Traditionally Made Gendai Armors: Answers

[Miura]

Previously, there was a post with a question regarding traditionally made Gendai armors, then there was the mention of my teacher.  I am perhaps the most knowledgeable in this area as I have mastered just about every art there is and been around long enough to observe how my work has weathered time. I also have a lot of background knowledge about what is going on behind the scenes that a lot of people dont want you to know about.  I hope people don't take my post the wrong way, just please understand I LIVE the life of an artisan. It is NOT easy. Especially when you are a foreigner. That point having been made, I have had such support and acceptance from other artisans in Japan and never felt like they disliked me because of my race or nationality. Where I felt that was from the collector/dealer/museum community surround the artisan community. But of course that went both ways as well. Please have a heart and understand that I am the last of a line and one of the last remaining traditional armor makers in Japan. So I will write the definition of a traditionally made Gendai armor here: 

 

1. First and foremost. Japanese armor makers must use REAL urushi. Not fake canned stuff such as cashew or "rolled" lacquer.  This qualification rules out most socalled Japanese armor makers.  Urushi is very difficult to work with and in my case it took two years for my body to adapt and develop immunity. It makes you itch, swell and bleed from scratching. If you haven't mastered urushi. cross yourself out! 

2. Traditional tools and techniques. I have yet to count my tools, however, I own hundreds of different tools for very specific jobs. Most of them were hand made by me or handed down from one of my teachers. Most people dont know, I had more than one teacher in my life.  Miura Sensei was my main teacher and I carry on his tradition. however, I also studied under an important metallurgist, and at one point made blades.  Many so-called craftsmen use tools that speed up the process sutch as automated drills, punches, and dies, and in some cases have other people manufacture the parts for them such as the kanamono, kozane, egawa etc. These are things that the armor maker should do themselves otherwise its not traditional....

3. Traditional materials and uses of the materials.  Urushi, Iron, leather, copper, gold, silver, their alloys so on .  These days there are lots of substitutes being used for various reasons. 1. expense 2. difficulty in means of acquisition 3. ignorance or lack of training in the creation of and or how to use them.  

4. proper knowledge about style, form for the period.  Armor was made differently in different periods and used different techniques during different times and places. Without this knowledge the best one can achieve is a look alike in the ballpark of resembling something. When it isnt there, it isnt there.

 

Ill add number five to distinguish the difference between an actual artisan and a lay-craftsman.

5. YOU FILE YOUR DAMNED TAXES AS AN ARMOR SMITH!   If you dont file taxes and earn a living from what you do, then you are simply a hobbiest! This rules out a huge portion of the people claiming to be a traditional artisan.  There are a lot of people who claim to be deshi.   Thats fine. People have been known to be a deshi as a hobby or a part timer. However, Japanese artisans have rites of passage:  1. DESHI IRI (apprenticeship)  uchideshi is the truest form meaning full time or live-in). This was basically the type of apprenticeship that I had, with the acceptance that I lived in my own apartment close by as Miura sensei had mice running around in his house and he refused to get a cat...2. DOKURITSU (freedom) This is when your teacher gives you permission to go out on your own.  Generally students may not do business on their own as a deshi without the permission of their teacher.  It is frowned upon, in general, especially they may not work for the customers of their teacher.  I was allowed to do my own business to pay some expenses, however most of my income was generated from a part time job and I worked off any debts to my teacher by teaching his grand daughter English and walking her to her dance lessons.  3. MEISHI KUERU (being to survive off of ones work) This is the most important stage to achieve. It basically means that you are an actual artisan. There are further rites of passage throughout life, but I think it too much to mention here.  However, if you have not completed these three rites of passage, please. count yourself out as a traditional Japanese artisan. That is not to say that some hobbiests do not make traditional armor, but please dont call yourself an artisan until you have earned the title.  Over the years I have had loads of people attack me out of Jealousy or whatever the reason. What they don't understand is it was not my intention to be an armor artisan!  It kind of fell upon me by chance.  I just happened to be very good at it and was able to withstand the verbal abuse and criticism of my teacher. Nobody else could. I also had the historical knowledge and background as a craftsman and several degrees in archeology before I took on the apprenticeship. All the background allowed me to reach the level that I am at today. It was rigorous, lots of trial and error, though I would say that I was pretty good at getting most things right the first time once I had the foundation due to my background.  Anybody reading this and feeling jealous about what I am sharing.  PLEASE do what I did. Endure what I did, and hopefully you can earn a living when you have given years of your life to preserving the living tradition. Then and only then are you qualified to judge.

