Another Huge And Sad Loss To The Community - Dr J Lissenden

[Brian]

I am very deeply sad to have just been made aware of the fact that noted Namban tsuba expert, author and long term NMB member, Dr John Lissenden passed away last week and was buried in Jersey yesterday, the 28th January.

As well as being a frequent participator on the NMB he was a long term member of the Northern To-Ken society UK, to which he contributed several valuable articles. He was the author of the well known book The Namban Group of Japanese Sword Guards: A Reappraisal.
John had been ill for the last two years and suffered a stroke just before Christmas, from which he did not recover.

This is very sad news. John had always been the go-to guy on Namban topics, and I had been wondering about his lack of participation in the latest Namban thread.

John, you will be deeply missed. Condolences from us all to his friends, family and those who knew him, and particularly the Northern Token Society members.

 

Brian

[IanB]

Based as he was in Jersey, we did not see too much of John at the meetings of the Northern ToKen Society, but when he did attend his talks were an absolute treat enjoyed by all. Some years ago I had the great good fortune to visit his home and remember the enthusiasm with which he showed me treasure after treasure from his wonderful collection. His passing is a loss to us all. Having been to the funeral of another member of the Northern ToKen Society, Jack Dufton on Monday the 24th of January 2016, I cannot but reflect on the mortality we all face and express my sadness at the loss of two loyal members. My heart goes out to their families and friends.

Ian Bottomley 

[Stephen]

RIP

 

What was is sign on name DrJohn?

[christianmalterre]

oh my good-

 

i am very very sad to read this news

 

John did help me so much in private correspondence, did even manage me so to get in direct contact to some experts in the various topics of Tsuba worldwide....

i did know about his illness, as he did mention this to me....however i was not aware about this recent stroke... :(

 

my honest condolences to the family.

 

May you rest in peace John!  (and thank you for every info you did so openly and amicably split with me)

 

Christian

[John A Stuart]

That is very sad news. Too many, too soon. John

[Brian]

RIP

 

What was is sign on name DrJohn?

 

docliss

[Stephen]

Damn! what a loss, he was one of the best, again RIP

[Curran]

RIP Dr. Lissenden.

[Alex A]

Sad news indeed, RIP John & God bless.

[b.hennick]

Sad news - your good reputation will linger with us for a long long time. Positive in thought and action: John will be missed by those who knew him and learned from his work.

[Pete Klein]

God spede.

[Ed]

I always hate to hear such sad news.   While not knowing him personally, it is obvious that he was a dedicated student, collector and teacher.   

 

My condolences go out to his family and personal friends.

 

It makes me think, with all the great collectors who have passed, there should be one heck of a study group in Heaven.

[Jean]

Bleak news. Tuesday I was at the funeral of an old friend of mine who made shirasaya, koshirae. He was the one who made the koshirae for my Naoe Shizu, for my Tegai/Hosho, who restored my Tametsugu koshirae, he was fantastic at tsuka wrapping.

 

John was fantastic and he gave me a lot of information on Namban tsuba. His loss is huge for his family and friends and enormous for the Board. RIP John, may you discuss nihonto and tsuba for eons with Jean-Claude wherever you are...

[Greg F]

RIP.

My condolences to all who new him.

 

Greg

[Brian]

I received this today from one of the Northern Token Society members.

 

 

Mrs Susan Lissenden would like to express the appreciation of the family to the members of the Nihonto community for their tributes and condolences at the announcement of John’s passing. Having, since then, been heavily involved in the necessary adjustments to official and family matters, it was not until just now that the family was able to read the kind thoughts of his many friends across the World and, not having been directly involved in John’s metalwork interests, it was a great consolation to know that he had always enjoyed so much respect and affection from so many like-minded friends.

 

Since Mrs Lissenden has no posting access to the NMB website she has asked me to request if the above message could be conveyed to the members.

 

I can assure the family that Dr Lissenden made a huge impact on the collecting fraternity and his book or thoughts on the subjects are an integral part of our studies into Namban themes.

[drbvac]

Many years ago and again when I joined the board DOCLISS took great effort into helping me determine which era of smith made some of my Tsuba when I had no access to books or anything else to assist. He wrote a couple of pages of descriptions and indications that he had found or knew without any question or hesitation and I will always remember his immediate responses to any questions. A real teacher and great man who truly loved his hobby and had no problem sharing any of his knowledge. He will be missed and God Bless.

[Ron STL]

I've not been watching NMB of late and only now learned of Dr. Lissenden's death. How sad; another loss for all of us. We never met face to face, but we communicated on Namban tsuba and he was always a regular purchaser of our KTK publications each year as they were published. I wish we could have met one day, but distance prohibited that. May he be at peace. Ron STL