Shogun8

Love zunari, in all their variety and permutations!

Gents, What's the difference between soe-hi and gomabatsu-bi? FYI - the horimono on my friend's sword look very much like the ones on the sword at the link provided by Michael.

They may very well be that, Grey. I'm limited by my lack of knowledge and experience and had never seen these before. I'll look up gomabashi-bi to see more examples - thank you!

Hello All, I visited a friend today and he showed me his new katana that he purchased in Japan recently. The sword is koto and is published (and through my friend, the book guru, Jo Anseeuw I was able to find the book from the 70s that contained my friend's sword). The sword was very elegant and had a tapered mune that one finds on naginata (can't remember what this feature is called). However, what caught my eye is that the sword had engraved lines on one side of the blade that intermittently (discontinuously) ran along the length of the blade on one side but was continuous on the other side. They were not horimono and were located just below the shinogi-ji (I think). I have never seen these before (which doesn't say much because I'm not that experienced with blades). Does anyone know what these lines are called? I found them quite beautiful. I've tried to capture one section of the blade with this feature, but as we all know, it's very difficult to photograph a blade in polish.

Like Jean, I had the great honour of being invited - along with a few of my JAS colleagues and our visiting Japanese friends from the NKBKHK - to Robert's home, where he and his lovely wife hosted us for a wonderful dinner, at the Paris stop of our Grand Tour in February. I had corresponded briefly with him several years before and yet not only did he remember me, but he even remembered what our correspondence had been about! His "Studies on the Meiko Zukan" is an invaluable reference for katchu enthusiasts. I just hope to have the entire thing translated into English one day, because Lord knows how much I'm missing with my high school French!

Thanks Paul and Michael!

Michael, Do you have any information on any specific lectures, exhibits, dealers, etc. with a focus on armour? John

Thanks so much for your gentlemanly response, Ian. What you say is very true - except that I for one would definitely consider you as one of the West's true experts.

No one is infallible. And some experts are more expert than others.

Thanks so much for researching this in your always thorough way, Ian. It seems I am guilty of taking what was written in the Chappelear as being correct. Evidently a mistake - especially considering the many typos the book contains. And we all know that much of the information contained within has proven to be incorrect in the years since its publication. However, I have also heard a few Japanese experts call this technique omote kara kuri. Oh well.

I am loathe to correct my venerable friend (especially since it's likely just a typo), but I believe the term is omote kara kuri.

Hi Bernard, I think those are invocations to a deity (right Uwe?). John P.S. Check your PMs

Ideally, the best method of storing and displaying books is vertically. If you do choose to lay them flat, DO NOT stack too many books on top of each other because this can wreak havoc on the spines. If you see a book with it's pages not square and on an angle, this is due to the fact that it was probably lying on the bottom of a stack of books for some time.

I once had a kabuto with similar flattened zaboshi signed by Nobumitsu - a late Muromachi/Momoyama smith according to Chappelear.

Here, more pictures of the high quality items on offer.

The following day saw the first iteration of the Samurai Art Fair, featuring 5 of the top samurai armor dealers in Europe. JAS members were given the first hour of the fair to preview and reserve items, with the doors opening to the public thereafter. The amount and quality of samurai armor items being offered under one roof was unprecedented and the excitement was palpable.

After the symposium, we enjoyed a guided tour of the exhibition Masked Warriors: The Battle Stage of the Samurai, curated by JAS board member Bas Verberk and featuring items from the private collections of JAS members.

Thanks, Nick! Very nice website!

And here the first of many pictures from the Japanese Armor Society's Japanese Legacy III Symposium held this past week in Amsterdam and Leiden. We had 65 attendees from all over the world, including Canada, the U.S., the U.K., South Africa, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France and for the first time - a contingent of 9 senior representatives from our mother organization in Japan. Since its inception in April 2017, the JAS' has established the following mission statement and the event was our first initiative in this regard: To foster appreciation, knowledge and scholarship of Japanese armor through friendship, respect and cultural exchange between Japan and the rest of the world. The full event included the symposium, the inaugural Samurai Armor Fair and an exclusive JAS members-only Grand Tour of Berlin, Belgium and Paris. This post covers the symposium in Leiden. Arrival in Leiden: The charming town of Leiden, home to the Seiboldhuis Museum of Asian Art: Our honoured Japanese guests: JAS president, Luc Taelman introducing NKBKHK president, Hitoshi Nagata: Immensely enjoyable opening talk by Willem van Gulik, Professor Emeritus of the Art, History and Culture of East Asia, speaking about The Gift of Exchange: The Dutch Experience in Feudal Japan: JAS board member and curator of the current exhibition at the Seibolduis Museum, Masked Warriors: Menpo in the 16th and 17th Centuries, in which he examines the relationship and influences of Noh masks on samurai facial armour. Impromptu presentation on the relationship between horsemanship and mengu by NKBKHK board member, Shigeo Kanno: Sengoku Period Armorers and Swordsmiths from Joshu Province by NKBKHK president, Hitoshi Nagata:

Is there any information on the lectures - titles, topics or speakers?

Zenon is indeed still in business and doing great work (at least with armor - I'm not familiar with his polishing work). In fact, I spent a bit of time with him at the recent Japanese Legacy III Symposium and Grand Tour at our Belgian stop. He's definitely alive, well and kicking!

Hello all, Don't want to hijack Dillon's thread, but just a quick note regarding Vajo's (Chris S.) earlier post and my subsequent response. Chris did PM me and the issue seems to be that the Japanese Armor Society forum requires all users to use their real names because we want the forum to be totally transparent and to prevent trolling, due to past experience. If one tries to register with a pseudonym, their registration is automatically deleted. This information is clearly stated in our policies and registration process. We welcome Chris' registration and participation on our forum - and anyone else interested in learning about katchu.

Hi Chris, I'm sorry to hear that you've had a difficult time accessing our forum and/or getting a response. Can you send me a PM to give me more details regarding the issues you're experiencing? Thanks in advance. John

Hi Dillon, Offhand, I would say your kabuto is a nice example of a toppai kabuto, notable in that it is higher than most. Haruta school, would need to see more pics to comment on dating. You're very welcome to post your kabuto on the Japanese Armor Society forum at www.japanesearmorsociety.org. Many of our members are actually in Europe right now attending a symposium in Leiden that wrapped up today so apologies if there is a slight delay in responding to you. Looking forward to seeing you there. John

Well done, Paul. I regret missing out on drinks with you, Luc and Jo at the Golden Gai in November!