 

Ill further address the cost of traditionally made armor.   It is expensive no matter what. the price is relative to the project though.  In my case, when I work, I do so with the goal of creating something that will withstand the tests of time and hopefully be around for 20 generations.  I want it to age gracefully.  I negotiated the sale of the "kiku-ichi" armor that my teacher completed in 1980 to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu as a permanent collection for their new museum two years before he passed away.  Miura sensei sold the armor once in 1980. It took five years to complete. His price at that time was 50,000,000 yen.  I wont comment on the price that I negotiated for the second time around but one important point was that the armor stood the test of time. 40 years later and it still looked beautiful.   Such an armor would be extremely difficult to do today by hand. for several reasons, however if somebody wanted to pay me the equivalent, I would be happy to produce one but the complete armor would have to be made by myself. Currently I believe that I am the only person capable of making such an armor (kiku-ichi) completely by myself.  I would take the challenge if anybody wanted to challenge me on such a project.    

 

I dont share much of my own work with people publicly because I dont feel that I need to. I dont have many peers. However, the peers that I do have are always welcome to see.  My clients tend to like to keep their items for themselves.  Shortly, the yoroi cafe will publish a short film showing a process of the production of armors for our characters. I will ad a link once its up.  These things will be made public so that customers can understand the quality and care that we put into our products.

 

I hope this article has been interesting to everybody who takes the time to read it. I hope any of my dry jest was understood and not taken offensively.

Miura Anjin

Andrew Mancabelli

 

[Miura]

I believe there was previously a question about traditional craftsmen who can do a complete armor traditionally. The only other that I know of who is CAPABLE of doing it completely with the traditional products such as Urushi etc. is Nishioka Fumio. He studied under the same teacher as my teacher.   There is a person who works with somewhat traditional methods but uses replicated kanamono and purchased or stole much of his stuff from my teacher and has hence claimed that he made it himself.  Myouchin Muneyuki was pretty traditional, however, Im not sure about all of his techniques.  Any time you request an armor to be made completely traditionally, you should ask the maker to confirm how it is going to be produced. If you do not do this, they will mostly cut corners.  Even my teacher did when pressed to meet the demands of the client. 

There MAY be others who are fully capable. I am only mentioning who I can absolutely confirm are CAPABLE of doing it completely traditional. So in reading this, please don't think I am putting people down for their attempts, or achievements in the field.  If there is anybody else who can confirm other artisans, please introduce them here.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Andrew, thank you for these insightful posts of late. Your name was familiar but couldn't place it, until I remembered you were on Japanology many years ago. It is fantastic to hear you are doing so well in something you love.

 

Onto the topic, there was a recent NHK production covering traditional armour making in Kyoto that was very enjoyable:

 

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2029189/

[Miura]

8 hours ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

Andrew, thank you for these insightful posts of late. Your name was familiar but couldn't place it, until I remembered you were on Japanology many years ago. It is fantastic to hear you are doing so well in something you love.

 

Onto the topic, there was a recent NHK production covering traditional armour making in Kyoto that was very enjoyable:

 

