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Takahashi

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Everything posted by Takahashi

  1. May I just put in my five cents regarding George's speculations on : Like a DNA-Analysis it probably starts at a high price and gets cheaper as the technological methods improve. Shinsa might be a good place to have an additional analysis or at least organizations as the NBTHK (maybe at first only for Juyo papers) NMB might be the right place to establish such a data base. Might be a way to sponsor the forum maybe as a section for premium members. As necessary as a NBTHK/NTHK paper. Probably as soon as these results are generally accepted. But the good thing is you might easily verify them by another analysis. I do not think the results will render such organizations unnecessary at all. The kind of steel is surely not the only attribute the blades have. As the knowledge on each school and swordsmith will be still necessary to evaluate the individual blade, books will not loose their relevance and value. Only ignorant minds would focus on the steel alone. Nr. 6 and 7 applies to this as well. Such a system might even improve the importance of such a forum. If they are still beautiful, I will take them gladly. As much as people are willing to spend on them. I still do not get, why people are paying that much money for guntos but they are definitly buying these swords. Just thoughts of a newbie. Please feel free to correct me. Cheers,
  2. Dear Adrian, I am also very eager to see the results of the analysis. I always wondered, if there is a way to pin the age of a blade down by an analysis of the used steel. Please tell us also how you are gonna be interpreting the results. Cheers,
  3. Dear Mark, you will have to decide for yourself whether or not it is a good purchase. But I think that the blade including a Koshirae is worth its money. Regarding the dealer (Aoi Art) I can say, that he was reliable, friendly and answered questions without delay, when I bought a blade from his website. Therefore I can only recommend buying from Aoi Art. Cheers,
  4. Well I still think a good library is a very valuable source. Although there are more and more Internet data bases and ebooks, I still prefer to have a physical book with me while studying interesting blades. Off course I am still busy (and spending heaps of Euros) building up my own Nihonto library. Cheers,
  5. Dear Jeremy, He seems to a member of the All Japan Swordsmith Association (http://www.tousyoukai.jp/english/member_e.shtml). Maybe you can get more information via the association about him or you might try to contact him directly. Cheers,
  6. So true. His book on gendaito is still a very valuable source of wisdom. Rest in Peace John Slough.
  7. Dear Peter, I have to disagree with you. Off course both books are not perfect but as I own and read other books - like Mr. Robinsons Primer and the The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords - as well, I have to say, that Inami-sans book much more fun to read. This makes it useful for beginners - even nowadays. Cheers,
  8. Dear James, thanks for the pictures. I am eager to see which other memorabilia you have. By the way I just read my copy of Inami-san's book again and still think it is very well written. By the way, I stumbled upon these steak knives on ebay and wondered if these were sold in Inami-san's shop as well as Nihonto: http://www.ebay.de/itm/Modern-Japan-Sta ... 35b36d8a5a Cheers,
  9. Thanks for the information. I learned something new regarding NBTHK papers. Until now I thought in case of a unreadable mei the NBTHK would consider the blade mumei as they cannot verify whether or not the signature was gimei. Cheers,
  10. I see, so this might be a case, where the owner tried to hide the signature of "Muramasa". Thanks for the input. Cheers,
  11. I was just wondering, if the following Tanto was a real Muramasa as I could not see any Kanji for Muramasa on the Nakago. The sword is offered on e-sword.jp: http://www.e-sword.jp/sale/2012/1210_3000syousai.htm Oddly the description only says "There is a Muramasa signature", without stating it "is" a Muramasa blade . On the other hand there is a NBTHK Hozon certifikate, which should indicate that a Shinsa Team came to such a conclusion. What do you think of this blade? Is it a true "Muramasa"? Cheers,
  12. Dear James, I really appreciate that you let us young folks participate in your memories of Japan and Nihonto collecting in the 1960s. I can't wait to read more. Hopefully someone on this forum owns or has pictures of a Norimitsu Wakizashi similar (or maybe even identically) to yours and could share some pictures here. That would be awesome. Cheers,
  13. Very interesting indeed.
  14. Hi folks, I read the german version of "Legends and Stories around the Japanese Sword" a little while ago and I can highly recommend the book to anyone interested in Nihonto and the Japanese culture. The only thing missing was the Masamune / Muramasa anecdote described in John Yumotos book "The samurai sword". Anyway thank you Markus for writing such an interesting book. Cheers,
  15. Hi Jay, if you are around Cologne you might want to check out the Museum of East Asian Art: http://www.museenkoeln.de/homepage/default.asp?s=170 They got a few Katana, Armor and other Japanese art objects. It is a very nice museum. Cheers,
  16. I am not that surprised to see the english word "warrior" on the NCO. As many Japanese words are taken from other languages, I assume it was somehow cool or fashionable to use the word warrior. At least for this swordsmith. Was not the use of foreign steel for nihonto also considered fashionable in Japan during a certain period of time. @ KM: Although the Nazis disliked Jazz and Swing, it was quite popular in Germany during the 30s and 40s. By the way, the word "Germany" or "Made in Germany" was used on export goods already before WW1 as a designation of origin. Cheers,
  17. I am also surprised to hear that you have some problems with your sword from Aoi Art. In my opinion Aoi Art regularly provides adequate pictures of their goods. In fact I even save some of the pictures on my harddrive for my personal Nihonto gallery. Whenever I bought swords from Aoi Art, I was satisfied with the sword I got - though I only bought swords from the art section. Hopefully you can come to a satisfying solution with Aoi Art. Cheers,
  18. Welcome Pete! If you are trying to find some information on the blades you got, the NMB is the place to be . Some people around here have tons of information on nihonto and (which is even more important) are willing to share their knowledge. Cheers,
  19. Takahashi

    Papers

    If there is currently no such service in Europe, I think NBTHK-Europe should definitely think about introducing such shinsa events in Europe. There has to be a high demand for european collectors as it is always expensive to send swords aound the world and it bears the danger of transport damage. Cheers,
  20. Regarding the single stroke, I would consider it rather puristic than egocentric . Reminds me somehow of the Bauhaus style . Cheers,
  21. Hi Klaus, Thanks for posting this thread. It was quite interesting to see that some swordsmiths even signed with only one kanji mei. By the way I think the mei looks certainly more like U 右 than Sa 左. But I am still curious what kind of symbol might be stamped on the other side of the nakago. Regarding the assumed age of the blade, it cannot be a showa stamp. Could it be a (very small) Chrysanthemum? Cheers,
  22. Well, I am quite surprised that agitated about an amateur polish of a bayonet. Of course it would be terrible to have an amateur polish on a real nihonto blade but hopefully "888jojoli" knows that this would be a no go. What I like is that he tried to give an non Japanese blade a nice polish. I am currently wondering how beautiful some ancient european swords would look with such a polish since they have been neglected for many years. Although experimenting on those old blades would be a shame as well. Cheers,
  23. Although it is not a real Hamon, it looks great on your bayonet. I wish I could do something like that. Cheers,
  24. Wow, this Nakago really looks badly damaged. But at least you can be sure your wak has been traditionally forged. I think to date the sword you will need to post better pictures. I could not make out any hamon or jigane and a shortened blade is hard to date only by the curvature. But of course there are more skillful people around here, who might guess on the date. Cheers,
  25. Dear Klaus, Well, I am just a novice studying mei/Kanji but I can see clearly some differences in the mei you posted compared to the two others. Just look at the upper part of the mei. Some strokes are shorter and not cut in the same fashion as on the reference mei. IMHO the signature is therefore gimei. Cheers,
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