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Let first thanks Robert and His sponsor for the kantei session. It was fantastic and the dinner too.

I had the privilege to see my next sword :D

Five blades submitted to Kantei. Score a atari, two dozen, got the Oei period for the 4th sword and miss the smith (Nobukuni) and made a fool of myself for the last one, Kotetsu. I had seen only one till that day. There were a ko Osafune, Yamato Shizu, an Unji, Nobukuni and the Kotetsu. There were other blades to see, an atypical Naoe Shizu (no masame) an Unji and others I have forgotten.

 

A side note, the Yamato Shizu blade was pure masame. The hamon was nevertheless very close to Naoe Shizu, hence Yamato Shizu.

 

Yesterday, I went to Nikko where the first Tokugawa is buried. More than 500 steps to climb during the visit.

 

Today is DTI day and Yakatabune, I expect to take a few pictures for my press book, just for blackmail purpose :evil: unfortunately, it is raining

 

I have had the pleasure to meet Curran, Paul Bowman and his wife, David Flynn, saw John Grasso at the swod Museum and a few others.

 

I shall post some pictures when back to Paris...

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I am sure many others who attended the show will add comments but as this was my first experience of the show I thought I would share my impressions. Hopefully it might help persuade any who might be thinking of attending the show some idea of what they might see.

1. Firstly I would like to extend a huge thank you to Robert Hughes for arranging the pre show event on Thursday and the boat event on Saturday. Thursday offered a preview of what we might expect to see at the show, was very informative and great fun. Saturday was equally enjoyable giving people the opportunity to meet, relax and talk at their ease (oh yes and eat and drink too much as well!)

2. The show gave me a chance to meet people I have known as good friends for many years but previously never met. I spent time with Guido, Jean, Darcy, Rienhard and Robert Hughes. I met Veli, David Flynn and Andrew Ickeringill all for the first time. I also got together with old friends such as Clive Sinclair and Tony Edmonds. Apologies for anyone I missed but there were many circulating throughout the event.

3. I felt very lucky in that this year there was a considerable number of Yamashiro swords on display. I saw and examined at least 6 and probably nearer to 10 Juyo Rai school tanto. Many of these I would love to have added to my collection but at prices ranging from 5 to 8 million yen they were well beyond budget. There were many other high level blades to see all in exceptional polish. One that stood out was an early Nagamitsu which had been in the collection of the Tokugawa shoguns for the past 3-400 years. It was the only sword there that was not priced. As a non fittings person I will leave it to others to comment but to my untutored eye there was a great diversity of fittings and armour covering the full gamut of price ranges. There were certainly some spectacular fittings and koshirae for sale.

4. One point that was both positive and negative was that many dealers had only labelled their pieces in Japanese. On the plus side it meant I had to decide whether I liked something before I knew exactly what it was and it also forced me to use my limited kanji reading ability harder than I would normally do. On the downside with so much to see I am sure that many non Japanese focussed more on those stands that were labelled in both Japanese and English. A small point but as the international clientele increases one I think the dealers should consider.

This was my first trip to Japan as a holiday (previous ones being work related and short) Both Pam (my wife) and I had very high expectations. I am pleased to say that our trip exceeded our expectations in all areas. It confirmed my long held view that most people interested in swords are very decent and interesting human beings and well worth spending time with. If you are thinking of going to the show then do it. I would guarantee you will not be disappointed.

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Back to France, at 5AM and to exhausted to do anything with pictures. Just a last report.

 

On THursady evening I had a Rendez-Vous with friend Robert H. He had proposed us to visit Sokendo.

 

It was Kurokawa san day off but he welcomed us and then finished a business with a Customer. Meanwhile we were looking at the sword and kodogu displaid, there was a toranba Sukenao beside a Toranba Sukehiro, a fantastic Rai Kunitoshi with a a arm length sayagaki by Tanaobe sensei. Then he had time to unlock a room where there was a Mutsutada an Ichimonji and other fantastic swords.

