Real Nihonto Collectors

[IanB]

Piers,  I think humidity may well play a large part. I was once in a major sword shop in Tokyo and was shown a very large shirasaya for a blade but the owner regretted being unable to show me the blade because of the humidity that day. As for papers, they simply records an opinion reached by people with (hopefully) considerable experience. I personally do not feel the need for having a blade go through shinsa - if I like the blade, I like it, irrespective of who made it and when. In the same way my favourite sword is in tasteful yet simple iron mounts decorated with snowflakes and an unsigned blade that I find absolutely beautiful, but probably made by nobody special. To me it has the look of a sword that a samurai took from his obi in the 19th century and placed it on a rack for future generations to love and admire. What more can you ask for?

Ian Bottomley

[Gakusee]

Koshirae are relatively transient, were (and still are) commissioned according to fashion and personal taste (unless we talk of the formal furniture decreed by the court) and a sword would have had a number of replacements in its life.

In fact, I really liked the anecdote of a fellow board member:" I inherited my great grandfather's axe but since then we replaced the handle 4 times and the head twice" (apologies for misquoting the numbers, which are purely illustrative, and plagiarising the witticism). The blade is this relatively intransient / more durable quintessential element, which if preserved properly will and does last longer than the more brittle koshirae, and epitomises this craft.

To talk of swords only in the context of a fully clad blade is a bit redolent of these elitist sentiments mentioned here previously. Should one forego a perfectly acceptable blade / sword, simply because it only comes in shirasaya? Of course, koshirae are a lovely deal sweetener, but often the blade would have been separated from its koshirae by previous owners/ dealers.

 

However, to the point of the original post: koshirae and tosogu collectors are collectors in their own right. What unites us is passion, perseverance to learn more about our subject, the willingness to meet fellow collectors, to ability to talk knowledgably (to an extent) and share knowledge / experience with others, the pain and trouble (financial, emotional etc) we go through in order to indulge our hobby. How many are there - difficult to quantify as many are reclusive, some are secretive, others are shy (or intimidated by more vocal collectors / authorities on the subject).

How many are in the UK - I would venture a guess at a number in the range of two to three hundred (just by knowing the approximate membership base of the two societies here and extrapolating to some of the visitors to the various events we have organised, but who are not signed up members)

[paulb]

I think something the latest posts is demonstrating is that there are many different motivations for collecting. None is necessarily better than another or correct, they are just different. Someone who focusses 100% on blades because their interest is in the structure and form of the piece has as much credibility and deserves as much respect as those who want a sword in complete koshirae regardless of the quality of the blade, because it represents a piece of history they are interested in. There is no right or wrong, just differences and provided the end result is the preservation and improved understanding of what is there it has to be better than pieces rotting through indifference, neglect and abuse.

For what it is worth My own interest is based on blades. Those that I have are kept in shirasaya. Half of them have accompanying koshirae, but as the blades concerned are over 500 years old their koshirae are not original to the blades. They are the result of a previous custodians, or my own preferences and prejudices. If I could buy a sword (in shirasaya) together with a custom made koshirae dating from the Tensho period I would happily do so. A blade with a modern koshirae has less appeal but as always these should be judged on case by case. And as Ian mentions ultimately whether original, assembled, old, very old or modern the important thing is that if you are going to buy it like it and enjoy it.

[eternal_newbie]

Koshirae are relatively transient, were (and still are) commissioned according to fashion and personal taste (unless we talk of the formal furniture decreed by the court) and a sword would have had a number of replacements in its life.

 I inherited my great grandfather's axe but since then we replaced the handle 4 times and the head twice"

 

This applies to Japanese buildings too - the number of times I've heard about this or that building being the oldest of its kind, having stood there for however many centuries, only to find out that this includes being rebuilt exactly to spec every few decades when it was levelled by fire or some other disaster!

[Vermithrax16]

I guess I am more of an admirer and have a lot of respect for the craftsmanship and soul that went into these swords all those years ago. 

[Geraint]

Just to add fuel to the fire.

 

According to the thread title a real Nihonto collector is someone who collects real Nihonto.  If we are talking about real collector as opposed to some other form of mythic collector the the answer is that a real collector is someone who collects in the way that I like.  Unless of course you are talking to a less than honourable dealer in which case a "real collector" is the kind of person who would buy this sword that I'm trying to sell you, as in, "This is the kind of sword that a real collector would snap up."

 

Running for cover now.....