Derek

It was a pleasure to meet you! The Sadamori was excellent; I know they spent some time talking about it. The submissions overall this year were lower quality than 5 years ago, but the best were much better. I saw four submissions that were among the best I have ever seen.

Just over 500 submissions total. About 90% were swords. It was really great to see so many old friends from the nmb…

In April, I volunteered to help Chris Bowen in the shinsa room for the NTHK-NPO. My good friend Joe Kraninger and I spent all weekend matching shinsa worksheets to swords, and returning to customers. I met many of amazing people from this forum, and got the pleasure of seeing several hundred swords, and observed the process first hand . I have no affiliation with the nthk-npo; In fact, the majority of my swords are papered by the NBTHK. I can say that during the entire weekend, I never witnessed anyone interact with the judges inside the shinsa room, beyond saying hello. All questions about a judgement went through Chris or myself, and the judges would usually explain to Chris and he would translate. I do know that no one saw names or addresses matched to swords, other than Chris. I do agree that shinsa is only a professional opinion, however, I would take Miyano Sensei's opinion very seriously.

My magoroku Kanemoto is the only one to bite me in over 20 years. ????

I took a few pan photos to show how amazing it was to have a line of example tanto side by side. Hopefully, they upload here

Tanto

Presentations

The presentation was excellent. Markus spoke first, giving a high level discussion of the history of the tanto. He is a fanstastic speaker, and a true gentleman. Chris Bowen then followed with specific details of the lineage and style of smiths creating tanto since the Meiji period. He went into great detail about how each school influenced the folllowing generations. Finally, we spent as much time as we wanted to inspect over 40 tanto on display. As Chris said, this may have been the greatest single display of 20th century tanto that has ever been in a single room at any one time. I will add a few basic photos that I took with my phone. I know joe spent many hours after the presentation to take very detailed photos, and is planning a book based on them.

OK, I'm prepared to be way off here..... #1 - Early shinshinto based on sugata and health of nakago. Strong sori, very healthy blade. Ubu. Bright jihada, bizen, with some mino influence. Nice bohi, not cut down, imitation of older blade. Maybe one of the early shinshinto bizen guys..... Bizen Yokoyama Sukenaga. Tenpo Era-1830 #2 - Kanbun shape. A little machikuri, Shinto. Shallow sori, medium length. Jihada looks thin. Hizen. Later Tadayoshi school....... Tadayoshi 4th Gen. Genroku Era - 1688. #3 - Old Koto. O suriage. Deep sori, bohi through nakago. Tired jihada, and hard to see details as well as other two. Nanbokucho. Something makes me feel Samonji School, maybe a student of O-Sa...... Sadayasu. Oei Era- 1394. Cheers! Derek

Just sharing an announcement from Chris regarding Chicago NTHK shinsa papers———- NTHK-NPO Shinsa Kantei-sho Update The kantei-sho for items submitted Thursday and Friday will be in the mail Monday. Items submitted Saturday and Sunday will be shipped later in the week. Thanks again to all who participated....

Grats Joe!

I got asked a lot about the percentage of passes. I saw almost every sword and paper Friday through Sunday, and to be honest, I didn’t keep track. The shinsa team did comment that they were really impressed by the quality of swords this time, and that it rivaled or bettered the quality of swords they usually see at shinsa in Japan. I think 70-80 % pass for a ballpark guess. Maybe 400 swords roughly. The majority of the fails were not a surprise to me, or the owners. I noticed maybe three that got bounced that I really liked. I was very surprised at the number of really quality swords that are quietly held in collections, and no one ever sees. About five swords and two koshirae really blew me away.

Kidding aside, I remember that gentleman. Very nice guy, and I'm sure Fred will respond to you with his name. He did have quite a few really nice items, so good luck.

Silver / white hair, and smoked cigars? Hmmmmm 50% of those in attendance? ????

I had a very nice time at the show. It seemed like a good number of people, in a nice spacious room. I was impressed by the number of tables, and representation by sellers that I have not seen in Chicago. I saw a few of the dealers from Japan in attendance, which was cool. I only bought a few small things, but I always learn something when I go to a show. Some folks said that sales were slower, but I did see quite a few nice tsuba get snatched up. The staff were all extremely courteous, especially Tom, who is a true gentleman. The shinsa seemed to be very busy. The hotel was quite easy to get to, and has a free shuttle bus running the short distance to the airport. I only took one photo on my phone, which was of the shinsa team. I always plan on taking a few pictures, but the day just flies by, and I usually forget. I think that it is worth the time and effort to attend the show there, especially as it is comparatively easy to get into the SFO airport.

I had a difficult sayagaki from Tanobe San translated by Markus. It was a very professionally done translation, and was $30.

Sorry to hear that, Randy. I also hope you reconsider. Some people are just never happy. Although I agree with Darcy that the site was difficult to navigate, I was really impressed with the work you have done. To be honest with you, I have received the same kind of messages, and it is disheartening. Both a study I did on nihonto oil, and my Muramasa website, received many negative emails, even though both were done for free, in the spirit of sharing knowledge. I just chose to ignore the a-holes and focus on the feedback from the people here that I respect. I would hope that you do the same.

Sorry my friend, I am away from my computer until tomorrow evening. So I am unable to send you specifics until then. However, Michael is spot on according to what I have sources for. (And a true gentleman, as well!) i will buy as many as you have at $3500 ????

