New Member Introductions

[Jean]

Welcome to our new comers

[b.hennick]

Welcome Brian. I too had an Uda track that I loved, but a friend loved it more. He now enjoys it. Good taste.

[waljamada]

Greetings all,

 

My name is Adam. Had a grandfather on the USS Intripid in WW2 who had a Japanese rifle as a vet bring back. He also had Japanese statues decorating his home from a trip there in the late 80's. These left an impression on young me. Then there is a Kikkoman factory in their town so a bunch of Japanese families live in the area. I became friends with one of the families children and this exposed me to Japanese culture, foods and their much cooler toys. In college I had the chance to study abroad my sophomore year and chose JoChi or Sophia University in Tokyo. I ended up transfering and graduating from JoChi. In all I lived in Tokyo for 7.5 years and worked at Shorts Shorts Film Festival and Asia in Yotsuya, Tokyo after graduating. I learned to speak the language but never got in depth on reading it. Can read/write hiragana, katakana and maybe 5 to 600 Kanji, 700 tops. That was maybe 12 years ago. Since I lived in San Fran for 7.5 years and now reside in Wisconsin. My interest in Nihonto sparked maybe 7 months ago after seeing a WW2 Japanese parade sword at a local antique mall. Thought it looked cool. This sent me down a research spiral, found out parade swords aren't sharp and lost interest in them, but ebay watching over 4 or 5 months showed me all the other Japanese swords out there. During this ebaying I saw a seller of 3 Japanese swords out of Milwaukee which prompted me to message him. He said he owned a War Relic Shop in South Milwaukee and just had a bunch of Japanese swords come in that he purchased from a collector who had just passed. From this collection I bought the cheapest sword which was an early type 98 gunto with an older blade. The detail of the mounts, the age, the weight/details of the blade, it all sang to me. That sword thrust me into a drive to know more; to understand it. Into the rabbit hole of nihonto I went. Once inside I looked around and saw you guys. Glad you are here.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Glad you're here, too. Post some photos when you have a chance.

[b.hennick]

Welcome Adam! You will find this a friendly place. Lurk a while to get a feel for the place and then ask questions. Thoughtful questions will lead to thoughtful answers.

[hermanwolf jesse r]

hello everyone thank you for your forum i am new to nihonto i have 3 swords 2 are old i believe the third looks like a copy one sword just spoke to me and i treasure it i hope to at some point further my knowledge enough to contribute to others that need help again thank you for your help and expertise

[Ken-Hawaii]

Welcome, Herman. Post some photos of your blades, so we can all admire them.

[hermanwolf jesse r]

[swordnoob]

Hi All,

 

I'm a new (soon-to-be) owner of nihonto (one supposedly from the Muromachi period and the other one being Shinsakuto) and I created an account after coming across the site and lurking for a while. I've found that it's been a great resource for information and that members provide valid insight without sugarcoating words. Unfortunately, I don't have an interesting reason for collecting nihonto or other types of swords... Anyway, I'm glad I joined and I look forward to learning more about nihonto and being able to contribute back once I've become more knowledgeable.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Welcome, Victor. No reason to collect swords? How about because they're interesting & cool pieces of art?

[Novak77]

Hello all,

 

I am a new member from Northern California. My reason for being here might get me roasted by some of you, as I am a martial arts practitioner. I Just want to learn more about Nipponto, even if my end goal for them might be a bit different than some of yours.

 

Cheers

[BjornLundin]

Hi, sorry to be late to introduce me. I have been going through the discussion boards for a few weeks now. Anyhow, my name is Bjorn, lives in Gothenburg Sweden. I have been working and living in Okayama city in Japan and been during that time been looking at nihonto´s there but did not dare to buy anything. Now back in Europe for a few years, I stumbled over an auction site and saw a bizen wakizashi, that in my eyes looked nice and I thought it would be a nice remember from my time in that area. I am a total newbie so it is possible I have made all the mistakes a person can do.

 

So after I got home the blade, I read more closely that this was actually a short blade and it should be together with a longer blade (katana). I contacted the seller (Nihonto Europe), and I looked through was he had and found a bizen katana for my liking. Again probably did all the mistakes one can do. 

 

I got the katana home, a slender, elegant blade, maybe a little tired? on one side. But it did not fit together with the earlier shorter blade. Again, I contacted Nihonto Europe and found a possible Morimitsu blade. Again total newbie, so I did not know who the smith was and I only went for the look and feel of the blade from the online videos, and again probably made all the mistakes a person can do.

 

The Morimitsu blade looked promising, but maybe was not total right to be a pair with the katana.

 

So now I am stuck in wanting the perfect nihonto. But for now I am looking to get additional pieces to put the blades in proper sets. Made a shirasaya for the morimitsu blade for now, until I can find someone to make a proper one for me.