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2029189/

Hi John,

Thank you for the compliment. Very kind of you to say. I just watched the armor parts of the video you just uploaded.  Thank you for sharing that. I am not trying to take down the techniques of Ms Myochin. but there were several problems with the video.  It appears that they are working with something other than rawhide which is what would be traditional for that period/style of armor.  they are also using modern glue to glue the kozane together for speed in assembly.  It appears that they are not using real urushi as well, though it is hard to confirm. They are using proper urushi brushes, however the color from when they were sanding the lacquer appears to be that of cashew lacquer. The way that the kozane were connected.... at least from what I saw in the video is not traditional, rather done with a simple technique for speed, and some of the methods used were done to make the kozane lay flat.   The reason its done that way is to allow for more rapid lacing when you are not using real urushi. Real urushi is more flexible and so that preparation is not necessary and you can bend the kozane without the urushi flaking off. Cashew is not forgiving, and if dry will flake off, even the substitute leather. The kanamono in the video was not the one on the finished armor which are all mass produced and cast. I believe that was prepared for television to make it look like they make them by hand.  Im not trying to put the video down, but having been on a bunch of tv shows including NHK, I understand why and how they prepared the video the way they did. When we did television shows though we prepared long in advance sections of actual hand made parts in different stages to give the appearance of a completed project from start to finish.  I think it would have been possible to do such a video with full traditional materials and techniques if they could locate an artisan capable of doing it (who had the stages prepared).  And it was probably the encouragement of the television company to just do whatever to make it look believable.  Another funny point about the shows that you see on TV is that nobody ever dresses in the outfits you see on tv when we work. Miura sensei always wore a plaid shirt in the winter and a "wife beater" in the summer.   The dye part of the video was rather nice actually.  I wonder if they use it on a regular basis.  Its so expensive, that using roots such as akane to produce enough color for one armor can be ridiculously expensive.  Especially if you dye it many times such as the Mitake zan jinja armor. (aka-ito odoshi o-yoroi)

[Arthur G]

Kadoya Kouji is one of the most traditional I know of, but he mostly keeps to himself, hence why he's not very well known publicly.

He's very transparent with the process however! He doesn't give out finer trade secrets with his public posts, but he shows the gist of what's going on. He's been working on a copy of the kindami-gusoku for the last couple of years, and it's his most thoroughly documented and posted project. He has a lot of other things he's posted up as well though. His handle online is "Japanese Armor Factory" for anyone curious.

As for myself, I've tried to start off the right way and avoid substitutes as much as possible from the get-go, even though it's made it a very rough and slow start. Currently, the only thing that I'm not doing fully old-school yet is forging out my own sheets, but that will change sooner rather than later. Need to replace a couple of tools too 

[FrenchBreadPrime]

Hello Andrew, I didn't expect my post to cause such a detailed answer (and one from a student of Miura, no less!) but I'm thankful it has, as information on armors and armormaking is scarce. In all honesty, I'm quite jealous indeed as I'd absolutely love to learn as an uchideshi in Japan, but I thought it wasn't possible anymore to learn the skills of a katchu-shi due to so many of them dying or retiring these last years; so it's really great to know that some are still thriving, and even better to know that you can live through your work !

I find it sad that Yoroi aren't as preserved as Nihonto are, and thought that this generation of Katchu-shi would sadly be the last.

 

This may be a naive question but, are there any katchushi that would take uchideshi, nowadays ?

 

[Miura]

On 4/4/2023 at 5:50 AM, Arthur G said:

Kadoya Kouji is one of the most traditional I know of, but he mostly keeps to himself, hence why he's not very well known publicly.

He's very transparent with the process however! He doesn't give out finer trade secrets with his public posts, but he shows the gist of what's going on. He's been working on a copy of the kindami-gusoku for the last couple of years, and it's his most thoroughly documented and posted project. He has a lot of other things he's posted up as well though. His handle online is "Japanese Armor Factory" for anyone curious.

As for myself, I've tried to start off the right way and avoid substitutes as much as possible from the get-go, even though it's made it a very rough and slow start. Currently, the only thing that I'm not doing fully old-school yet is forging out my own sheets, but that will change sooner rather than later. Need to replace a couple of tools too 

Hi Arthur, Id like to meet Mr. Kadoya. I have to admit, I did not know of his existence until you taught me of him.  Striving to achieve perfection can be difficult in the traditional arts when you are separated by such a distance from your teacher and his workshop. Im glad to see you persisting and experimenting with the techniques. You dont have to share all you do with the general public. Keep that for your own students one day.  