Robert, I currently have two Muramasa nihonto, and owned a few others, and can assure you that I have never had curse-like occurrences. My wife actually likes my Muramasa tanto most of my entire collection. ???? I have bought and sold a few, and have sale data for about 10 lately, which I will pm you.

113,468 x $300 fee = $39,713,800 (not including juyo) Give me 3% and I will create that database with a smile.

I was thinking more for future shinsa, but whatever. Sorry to offer an idea for customer service and educational improvement. I didn't mean to offend anyone with my audacious and insulting question.....

"but in the end demand talks and other stuff walks...." Great point, Jeremiah. I just joined the JSSUS now, which I should have done long ago. I am still torn regarding the NBTHK.

"get a big subscriber base here in USA and they will be more receptive." I guess it is a simple question, but I am torn. I feel uneasy joining an organization, in hopes that it may possibly consider my opinion at a later date? Maybe I feel like they should want me to join, and show a little proactivity..... Many of you have made it clear that they will not change, as there is no reason to, and i am not their audience. But isn't it possible that the NBTHK may want more of a global footprint? Perhaps showing an interest, and making my opinion known may bear fruit? Is it necessary to expect change, or is it okay to express ones thoughts? Am I not allowed an opinion if I am not a member? I am still a customer, and potential member..... In a way, I feel as though this forum belongs to all of us as a collective. Perhaps our collective voice here is a chance to wield more influence than a single voice? I guess, in the end, I don't expect change from anything i say here. But i do think that it is important that we feel free to express our thoughts.

That is a good point, Mark. I wonder if 99% is really what we are looking at. If so, then it does add to the complexity.

This has already been an interesting conversation to me; the differing viewpoints expressed with thought and courtesy has been refreshing. Number one, I have only been collecting nihonto for 14 years, which is a very short time. I do have a respectable collection though. I really do appreciate the NBTHK, their origami, their history, and what they do for collectors. I have submitted many items for shinsa, and really only disappointed by results one time. My post was not really aimed at questioning or criticizing, but really an open discussion for ideas. I am not a member of the NBTHK, but there have been compelling reasons posted here for doing so, and may reconsider. “One way or another your appeal should surely reach their ears.” I have already been messaged by two members of the NBTHK who would like to fwd this to the organization. “Even if it does reach their ears (and im sure it has), i doubt nothing will change. The answer is simple, they dont need to.” Change is growth. Is the NBTHK so great that it can’t be replaced, if they don’t change? “A lot of people here use the NBTHK shinsa services and comment on them and suggest ways they might improve. But how many are actually members of the NBTHK and support their activity through their annual membership fees?” …. “Sorry I didn't mean this to sound like a recruitment drive for the NBTHK (but I guess it is) but I do think increasing membership outside of Japan would be a good first step to making the changes you have asked for happen.” Paul, I really admire you. You make a very clear and concise argument. I am not a member, so why do I care? Maybe I should, and you make a good case to do so. “Building a database with associated website for lookup would be worthwhile, though I suspect that it would best be done if the photos/oshigata were associated with the entries, a task that involves time,expertise and expense.” Actually, I was thinking of a very simple excel format listing certificate number, attribution, length, and certificate type. I don’t think that this would be a huge investment in time or money? “The overseas number of NBTHK members is unfortunately very small. I was actually bit shocked when I found that out.” This is another good point that I had not considered. “Well swords are not that hot among the common folks and it will always be a very niche hobby. So it will be very difficult to attract new interested folks to this hobby.” And I just suggested three simple points to help facilitate this. “I think the announcement about fake papers might have made people bit too nervous. Of course I do not have the slightest idea about the severeness of the issue but I thought it wasn't / isn't a too big deal” You may be right, but it seems to be a continuing subject. I think the legitimacy of an organization’s authentication papers are paramount to reputation. This would surely be a step in that direction? “NBTHK membership is expensive in the USA - $250 Compare with JSSUS $45” I guess that is why I think of the NBTHK as primarily as issuing papers. “As outsiders we are given a window seat, but, as an institutional body no seat at the table. I remember meetings where we had small contingents relative to native members. We have no lobby to change anything and rely on invitation and must be thankful for that.” I do not accept that we should just be happy to be outside viewers. If that is the future, then I respectfully withdraw my interest in the NBTHK. This is also part of the reason I started this thread. To sit in quiet acceptance with the status quo is to passively encourage it. Why is it not my right to express my dissatisfaction? “Everyone here is interested in the subject, otherwise they wouldn't be here contributing to the leading organisation in the field which is not a commercial organisation but a self funding charity does not seem unreasonable, especially if we want things to change in our favour. “ Again, well said, and much to think about. “Not so sure about #3 if an item passes that sort of speaks for itself, hard to get them to explain why, even the NTHK(s) does not do that on their points sheet.” But why can’t they add it? Because no one does? Again, why not be cutting edge? They will write several paragraphs for Juyo Zufu, why not a sentence on every pass? Just think of the educational value. Again, please don’t see my posts as blind criticism. My point is for an open conversation on what would be beneficial in the eyes of collectors. This is their stated mission: “Its purposes include preservation through study and research of Japanese Art Swords and related items, educating students and enthusiasts of Japanese swords and sword fittings, and support of related specialist craftsman in sword restoration and conservation trades.”