Thank you for letting me onboard.

 

Best Bjorn

[Ken-Hawaii]

Don't worry about that, Ryan. Quite a number of us train in iaido & iaijutsu, including my wife & I. That's how we got interested in Nihonto.

 

Bjorn, ask Martin to advise you on which blades are appropriate for you. He's a very-helpful & trustworthy guy. But do invest in a few books so you can start learning why you like certain blades.

 

Welcome to both of you.

[AntiquarianCat]

Hello all, I’ve had a lifelong interest in history and a love for historical artifacts and and art. Now that I’m finishing grad school I’ve had more time to read about the various things that interest me and then begin collecting. I’m new to the subject of Japanese swords but what drew my interest is that like ancient coins and jewelry/art, they’re very distinctive and have intricate patterns; also by virtue of their age they also double as historical artifacts.

I’m new to Nihonto and I’ve been reading the recommended texts and other reference sites but I understand that’s no substitute for talking to people who know far more about the subject and examining a blade in real life.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Welcome to NMB. Would you please sign with your first name, unless you'd prefer Tejada? We look forward to learning more about your interests.

[Grey Doffin]

Hi J. Tejada,

If you live in Georgia, USA and not the one in Europe, do you know about the show next week in Atlanta?  You'll find information on the Calendar page from my website:

https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/calendar-and-news

Hope you can make it.  Grey

[AntiquarianCat]

Hello Grey,

I didn’t know about the upcoming show but now that I do, I’ll to attend. I guess talking to others who know more about the subject is already helping me out.

Thanks,

[Vagabond]

Hello, I'm a new member of this forum. I chose the name Vagabond because I loved this manga with the story of musashi miyamoto. I love the idea to share my passion with people from around the world and to improve my english reading things that I'm interesting in.  I already own some nihonto. Since when I approched to Japanese blade I never fed up to study and to admire new blades.  Every blade, also with defects is art and art will always make vibrate my mind and my heart. 

[Ken-Hawaii]

Welcome to NMB. Please sign all of your posts with your first name, per Brian's rules, so we know how to address you. In your Profile, you can do that just once.

 

We look forward to hearing more about your interests, & to seeing your blades.

[Oshy]

Good day everyone!

 

A bit of a delayed introduction but better late than never! My name is Mike Bender, I reside in Minnesota USA with my wife of 9 years and 2 year old daughter. Ive held a fascination for all things Japanese for many years but haven't done much to act on it until recently. I've been somewhat of a self taught practitioner using modern blades for a bit over a year which lead my interests into nihontos over the past few months. Since then I have been quietly observing the NMB forums daily, mostly disregarding terminology and just enjoying/drooling over the beautiful pieces shared, however recently decided to take the plunge, buckle down and begin learning from the ground up. I hold particular interest and appreciation around the muromachi period and will likely focus my collection around pieces from that era. I will be beginning my journey with a budget friendly study piece paired with entry level reference books and move up from there when ready(but probably prematurely because I cant help myself  ). There are so many people here with a lifetime of knowledge, it can be quite intimidating but I look forward to growing, sharing and in time helping where I can, please be gentle!

 

Best regards,

[b.hennick]

Welcome Mike. With that attitude I think that you will enjoy it here.

[Stephen]

Glad to assist Mike.

[Ganko]

Welcome Mike.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Hi again, Mike.

[masahirok]

Hello Everyone,

 

My name is Masahiro, a native Japanese.

 

I studied (History) at a university in Missouri and was introduced to a father of my friend (I don't disclose his name here, to be safe), who happened to be interested in Japanese culture, including nihonto.

 

The weight of my 'own' culture almost shocked me when I held one his collections.

I virtually have no knowledge about nihonto (thus I have no idea what his piece was), but I'm eager to learn. The collector referred me to JSSUS, and Mr. Hennick let me know the existence of this forum.

 

I thought I would learn the basics of nihonto before posting anything here, but it became clear that it would take forever for me.

I am a freelance English-Japanese translator, and, currently, I'm working everyday to be self-confident (I'm in my early thirties btw).

 

So before it's too late, hi to everyone and have a great day

[Ganko]

Welcome to the message board Masahiro.

[Oshy]

Welcome! A newbie here as well, I would recommend your first investment be in some reference and study materials.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Yes, welcome, Masahiro-san. There is an incredible depth of information on NMB, so take your time, & feel free to ask questions. We're friendly (at least, most of us).

[b.hennick]

I told you that you would get a warm welcome.

[Greg F]

Heloo Masahiro,

Its great to see Japanese members. You have a wonderful culture with amazing history. In my opinion Nihonto is the greatest thing made by man. Welcome.

 

Greg