 

After his customer departure he made us sit down and offer us Teaa and Cake., offers us a lacquer tray and a calendar and asked us what were we interested in. We said Bizen, so he went away and came back 10 minutes later to say to come on the first floor by his private elevator after having removed our shoes. Splendi room, displaid along the wall Seven juyo koshirae ito maki no tachi. The best was in the middle of the room, to tables on which were displaid 12 ko Bizen blades, 6 signed. We studied them at length; the only way to know what ko-Bizen looks like. Then debriefing, main Kantei points. Midare utsuri talk brought him to put away these swords to align 12 Ichimonji blades from Ko Ichimonji to Katayama, just to compare the utsuri.

There were replaced by 12 ko schools blades, 3 ko aoe, a Naminohira, a Bingo, a Hoki, an Awataguchi and some Heian blades. He told us that unsigned some of these schools were very difficulut to compare. Then went a Juyo Bunkazai Nagamitsu with a wavy boshi and another one with a sansaku boshi, then another Awataguchi blade.

 

We drank some more tea, in hundred year old bowls, then he announced we wer going out to dinner in one of the Tokyo best Korean barbecue.

 

It all appeared in dream, I have stiil a goose flesh.

 

An advice, don't focuss too much on the hada. It changes according to the period and the polish. Focuss on the hamon and boshi.

 

If you want to study a school, there is only one way: have 12 blades laid side by side and study them. It took us five hours, but I think I can know kantei Ko Bizen. 7 of the Ichimonji were signed.

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John,

 

I'll post pictures tomorrow, but not of Sekendo venue, it would have been bad manner..forgeotto mention a Kagemitsu

 

40 swords, 85% late Heian beginning Kamakura, DTI seemed dull, only two ko Bizen, only one signed at 65M¥. How many of you guys, present at DTI, has had this occasion. BTW, I went to the Hosokawa Museum, special exibits. Only a Masamune and a Norishige tanto, one is at least juyo Bunkazai. The koshirae were fabulous, several swords and tsuba juibi level too...

 

One of the Ichimonji blade on display (Fukuoka) has for mirror the one made by Ohno Yoshimitsu

 

http://www.tsuruginoya.com/mn1_3/a00347.html

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An advice, don't focuss too much on the hada. It changes according to the period and the polish. Focuss on the hamon and boshi.

 

That is also what Miyano sensei has mentioned to me as his key to kantei.

 

If you want to study a school, there is only one way: have 12 blades laid side by side and study them. It took us five hours, but I think I can know kantei Ko Bizen. 7 of the Ichimonji were signed.

 

Indeed....An eye opening experience, isn't it? Glad you had the opportunity....I know what you mean by goosebumps....

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Chatting with one of the dealers last Friday and asked how the sales went. He said there was a slight overall disappointment throughout. Perhaps the general dealer expectation had been that with the cheaper yen rate there would be more overseas visitors carrying more ready cash. In the event there were not as many customers as had been hoped.

 

I said that in my experience the prices at the DTI are too high and he agreed. Maybe some of the dealers set the initial price extra high to cover booth rental and in the expectation that there will be some inevitable haggling...?

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A dealer once told me that the DTI is kind of a fashion show for sword dealers- more about making an impression than a sale....Prices there, even during the bottom of the economic collapse, didn't really reflect the reality of the market and were higher than what could be found in other outlets in my experience. It appeared to me that things changed there a bit once a larger contingent of non-Japanese started attending but by and large it is definitely full retail shopping for the most part.

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Damn, Piers, how could I/we miss you at the DTI - did you wear a mask? ;) :lol:

 

Anyhow, it's kind of funny that the dealers (5 or 6) I talked to were quite pleased with the sales; I can only remember one year that they were not. Probably depends on the individual dealer.