[Miura]

On 4/6/2023 at 2:09 AM, FrenchBreadPrime said:

Hello Andrew, I didn't expect my post to cause such a detailed answer (and one from a student of Miura, no less!) but I'm thankful it has, as information on armors and armormaking is scarce. In all honesty, I'm quite jealous indeed as I'd absolutely love to learn as an uchideshi in Japan, but I thought it wasn't possible anymore to learn the skills of a katchu-shi due to so many of them dying or retiring these last years; so it's really great to know that some are still thriving, and even better to know that you can live through your work !

I find it sad that Yoroi aren't as preserved as Nihonto are, and thought that this generation of Katchu-shi would sadly be the last.

 

This may be a naive question but, are there any katchushi that would take uchideshi, nowadays ?

 

Hi There. Well, lets just say that as of recent, I have been inspired to enter back into the world of social media, though I will try to keep my posts informative in essay form rather than interactive. Miura sensei only had one real deshi. That was me. Only one who carries on his craft and succeeds him. Others tried. And there was a faction who hated that I was his deshi, and it saddened me. They tried to send person after person to be Miura's deshi. In short, he scared them all off. haha. You really had to have tough skin to endure that guy.  He was a perfectionist and expected nothing less. Yes, many of them are dying and the art in general is being replaced with non-traditional, non-Japanese shortcuts and fakery.  This saddens me. The art is best preserved as a living tradition. I am not sure about Nishioka fumio's current situation.  I currently have two young men studying under me.  They dont live with me though but come frequently.  Im single and I like my privacy so I dont think I would want anybody living with me. My organization, the Kokusai Nihon Katchu Bugu Shinko Kyokai will put potential students in touch with a craftsmen following a screening.  Yes, you are correct.  Yoroi is not preserved the same as Nihonto.  The reason behind this is that very unfortunately back when funds and designations were being determined for the traditional arts, the non profit armor organizations(which were supposed to preserve and protect the art of armor), and the Bunkacho took the very wrong stance that armors were not made by one individual in the past. Rather that the parts were produced by several different artisans and assembled by a different artisan. This is ABSOLUTELY wrong and should be reconsidered. I could go into a very long explanation as to my point, however, the main point is that whereas, just about every other art surrounding the samurai is provided subsidy for the well being of the art by the government through various channels. Armor on the other hand has few channels set up for preservation, funding, learning etc.  Maybe its for the best.  The part I have problems with is the stance that both groups took towards armor makers. That is insulting.  Yes. Im the last generation of traditional armor maker.  Still here.   Im very thankful that somebody has taken notice of these things. Thank you.

[FrenchBreadPrime]

3 hours ago, Miura said:

Hi There. Well, lets just say that as of recent, I have been inspired to enter back into the world of social media, though I will try to keep my posts informative in essay form rather than interactive. Miura sensei only had one real deshi. That was me. Only one who carries on his craft and succeeds him. Others tried. And there was a faction who hated that I was his deshi, and it saddened me. They tried to send person after person to be Miura's deshi. In short, he scared them all off. haha. You really had to have tough skin to endure that guy.  He was a perfectionist and expected nothing less. Yes, many of them are dying and the art in general is being replaced with non-traditional, non-Japanese shortcuts and fakery.  This saddens me. The art is best preserved as a living tradition. I am not sure about Nishioka fumio's current situation.  I currently have two young men studying under me.  They dont live with me though but come frequently.  Im single and I like my privacy so I dont think I would want anybody living with me. My organization, the Kokusai Nihon Katchu Bugu Shinko Kyokai will put potential students in touch with a craftsmen following a screening.  Yes, you are correct.  Yoroi is not preserved the same as Nihonto.  The reason behind this is that very unfortunately back when funds and designations were being determined for the traditional arts, the non profit armor organizations(which were supposed to preserve and protect the art of armor), and the Bunkacho took the very wrong stance that armors were not made by one individual in the past. Rather that the parts were produced by several different artisans and assembled by a different artisan. This is ABSOLUTELY wrong and should be reconsidered. I could go into a very long explanation as to my point, however, the main point is that whereas, just about every other art surrounding the samurai is provided subsidy for the well being of the art by the government through various channels. Armor on the other hand has few channels set up for preservation, funding, learning etc.  Maybe its for the best.  The part I have problems with is the stance that both groups took towards armor makers. That is insulting.  Yes. Im the last generation of traditional armor maker.  Still here.   Im very thankful that somebody has taken notice of these things. Thank you.

