 東京都中央区銀座 5-4-3 対鶴館 B1 〒104-0061 Taikakukan B1, 5-4-3 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo cinq - Access - cinq - Access - 2) Saturday, Nov. 2nd Yakatabune Tokyo Bay Cruise..... Arrangements: This event is being planned for Saturday, November 2nd! As in the past, participants would leave from in front of DTI (Tokyo Bijitsu Club) at 6:30 p.m. Cruise to start from 7:00 p.m. Participation by advance reservation only. Notification to attend is also a commitment to pay if event is held...Cost yen 12,000 per participant (tax included). If you plan on going directly to the venue for boat boarding without riding the bus, please notify me in advance as I do a head count prior to the bus departure. Participation will be by advance reservation only. Reservations are finalized 48 hours prior to the event. No cancellations after reservation commitment please…Notification to attend is also a commitment to pay. Cost yen 12,000 per participant (including sales tax) to be paid by 12:00 noon at the DTI.

I have never been to the Dai Token Ichi. My calendar this year has freed up to where I could go, but it would have to be a quick trip—arrive Friday afternoon and leave Monday evening. Not having more time in Tokyo is not a big deal as I have been there several times before. So for those who have been to the DTI, is it alone worth 30+ hours of travel and the cost of flights? And how limiting is not knowing Japanese? The photos and catalogs I’ve seen make it look pretty amazing and probably worth the time and expense. Any advice is appreciated.