How old where you at your first nihonto acquisition ?

[Benjamin]

Hello all

 

Take that as a second episode of the thread about average age of the nihonto collector. As politely proposed by Sam aka GeorgeLuucas.

 

How old were you at your first acquisition ? and if you accept it, give us a little context.

 

Regards

 

Benjamin

[Mushin]

I was 24, living in London for my first corporate job. There was a little store near Camden Lock close to where I lived that sold Japanese prints and art. There was an o-suriage wakizashi on the shelf above the cash register. I was shocked to learn it was a real samurai sword and had to have it. The owner joked that I must be very savvy to buy a blade without a signature because it could be a treasure! It's wasn't, but I was thrilled. He sold it to me along with a copy of John Yamato's book. The infection set in almost immediately and it wasn't long before I was at Sotheby's for every Japanese sword auction they had. I was poor back then but I ended up buying my first signed piece with koshirae soon after: a ko-wakizashi by Hida no kami Ujifusa. Now, 40 years later, I still have that blade and many tens of thousands of dollars less because of this hobby. Don't regret a single minute. Thanks for making me walk down memory lane.

[Tohagi]

I think I was 26 or 27, it was a wakisashi attributed to Kongobey Moritaka in red urushi meï....

 

I offer it as a gift to a 10th dan hanshi who was my friend and master. He died 10 years ago. 

 

Best regards, 

 

Éric VD 

[GeorgeLuucas]

Love the question! 
 

I was 11 years old.. Thank god I didn’t do anything stupid with it at that age 

 

It belonged to my grandfather. The story of how he got it, is lost. Every time I would visit, I would ask to see it. He was pretty grumpy, and only occasionally agreed to show it to me. 
 

Anyway, he had a stroke, and I think he knew he was going to pass; because while visiting a couple weeks before my birthday, he decided to give it to me.

He was only 73 and I was turning 11, and my parents shocked looks were priceless 

 

Anyway, after many lectures about the responsibility of owning a weapon. I took it home with me. He passed away a week later, RIP. 
 

Fast forward ~20 years, I take interest in it, post it here, and send it off to Ted for ID. He tells me its genuine, and early Shinto mino! I didn’t even know it was real for those 20 years. 
 

Nothing particularly valuable, but very special to me. 
 

Cheers, 

-Sam 

[atm]

When I was about 19, I was working a summer job for my former high school history teacher. He learned that I collected militaria. One day near the end of my shift, he explained that he had a Japanese sword and a German rifle in his garage that had been there for decades. Long before I went to high school, a tornado destroyed the old high school. He said the sword and the rifle had been on display in the school at the time (clearly times have changed) and no one came to claim them after the tornado. So he took them home and they sat in his garage. He decided to give them to me.

 

I did not know anything about the sword, so I took it to a local militaria dealer who explained that it was a traditionally made blade predating the war but in military mounts. It was in rough condition—tired from too many polishes and it probably had been used to hack something by the soldier who brought it to the US. I later traded it for a nice Luftwaffe gravity knife that I still have. I still have the rifle—a matching Mauser K98.

 

It took another 30 years before I acquired another nihonto.

[Nihonto Chicken]

Third time's the charm?  Link below to my previous response.  I was about 46 years old at the time. 

 

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/34699-my-first-sword-and-where-it-led-me-your-story/#comment-359514

 

And yes, I still have the tanto. 

 

[Fred Geyer]

was 14 bailing hay, was paid with a sword and a flight leather suit ...but then he charged me for lunch

was a Stainless Steel sword naval but thought i had the world !

 

Fred 

 

[ckaiserca]

I was 58 in 2021. A Hozon Kaneharu Sunnobi Tanto. I am still very new to the hobby and have a lot to learn. Now that I am retired, I have time to learn but very little money to spend on new swords.

[Ian B3HR2UH]

In about 1970 when I was  15 years old I owned a few non Japanese swords . Each month I would attend the Antique Arms Collectors Guild meeting at the Hawthorn Band rooms . There was a signed  Japanese blade in a gunto saya on sale for Eight dollars . That price was way too high . Each month the asking price would come down by a dollar and when it got to five dollars I bought it  ( from underneath my good friend Barry Thomas's nose ) . I couldn't read the mei at the time but later was able to read it as Tojiro Hisakuni a famous koto maker . Gimei ,I am sure ,although one Japanese who saw it was pretty keen on it . It is something that I still own .

