w.y.chan

I read it was the most interesting thread particularly for newer members. Also the subject has been done to death so no point going into it because bandwidth are scarce on here. Personally it was interesting to hear from long time collectors how they look after their swords, not that one way of doing so is better than another. The kind of uchiko and oil being sold and used I believe are not all the same, maybe a list of recommendation is needed to sort out the good from the not so good?

Hi All, Its been awhile since I last visited here. On the subject of sword preservation why is this thread locked? http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14814&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=camelia

Hi Ian, You are the celebrity TV star, who else could best place to have a photo of that represent the northern To-ken Actually I thought for a brief moment could it be Sadaichi the late Ningen Kokuho sometimes referred to as Sadakazu II since it was labelled 1930s but everything points to Meiji era, a fine blade. Do you know if this new Japanese ambassador continue the honorary patron of your society as his predecessor was?

This show was attended by the new Japan ambassador to the UK Shin Ebihara. Event was very well attended probably a thousand came through the door at my university (its were I work) with Taiko drummers, martial arts, arts & crafts, etc, and also members of the Northern To-ken with swords & armour on display. A fine sword collection from Chris. My role was Liverpool08 and university press photographer for the day, here is a picture of Ian Bottomley hope he don't mind me posting here

Tatsuhiko Konno is of the Fujishiro school of polishers

Glad to see the subject of sword care has been re-raised as it should be as much as possible as it was in the old forum and in other forums. viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3165&hilit=tsubaki Fujishiro oil & uchiko has been around for awhile, first use them about 14 years ago and still for me they are the best. I tried 2 different polisher's premium uchiko and no I wil not use them again on polished blades.

Choji or clove oil in Japanese sword maintenance is just a by word and dont really meant what it actually is, maybe just the smell. In the olden days they use Tsubaki or camellia oil sometimes called tea oil use for womens hair, small percentage of clove may have been added? These oil look yellow but when dried tend to get rather sticky. I heard sewing machine oil is good. The best ones I have used are the clear Fujishiro oil most likely mineral which leaves little to no stickiness and easily wipe off, they also sell tsubaki oil.

Hi Darcy, I thought it might be a Rai school but changed my mind and gave no real attempt. I dont know if you do it often but sometimes to see the texture of the sword better on photo it might be useful to photograph them in a more natural light or at an angle similar to what you use to do on your website gallery.

Looks like yamato school or Taima. Could be wrong though as it looks quite healthy for late Kamakura. Other factors like lens distortion can alter the shape of the sword, also very difficult to see the jihada on my screen.

It appears Shoji Yoshihara has taken over as Chairman of the All Japan Swordsmith Association replacing Gassan Sadatoshi. This is a very important position in contemporary sword world and previously the position was a shoe in for Ningen Kokuho.

He is a bit of a Diamond Geezer isnt he? Not just the Hitora sword but the others too :D Must admit being too helpful did worked against me on many a deals. If someone did all the hardwork he deserve the reward so nothing wrong there but I bet he drinks Horlicks :lol:

Ian, sorry to hear what happened but not surprise there is going to be difficulty so soon after the implementation of the new law. There is going to be hiccups on the way and it will be a learning curve for the custom people. I am not sure if bonifide dealers selling to the UK would have problems if they put their business details as traders of genuine art swords. A little while ago Clive Sinclaire mentioned that custom people have his details and whenever imports from overseas arrives it get through the system without problem. Maybe customs should setup a database with collectors and martial artists so they dont subject to any restrictions?

I didnt know there was a "Southern Token"?

A store I believe in Tokyo sells ready made shinsakuto off the shelf and those long swords by the Yoshihara brothers were between 3.5 to 4 million yen about the same as if you want one made direct from the smith. Prices varies depend were you get them. I think 2.5 million yen woud be the expected secondary market price for swords by top mukansa at department store prices.

This one appeared in Aoi yesterday and hold within hours http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/katana/08040.html At least this one is real unlike the many gendai big name fakes being sold on ebay by one seller we all know. Given the current economic situation it is nice to see such swift demand for quality new swords. New swords are like investment, quality matters but more importantly the smith matters more, with big names in higher demand especially one likely to become LNT very soon.

Jacques, That Gassan look like a gimei. Contrary to the hype while he is highly respected as a senior smith Sadakatsu does make swords for the military many made by his students and quite possibly signed by them too. While it is possible that this sword in question is one of those student's work I somehow doubt it because smiths of the Gassan mon are all equally capable of the same finishing of the nakago and signing of mei like those of Sadakatsu and hard to distinguish if they are signing their teacher's mei.

Dear Paul, Thankyou for your time in posting. If I recall there was one other case involving a brother of a well known black athlete who was arrested for using a replica samurai sword a few years ago. The police argues that "Samurai swords" is fast becomming a weapons of choice for gangs, possibly implying a particular ethnic group though did not emphasise which. I find that an overstatement based on at least what the gutter press had gleefully reported, some of these crimes involving these immitation swords were mostly committed by whites, not always necessary under 21 or involves robbery, mostly were mental disorder, domestic violence, suicide. Crimes that may have still occured regardless if a sword is involved and certainly across all racial, social and even gender divide. The last case reported involving so call samurai sword attack the assailent was a woman in a domestic dispute. As far as immitation swords is concerned I think this idea of a gang culture is a bit of sensationalist reporting by the police picking on a soft target.

Hi All, The issue of race and immigration has been brought up. I am not talking about knives or guns but out of the handful of crimes committed by replica samurai swords how many of these are committed by immigrants and ethnic minorities?

Hi Ian, Please to know you are well again, wellcome back.

Thanks keith, In my view sword collecting is a personal thing. Different schools and certain smiths offers are particular style that suite an individual's tastes. I often wonder how western eyes sees a native Japanese arts and consider its beautiful. Why some people prefer the restrained look of Yamashiro style while others like something that stands out across the room? "Which qualified person tells us a work of art is good" is often the question raised in my art history class. Perhaps the only qualified person is the artist themselves? While some people likes Kiyomaro others dont. The points of this thread was really about the tanto in Aoi.

Bob, I gree with you there is a certain aura in status surrounding Kiyomaro were his life story as an artist mark him out as someone of historical important in the art field, ie Van Gogh. Everyone like a story. However unlike impressionists and modern painters his swordmaking need to be judged to a high standard to merit the kind of accolade that scholars consider as fine art. I can think of one or two smiths since that is skilled and gained notoriety or avant guarde status in the sword world. Please dont call me WY, I am Wah.

Thanks Brian for your correction, I had a quick look at the thread before work and it was the first posting by Bill that caught me unaware. Now that the auction is over care to comments about the blade?

I believe that is an error in translation.

Most interesting comments for a first post, welcome to the board.

I would not be surprise restoration work would not have taken place if the orginal condition werent documented because by having the original profile of the shape as a Kiyomaro school recorded it was "safe" to have the alteration done and genuinity is guaranteed. It would be interesting if the NBTHK would gave it paper if this tanto was presented with all the alterations but without its historical background.