It is I who is thankful, as I didn't expect to ever interact with Miura's student. I feel like Miura was one of the best Katchu-shi to ever live. His restorations are incredible, and I'd die to see one of his gusoku in real life.

The current state of things is sad to see, as armors are as iconic to the samurai as the swords are. If the swords are their souls, then armors are their flesh and skin, as well as the soul of the katchu-shi poured into crafting it. But if you have deshi, perhaps there could still be hope of not being the final generation of Katchu-shi ? I know I sound absolutely naive, but it'd be such a waste to have that tradition die off, especially for it to be replaced by chinese made replicas.

How would one go about becoming a deshi ?

 

Also, if possible, I'd be really interested to keep in touch. I've been passioned by armors for years, and I'm especially fond of yoroi (and also renaissance full plate armors, but that's another thing in itself)

 

[Gakusee]

Nishioka san has a couple of deshi / employees working in his studio together with his wife, who is a kumihimo artisan. There was a very informative article and set of interviews with all of them in the Katchu magazine (either the 2020 or 2021 issue) of the Japanese Armour Society. 
 

I am glad that Andy has started shedding more light on this fascinating craft, its traditions and intricacies. Hopefully it is preserved, but as is the case with so many traditional arts and crafts in Japan, it is unfortunately in jeopardy since very few young Japanese follow in the footsteps of previous masters. It requires hard work and perseverance. 

The more various katchushi, both in Japan and in the West, educate us, the better for the art and people who appreciate it. It is informative to hear different perspectives from several artisans. 
 

There seem to be somewhat more people who restore / repair armour than there are armour makers. Andy - what is your view on restorers, both in Japan and in the West? 

 

Next: is there a katchushi “craftsmen” association in Japan similar to the sword-related NBSK, which itself is comprised mainly of swordsmiths, sayashi and polishers (as opposed to the museum / evaluation /education focused NBTHK)? I am a member of the NKBKHK, which focuses on appraisals, preservation and education in relation to Japanese armour. Nishioka san is a senior member of that body. 
But are there even enough such katchu craftsmen in Japan to justify a pure “artisan” organisation? This could comprise armour makers who forge metal parts and assemble armour or people specialising in leather or dying or braiding etc. In the sword world, there is a strict differentiation and segregation between the different crafts of swordsmithing, koshirae making, polishing, kodogu and tosogu making, etc. That differentiation has resulted in supreme quality as the skills and knowledge required are very different.  It seems to me that in the world of armour, katchushi learn to make and do everything themselves even though ito braiding / lacing is a very different skill to metal forging / forming,  for example…..

 

Thank you for your views. 

[Miura]

17 hours ago, FrenchBreadPrime said:

It is I who is thankful, as I didn't expect to ever interact with Miura's student. I feel like Miura was one of the best Katchu-shi to ever live. His restorations are incredible, and I'd die to see one of his gusoku in real life.

The current state of things is sad to see, as armors are as iconic to the samurai as the swords are. If the swords are their souls, then armors are their flesh and skin, as well as the soul of the katchu-shi poured into crafting it. But if you have deshi, perhaps there could still be hope of not being the final generation of Katchu-shi ? I know I sound absolutely naive, but it'd be such a waste to have that tradition die off, especially for it to be replaced by chinese made replicas.

How would one go about becoming a deshi ?

 

Also, if possible, I'd be really interested to keep in touch. I've been passioned by armors for years, and I'm especially fond of yoroi (and also renaissance full plate armors, but that's another thing in itself)

 

Well, anyway, here I am.   Ill do my best to help/guide anybody who is genuinely interested.  Thank you for the compliment of my teacher. I feel the same.  Regarding his gusoku, he didn't do many complete gusoku. He specialized in Heian-Muromachi period kozane armor. However he did do a lot of tosei kabuto. When I started working with him, he started working on his last group of kawari kabuto which we displayed at Isetan Department store in Shinjuku. Just before he died, the Itabashi museum put on a small display of his work. They left me out completely. You can imagine why. 