Ian Brooks

[The Blacksmith]

I was 18 or 19, a copper hilted NCO's katana, bought from Rob Taylor when he was in Queens Road, Peckham. Price £65 ! Though I started collecting edged weapons when I was just six, and when I couldn't obtain anything new for my collection, I read everything that I could find on the subject.Though I was already fascinated by Japanese history and culture, I quickly realised that Japanese weapons were the ultimate edged weapons, and they became a sort of obsession, and I'd even get books just because they had a picture of a Japanese sword in it!

[Bruce Pennington]

I started late, age 59.  Dad died and I got his Mantetsu and got hooked.  Now to your title's question, my first nihonto came when I was looking to add an nice kaigunto to my collection.  A dealer was selling a beat-up, bedraggled one, but I went ahead and bought it as it had a Fujiwara mon, a decent leather cover, sharkskin saya cover (though bad shape) and the coup-de-grace - a Muromachi era blade.  I later did find a great looking kai, but that old one was my first nihonto.

[paulb]

Crickey I just realised I was 27 when I bought my first sword, which I kept for about 14 years. Means I've been collecting for over 42 years now!

[Matsunoki]

26, a long long time ago.

[dwmc]

I was aware of Japanese swords my entire life as my father had brought home several from WWll as a young 11th airborne paratrooper.

However, my first personally purchased sword was a Sadakatsu Shin Gunto purchased at an antique show. I was in my late 20's.

[DTM72]

I was 24. A single father of 2 boys that was lucky to have 2 pennies to rub together on good days. (their mom left us and dissappeared for years...party girl) I saw a gunto saya on a shelf at an antique mall. I grabbed it and out fell a broken piece of a Showato katana. Signed Noshu Seki Jyu Fujiwara Kanefusa. The seller wanted $75 for both, but would sell me the broken katana for $30. I didn't have enough money for both, so I got the broken katana. To me, at that time, I felt like I hit the lottery! Over a period of 6 months, the same guy sold me a decent Showa period civilian tsuka for $25. It only needed minor filing on the inside to fit. I later found a matching civilian tsuba that matched the fittings on the tsuka for $35. Working as an apprentice machinist, I was able to carefully grind a new kissaki onto the broken blade. End product looked decent. I took the newly re-fitted katana, now a wakizashi, to the Show of Shows in Lousiville, Kentucky in February of 1995 and quicky found a cheap $25 saya for it. Altogether I had $115 into it. A guy offered me $400 for it and I thought I hit the lottery again! 

 

Good times!

[george trotter]

I was 25. I had a quiet interest in Gunto because my uncle had brought one home from WWII (good sword - unsigned gendaito). It was probably due to my uncle's sword that I bought a very ordinary showato I happened to notice in an antique shop in Bournemouth in Dorset, UK (I was living nearby in Lymington, Hampshire). I brought it home when I returned to Australia in Sept.  1973 and as I gained more knowledge of Japanese swords I passed it on to concentrate on better swords...so that was 50 years ago and I am 76 this year...time flies when you are having fun.

[Alex A]

Got a replica when i was around 12 or 13, when Shogun was on tv.

 

Long wait after that, and it was only thanks to a girlfriend at the time that had a pc, i was miles behind.

 

Discovered the online Lanes Armoury in my 30s and it was like WOW. Bought a Koto blade signed Kanekado, didnt know enough to appreciate it and wish i could look at it again now. Real long nakago/tsuka. Nice old koshirae and from memory the tsuba was a real good one, Yoshiro Mon type. Had a strange nightmare that night.

 

Returned that and got a papered sword, only one in the shop, Edo Kiyomitsu sword. Kanbun shape.

 

Thinking back, shouldn't really buy swords until clued up a bit.