 

Quality is always expensive, but there were some great deals this year. I bought a tsuba on the first day, something I never did before. It was very reasonably priced to begin with (especially when it turned out that it already had tokubetsu hozon papers), and knowing the dealer for many years, I even got a 20% discount. Curran told me later that I beat an acquaintance of his to it. And there were quite a few more deals like that - unfortunately my pockets were not deep enough to take advantage of them all ... :cry:

 

In my experience, dealers at the DTI leave their usual price stickers on their items - not higher, but certainly also not lower prices. On the last day you can get some great discounts from the dealers who didn't sell as much as they hoped, if you're a gambling man and can show real patience. Unfortunately I'm (usually) not, and buy most items on the second day after making up my mind. :oops:

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It was interesting to see the actvity on the last day. I wasnt there to buy but was looking at three swords for a friend. He was away until the last afternoon. In the space of 15 minutes two of the three I had earmaked had been sold :(

He eventually bought the third one which he isvery happy with. I also felt many of the dealers had relaxed a little by the third day and were happier to let people look at various blades and talk to me about them. Overall they were very helpful and accomodating.

As said previously it was a well worthwhile trip and one I hope to repeat at some point in the future.

Regards

Paul

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This was my first DTI.

 

The return trip and jetlag was brutal, but the trip otherwise worth every day of it.

I spent the first half of the trip with my 1989 host family. They are a very kind healthy family from a blue collar industrial port town in central Japan. River fished, ate, and drank with them.

 

The second part being the DTI, went to Tokyo and had the pleasure of meeting Jean, Marc, Henri, Guido, Paul, and many others for the first time. In particular, spoke to many Japanese I knew only through years of internet correspondence.

 

The swords: knew they would be excellent. You would be talking, and a Japanese gent would walk up and quietly buy the $100,000 blade displayed in the cabinet at your feet. I was surprised at the level of activity. Some people had very high prices. Others did not, and things sold rapidly.

 

The fittings: exceptional koshirae. There was a very strong showing of Higo fittings, up to the Tokubetsu Juyo level behind one or two counters. Several members grabbed the higher quality Jingo pieces here and there. If not purchased the first or second day, they were mostly gone by the third. Guido and another stealth NMB member did good to purchase the ones they did when they did. A gold and shakudo Hazama went surprisingly fast.

Noticeably absent: top level early Akasaka or pre-Edo Owari pieces. Saw some very good ones up to a few TH level, but no great ones at the Juyo or higher level.

Did get to see nearly a dozen Kaneiye and finally developed an appreciation for them that I had never quite had from the books. Also saw one of the best Nobuiye at the NBTHK Museum. About a dozen Nobuiye were for sale on the show floors. Someone asked me if I liked Umetada work. I replied "Sometimes" in Japanese, expecting anything. Instead, I was shown an Umetada Myoju work at the level I'd previously seen in books. At that level, I didn't think it was for sale (just show-n-tell) but it supposedly changed owners within hours after I saw it.

 

Favorite kodogu dealer was a polite one on the 3rd floor. I'd heard of them for years, but they do not do internet. Came away from them with a silver f/k set: papered, published ko-mino. Not something to break the bank account, but absolutely lovely and an item I would never hope to find in the USA.

 

I dropped off a few items for shinsa, most of them carried for friends. If you can find the time and bear the expense, definitely make the DTI at least once.

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BTW, I must confess I disappointed Curran as he was expecting me to speak English like Maurice Chevalier with a thick French accent :)

AND??? Brian, can we insert voice clips as per photos??? C'mon Jean, we need an audio file to hear exactly what your accent is. My most memorable French accent isn't Maurice Chevalier (though it does resonate inside my head still); no, it is Pepé Le Pew. As Pepé might say, and certainly Maurice, Vive la difference!!

 

BaZZa.

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Just back from Japan.,

 

DTI was again an excellent learning experience for me.

 

Actually met Jean at Robert's Benkyokai, and his accent is best described as a suave combination of Maurice Chevalier, Charles Trenet, Jean Dujardin with a little Piaf.... ;)

 

On the Holiday Monday, one of the highlights of my trip was the Meiji Jingu Embu organised by the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai.

 

A host of Koryu schools showing both their armed and unarmed forms.

 

There was also a Yabusame parade and demonstration on a specially prepared track.

 

Inspirational!!

 

Cheers

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BTW, I must confess I disappointed Curran as he was expecting me to speak English like Maurice Chevalier with a thick French accent :)
I never gave much thought to your possible Chevalier accent, but would love to see you doing a Louis de Funès impersonation next year! :lol:
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