 

One of my students is going more in the direction of modern art through armor.  I can guarantee that he is trained traditionally with real materials, however, he really likes to experiment with new styles and designs using those traditional techniques and materials, whereas my own designs are more traditional.  His work is on display at the Yoroi Cafe Gallery in the Yoroi building. My other student is more of a restorer an and a historian.  Most people go about becoming a deshi through an introduction. In my case Im happy to hear somebody's appeal, however, I think to be a really good artisan and in particular an armor maker, you should have a very good grasp on Japanese history, and have a sense for technicality and art.  And I would never accept another person who is not loyal, and willing to prove it.  Its unfortunate- the politics of art.

 

If you would like ot keep in touch, I would be glad.

[Miura]

17 hours ago, Gakusee said:

Nishioka san has a couple of deshi / employees working in his studio together with his wife, who is a kumihimo artisan. There was a very informative article and set of interviews with all of them in the Katchu magazine (either the 2020 or 2021 issue) of the Japanese Armour Society. 
 

I am glad that Andy has started shedding more light on this fascinating craft, its traditions and intricacies. Hopefully it is preserved, but as is the case with so many traditional arts and crafts in Japan, it is unfortunately in jeopardy since very few young Japanese follow in the footsteps of previous masters. It requires hard work and perseverance. 

The more various katchushi, both in Japan and in the West, educate us, the better for the art and people who appreciate it. It is informative to hear different perspectives from several artisans. 
 

There seem to be somewhat more people who restore / repair armour than there are armour makers. Andy - what is your view on restorers, both in Japan and in the West? 

 

Next: is there a katchushi “craftsmen” association in Japan similar to the sword-related NBSK, which itself is comprised mainly of swordsmiths, sayashi and polishers (as opposed to the museum / evaluation /education focused NBTHK)? I am a member of the NKBKHK, which focuses on appraisals, preservation and education in relation to Japanese armour. Nishioka san is a senior member of that body. 
But are there even enough such katchu craftsmen in Japan to justify a pure “artisan” organisation? This could comprise armour makers who forge metal parts and assemble armour or people specialising in leather or dying or braiding etc. In the sword world, there is a strict differentiation and segregation between the different crafts of swordsmithing, koshirae making, polishing, kodogu and tosogu making, etc. That differentiation has resulted in supreme quality as the skills and knowledge required are very different.  It seems to me that in the world of armour, katchushi learn to make and do everything themselves even though ito braiding / lacing is a very different skill to metal forging / forming,  for example…..

 

Thank you for your views. 

In General, I think two of the biggest hurdles/problems between Japan and the outside world are the language and cultural differences. I think it great that there are so many lovers of Japanese culture and arts throughout the world. It makes me wonder if many of these people are re-incarnated samurai or Japanese artisans. Unfortunately as the language is such a hard one to learn, we must rely on what gets filtered to us through the people who can speak both languages.  Much of what I have seen by immature or inexperienced translators is less than competent.  And often, effort is given more esteem than skill.  To sum it up; I wish that there were more competent people filtering information to the west who were not in it for selfish purposes. I know there are a lot of people who try and Im thankful for that.  Just please be even handed and unbiased regarding the information that is disseminated.

 

Restorers:  In Japan. There are some terrible ones, and some competent. The terrible ones use cashew urushi, paint, super glue, wood glue, wood putty, body filler, non-traditional materials etc. and know little about what they are restoring. The best ones take the time to know what they have before they begin a restoration so that stylistically it is appropriate, and appropriate materials are used. Many of the bad restorationist's bang up jobs have come across my desk. I always hate to tell the owner that the item needs a full restoration because super glue was injected to seal cracks or wood putty and cashew were used to patch a hole.  The same kinds of restorers exist in the west. What most people are not aware of is that MOST Japanese "restorers" are terrible.  Having Japanese blood does not mean that they care about the art more than quick cash.  I have seen many many items destroyed by such people. I would call such a person a "Knave Trasher".  Ill leave some examples for you in a separate blog.