[Benjamin]

There is indeed amazing stories here. And thank you Rick B reminding us there was a nearly similar topic

 

So far the average age is 28 years old with 17 collectors

[John C]

I may be one of the latest starters. After a rather dire medical diagnosis just a couple of years ago, I made a bucket list. As many are here, I've been a martial artist since the age of 13 and have always wanted a "real" samurai sword. So at the ripe old age of 61 I bought my first nihonto - a papered Nobuyoshi (2nd gen) from Grey.

.... 9 more items to go...

 

John C.

[Baka Gaijin]

12

1964

Wakizashi mounted in what some refer to as Satsuma Rebellion mounts

£4 10 shillings (£4.50 now)

The Katana was £5.10 (£5.50), but I didn't have that much.

The Dealer wrapped in some Newspaper for the bus journey home.

The Dealer I bought it from is still dealing...........

[hobnails]

My first sword was a wakizashi by Hoshu Fujiwara Masayuki,  Bungo  Takada school I was seventeen at college and bought it off my mates dad for $100  he told me it was good steel as he had opened a tin of baked beans with it😆I still have it.

[Winchester]

Got my first replica when I was around 8 or 9 years old from the Chinese exhibit at Epcot. The man who took it out of the case told me, "use this to defend your family, only". I was in awe. 

 

First real nihonto was at 37 or four years ago...no regrets and it has enriched my life on many levels (art, history, design, study).

 

 

[Soshin]

My very first authentic antique Japanese sword was at age 29 in 2005 when I was working my first real job after graduate school. I think I might have purchased it on eBay.  It was a mumei tanto if I remember correctly not in an art polish and the blade more than a bit tired if I remember correctly. Sorry for the not so remarkable story here.        

[Banton989]

I will be 46 3/4 when I get my first koto blade. :-)

 

I was 46 1/2 when I bought my first gunto and now have 3.

[Lewis B]

I became fascinated with samurai and nihonto watching The Water Margin and Monkey as a kid growing up in the UK. Saw a few swords in museums but owning a blade was out of reach financially, so I stuck with stamp collecting.

About 10 years ago I got into artisanal kitchen JKnives and eventually started to look at nihonto again, joining the NMB in 2020.

With the funds now available I can afford what I like. Koto blades. My first blade, a Yamato Shikkake, found me in Utrecht 2 months ago  at the age of 60 and I couldn't be happier. Some well respected, elder NBTHK-EB members have examined it and saw no reason not to send it for Juyo Shinsa, which I plan to do next year. And so the bug has been acquired.

My plan is to find a representative blade from each of the main Kamakura and Nanbokucho era Gokuden. I also have plans to visit Japan next year to acquire a deeper understanding of this fascinating area of collecting and connoisseurship. There is so much to learn and I'm sure this will become one of the major areas of interest for me as I contemplate retirement in 4 years time. I also joined the NBTHK so I've fallen hard. 

[Benjamin]

We should have subtitled this topic "or the roots of entusiasm", we can feel toward all stories the real impalpable connection establishing itself between each of us and an exciting hobby.

 

so far average age is 30 years old, median age is 25.5, younger were 11 yo and older were 61 yo among 24 collectors.

[Sheridan]

I was 64, so only a year and a half ago...  it was a Hozon Taira Takada katana - big, buff and curvy in all the right places... 

[Yumso]

23, bought a Bungo-do for my B-day present 

[Kantaro]

It was somewhere in 70's when I was 10 or 12, I bought a rusted katana on the flea market in Brussels.

Went with my bike home, the katana on back. Nobody cared and it was quite normal that time.

I was in the scouts and everybody had his own small dagger at his belt...different times I assure you.

My dad confiscated the Katana after we were testing it with my brothers in the garden on a watermelon.

Never seen the tang...still wonder sometimes.

[Tcat]

Age 27, while working at Sotheby’s in London in the late 2000s, after they had ceased holding Japanese works of art sales unfortunately. I was only able to handle a couple of old blades which were then stored in the Chinese works of art department… They did however have some fantastic middle eastern swords which I got to inspect up-close.

 

The sword was a beautiful mumei shinshinto aikuchi tanto with Hozon papers attributed to Aizu Kanetomo, which I still treasure to this day.