w.y.chan

Yes I'm him but I often get mistaken for Wah. Come see me play at Liverpool O2 Academy at end of July

Morioka Masayoshi early Taisho era Wah

of swords and guitars Wah

Maybe you are right but since the blacksmith claim came from books were his grandson were joint authors I cannot at this stage dispute that too so at this point I would say he is both a toolmaker and a blacksmith. Maybe he does blacksmithing as a hobby and that how he became interested in tamahagane and swordmaking? Who knows. Wah

Sorry I alway read from various sources that he was both a toolmaker and a blacksmith http://www.theartofthejapanesesword.com/yoshindo_story.php http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=c7YeN0F5tn4C&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&dq=yoshihara+kuniie++blacksmith&source=bl&ots=yQ13Q7ua4E&sig=8lpxAqwq0NFosjbXSkXkNIyeJxQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ebZQU7HOO4aYPeGagZAJ&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=yoshihara%20kuniie%20%20blacksmith&f=false

Kuniie use to be a blacksmith before he became a swordsmith and I believe at the beginning he was self trained and uses the mei Katsukichi or something like that. About 10yrs ago I saw one of his sword signed as such Katsukichi and it look very amatuerish but you can tell he was getting somewhere, possibly made around 1930 and probably before he had any formal training from Shigetsugu. Wah

I've seen a josun length WW2 Okimasa that has the quality and sugata identical to his postwar works right down to the mei apart from the date of course. These top smiths were making shinsakuto before and during the war alongside their war effort stuff. Wah

Ginza Choshuya seems to be the first port of call for movie stars and tourists looking for something special. Jackie Chan had ordered a custom made daisho with this dealer, I remember Paul Martin mentioning to me about this during his vist to Yoshikazu when the swords were being made http://web.archive.org/web/20090221102259/http://world.choshuya.co.jp/jackie/index.htm Wah

I never seen a daisho from Shigetsugu before and this pair looks like a prime example of the smith's work. The listing link says 2012 so I'm not sure if this is current anymore. The dealer generally seem to be more expensive than some other places, Wah

So it was'nt a cameo appearance but based around the smith's work. Very interesting. I wonder who commisioned the documentary? Did they seek out the director who chose the smith or did they seek out the smith first and chose a director that is local? If and when permission is granted I look forward to seeing this documentary. Wah

Looks like a finely forged tanto. I think it is the same blade Billy told me about years ago, amazing how a polish can bring it to life. No doubt Billy will go on about it now. If it was submitted to NBTHK I wonder what paper it will get? Other than Gassan Sadakatsu and Sadamitsu I cant recall an early Showa or WW2 era blade getting Tokubetsu Hozon. Wah

It appears people pay a premium for big name smiths and swords that has a reputation tend to sell easier. For a while people got excited over average smiths such as Emura, Nagamitsu and Kanezane because there was write ups about them in English and everyone in the English speaking world thought they were the real deal. There are art collectors, history collectors and there are name collectors but when it comes to gendaito I get the feeling the latter of these categories is were some of the big hitters want to spend their money on but this could also be true of other eras too. At the end of the day a collectable is only worth what people are willing to pay. Wah

Chris, that is about right. All gendaito by top makers are similarly priced Here is a very nice Ka almost josun for 900,000 yen or $9k I retrieved it via web archive and had it been just 4 millimetre longer it would have been 1 million yen or $10k http://web.archive.org/web/20090202113037/http://samuraishokai.jp/sword/08101.html Wah

This kind of make the special order 28.5" Shibata Ka to commemorate the Nanking invasion Chris sold a few years ago cheap at $10k. I believe the current Japanese dealer sale price for a super example recently sold Ka blade over 70cm in polish with paper is Yen 900,000 or just under USD $9k with shorter example to be much less. Wah

I see what you mean but partly for similar reason as yours is why I collect WW2 gendaito and kindaito. Obviously it depend on what sort of history you are interested in. If it is "Samurai" history you are after then gendaito is not your subject Wah

Great news they have all three reels and more Okimasa. Kind of make sense if they all are together, just a bit of encouragement to locate them. I missed out on a great Okimasa lately but I have patient, these things comes around all the time Wah

A Japanese dealer told me a collector in the UK requested he declare the sword he sent as "sporting goods" as use for Iai practitioner. Apparenly it got in with no problem. Maybe custom official thought I was a 10th dan Iaido master :lol: Wah

A few years ago when the UK government was still shaping the law on importing swords that put a chill on people buying from abroad, Clive mentioned that he had no problem with customs because they knew him and his involvement with sword legislation with the Home Office. If the letter of the law is applied there should'nt be any problem with importing swords old or new as long as it is art swords into the UK. Unfortunately all it takes is an inexperience custom official and everything becomes a mess. Wah

Paul, I have no problems lately with Parcel Force via UPS and customs over in Coventry. Process was smooth and fast including a purchase of a brand new shinsakuto. Only have to pay custom fees. Maybe Coventry custom official is discriminating? Wah

Maybe Wales should split from the UK and have a more liberal customs

Having not bought from overseas for a few years until recently I share your anxiety but I was relieved to know my recent purchases from Japan went without any problem and cleared UK custom within minutes. I hadnt bought from the US of late so cannot verify importing swords other than from Japan. If you heard otherwise and there were indeed problems maybe I was lucky. Since I don't consider myself a collector but merely to get hold of a particular sample, learn about it and move it on to real collectors you and other UK folks might have an opportunity to purchase what I acquired abroad. Wah

I'm sure many excellent smiths, following Japan's defeat in WW2, gave up swordmaking. There is probably more than a few who lost enthusiam and no longer felt the pride they once had before and during the war. I'm not sure how much this has affected the smiths who continue to make swords straight after 1955 compare to their "special work" from WW2 era. I guess some might even be a bit rusty having not made any long swords for about 10yrs. Wah

There are swords made during WW2 that is purely for appreciation and not for military service but these are swords that the smith spent a lot of time making and are very rare but do exist. Even special order swords made during WW2 that are shorter than 2 shaku 3 sun in blade length are most likely ordered by an officer who intend to carry it for active service and still may not be the smith's best work. If all things are equal, with a historical attachment, personally for me a sword from WW2 would be more valueble to one made after 1955 if both swords are equally artistic in quality and by the same smith. The chance of that happening is rare. Most swords from almost any particular WW2 smiths that you are likely to encounter is the shorter swords made for the military and usually does not compare with their work after 1955. Wah

Chris, glad you get to finally see this. I was suspecting this is a general documentary about swords with Okimasa making a brief appearance but is worth seeing the smith in action. Did you get those prints from the Japanese seller? Wah

Chris, please to know that you are finally able to see the film. In a trilogy the second "usually" is the most relevent in a documentary. Lets hope it is the swordmaking part. Perhaps when you go and meet them they may be able to tell you how the film come to their possesion and the possibility of finding the 2 other reels, Wah