 

NBSK (Nihonto Bunka Shinko Kyokai - Society for the promotion of Japanese swords)  I am a member and was the first and only foreigner board member in the beginning. I also was vice president for tosogu division for some time. I greatly support the intentions of the organization, however, I believe that there needs to be more representation of Artisans at the administrative level. I attended a meeting where money raising was the issue. The young artisans had many nice ideas that were shot down over and over by particular people who seemed to not want success. An afternoon of everybody's time was wasted and in the end the decision was to force donations on the the people who gave their time. I had not been that mad in a long time.  I never left the organization, but I did let them know that my time was worth far more than what they asked for donation, and if they wished to consult me as a professional artisan or archeologist I would be happy to help in any way possible.  I believe Im still an advisor.  And I have given lectures in the past.  I do like the premise of that organization. I just think for it to be more successful there needs to be more people in the admin that know what the heck is going on.

 

My organization: the Kokusai Nihon Katchu Bugu Shinko Kyokai has been in operation since 2020.  I saw the flaws of the non-profits. I fixed those flaws.  It was easy. Give positions to qualified people. Respect people for their chosen profession. Pay people for their time. I know this sounds novel but somehow it works quite well. And no need for donations. We operate as a business rather than a non-profit and our papers are produced by professionals in the related fields.  We are currently expanding and it was always my dream for the organization to act as a liason between potential students and artisans and potential customers and artisans.  Basically to bridge the culture and language gap between Japan and the rest of the world. We will also offer study trips that anybody can join. Not just rich elite. We work for a living, not vacation for a living. The positions are held by artisans, historians, metallurgists, and qualified people in their fields.    We will have a facebook page up soon and articles will be listed there as well.

 

NKBKHK.  I was the first to coin that moniker close to 30 years ago. They never used it themselves until I came along haha. Now its funny to hear other people referring to that society in that way.    I know Nishioka San his teacher was my teacher's teacher so we have a common background. I admire that he has acquired the ability to do traditionally made armor from scratch.  Though if you use his studio, you must confirm and reconfirm that he uses completely traditional techniques for a commission as he does offer cheaper non-traditional restorations. At my workshop, non-traditional is NEVER allowed. And EVERYBODY will go through the rites of passage.  (I also offer 5 year guarantee on most of my work) AND I do koshirae as well. ( Our library has one of the largest collections of Koshirae in Japan as well) 

 

Braiding lacing is not the job of an armor maker. That would be a craftsman job rather than an artisan's job. I do give my input when ordering lacing. If there is a special order I want protected for a specific product I will insist that the lacing weaver does what I require. A good armorer understands how the lacing is made so that he can communicate with the producer, but an armorer should not wast time on the production of raw materials. That would be the same as an armorer skinning the water buffalo and preparing the hide - armorers cut kozane from it. We don't kill the steer.   We do have a good idea of what kind of product we need though.

 

Metal Forging. In the olden days, plate iron came from various sources.  Most armor is produced through cold hammering. Many different kinds of iron. However, I know what percentage of iron/carbon I like to work with for specific jobs. I don't make the raw materials though. Thats the job of a craftsman, not an artisan.   ( I did make Japanese blades though - Armor is much more demanding)

 

I do agree though that it would be beneficial to include all these different arts and craftspeople in our organization.

 

Thank you for your questions. I hope my answers are useful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gakusee]

Thank you very much, Andy, for the very exhaustive response.  Appreciate it. 
For one-two years I was a member of the NBSK, but it seems to me they do not need gaijin or try to keep us informed or involved. At least it was like that a few years ago. The NBTHK and NKBKHK at least send magazines, organise lectures / trips / exhibitions for foreigners and keep the international community much more engaged and educated. 
On the other points - very interesting perspectives. Keep up the craft and art please. Maybe one day we shall meet in Japan, when I find the time outside of swords and work. 

[FrenchBreadPrime]

6 hours ago, Miura said:

Well, anyway, here I am.   Ill do my best to help/guide anybody who is genuinely interested.  Thank you for the compliment of my teacher. I feel the same.  Regarding his gusoku, he didn't do many complete gusoku. He specialized in Heian-Muromachi period kozane armor. However he did do a lot of tosei kabuto. When I started working with him, he started working on his last group of kawari kabuto which we displayed at Isetan Department store in Shinjuku. Just before he died, the Itabashi museum put on a small display of his work. They left me out completely. You can imagine why. 

 

One of my students is going more in the direction of modern art through armor.  I can guarantee that he is trained traditionally with real materials, however, he really likes to experiment with new styles and designs using those traditional techniques and materials, whereas my own designs are more traditional.  His work is on display at the Yoroi Cafe Gallery in the Yoroi building. My other student is more of a restorer an and a historian.  Most people go about becoming a deshi through an introduction. In my case Im happy to hear somebody's appeal, however, I think to be a really good artisan and in particular an armor maker, you should have a very good grasp on Japanese history, and have a sense for technicality and art.  And I would never accept another person who is not loyal, and willing to prove it.  Its unfortunate- the politics of art.

 

If you would like ot keep in touch, I would be glad.

Yes, some of his works on O-yoroi armors look surreal. His works make it feel like the armors never ever aged, or were brought back with a time machine, it's hard to explain. My favorite of his is one of the most known but still, I really love his restored Dragonfly Kawari Kabuto, it really shows how good he was at urushi-nuri, and it contributes a lot to making his work surreal. I'm sure that kabuto looked great even before being restored, but his work on it is stunning.

It's sad to see that museums would try to erase you out of it, it's strange to see how different the community is with the Nihonto one, I'm sure there are still tensions and racism but not to the same scale.

 

Armors, contrary to Nihonto, seem to benefit a lot from artistically experimenting, especially in peace times in an era where Yoroi probably won't go back to being used in warfare, it's funny to see it happen again, but that's what some Katchu-shi started doing during the Edo jidai when they started making embossed armors and redundant parts to make better looking results albeit less effective, it's an art after all. It's great to see that it's still happening, I'd love to see pictures of these works !

 

I will be sending you a private message, too, thanks a lot ! 

[Miura]

On 4/9/2023 at 4:46 AM, Gakusee said:

Thank you very much, Andy, for the very exhaustive response.  Appreciate it. 
For one-two years I was a member of the NBSK, but it seems to me they do not need gaijin or try to keep us informed or involved. At least it was like that a few years ago. The NBTHK and NKBKHK at least send magazines, organise lectures / trips / exhibitions for foreigners and keep the international community much more engaged and educated. 
On the other points - very interesting perspectives. Keep up the craft and art please. Maybe one day we shall meet in Japan, when I find the time outside of swords and work. 

What I like about the NBSK is that it is a pay as you go association.  So you dont necessarily have to be super rich to participate. Its not that they dont need/want gaijin, they just dont pander to them. They dont do publications per se but the ones that they do can be purchased separately as they are rather high quality.  But its not included in the membership. The membership includes participation in the events. As I put myself on reserve as an advisor, I dont get contacted that much anymore as I made it known that I would pay no more money nor attend no more meetings unless they needed me.  I went to one meeting with a vest and button up shirt in a very hard to reach place in Tokyo and they made me put on a jacket and tie before I went up the elevator. Then when I got there I see shokunin wearing their working pajamas.  Somebody cut in front of me for a sword viewing line. So I told the head of the meeting Ill see ya later. He tried to bump me for cash to pay for the meeting and I said, I have been here ten minutes and that rude guy cut in front of me, it took me two hours to get here, my day is shot, you pay me!  He said "im sorry. No need to pay.'  This is what happens when there are no practical people at the top of an organization.   I think that organizations publishing is a great idea.  However, they need to run efficiently, and pay people for their work. Volunteer organizations are good, it just seems that frequently, the people who believe the most do the most work, and the people who end up at the top, do little work and enjoy the all expense paid vacations paid for by by the fees of the people who do all the work.  

 The Kokusai Nihon Katchu Bugu Shinko Kyokai of Japan (located in Japan) was set up as a business. So we run effeciently. We also have an actual staff and employ experts for the shinsa purposes. We also have a library that is maintained with iconic examples of armor, complete sword fittings, and a few blades, along with a pretty extensive book collection including edo period resources, so we are technically a small size, museum grade research facility.  I would invite anybody with a research project to set up an appointment.

And if you are ever in Japan please visit the Yoroi cafe which is on the first floor of the Yoroi building.