Wim V

In attachment the results of part I. Christies_NY_1992_Sale-7420_Results.pdf

Hi, Maybe try rubbing gently with a piece of bone or ivory? I must say I'm quite surprised you have new rust developing in the Netherlands if you keep your swords oiled in shirasaya. Or do you live in a very humid environment?

Dear all, I started this juyo and tokuju "pass rate exercise" already a while ago, based on the results published in Token Bijutsu, and you can find my overview in attachment. For Juyo the table is not complete as my collection of Token Bijutsu only goes back to 1968, for some years the results are not listed in the magazine (for example juyo sessions 21 and 22) and I don't have the Zufu books. As some already have mentioned, you can see that until juyo 28 the pass rate was indeed quite high (sometimes over 50%). From juyo 29 on the pass rate seems to be more around 10 - 15%. Wim NBTHK_Juyo_Shinsa.pdf

The nengo does not mention Showa 59 in this case, but uses the "Kinoe Ne" (甲子) indication from the 60 year zodiac cycle (see Sexagenary cycle - Wikipedia for more info). Since the Showa era runs from 1926 to 1989, the only possible Kinoe Ne combination in this era corresponds to 1984. Other Kinoe Ne years are for example 1924, 1864, 1804, 1744 etc. Hope this helps ...

The date is mentioned as Showa Kinoe Ne Hachi Gatsu Hi, which corresponds to 1984.

I haven't heard from Mr. Duindam recently, but as he is the chairman of the Dutch Token Society, you could try to contact a member of their management board, as I suppose they are in contact on a regular basis. I found two names on the www.to-ken.nl website: JM Bonsel: m.bonsel@upcmail.nl Leen van Ochten: leenvanochten@hotmail.com Good luck and i hope Lody is well. Best regards, Wim

For your information: 第27回特別重要刀剣指定品発表.pdf (touken.or.jp) 展覧会 | 刀剣博物館 (touken.or.jp) As always, quite an interesting list. And in addition to the top Koto-names, it seems noteworthy that there is again a Sa Yukihide blade in the selection (as it was in shinsa 26).

Impressive piece, well done!

Hello Brano, If you are looking for the Japanese index, see attachment (I don't have an English translation sorry). Best NBTHK_24°Tokubetsu-Juyo_2016.pdf

I had not seen the story on Facebook, so I am very happy to find this article here. I enjoyed reading it very much, the amount of research is really excellent. And your concluding remarks are indeed very generous and honorable. My greatest respect and congratulations!

Congratulations, a very useful and interesting index I think! A Big Thank You for sharing it.

monthly bump: kantei N° 763 is waiting for your vote: https://www.touken.or.jp/english/nbthk/swordjournal_August.html

Hi all, My parents bought a bronze vase at a local auction house, see pictures in attachment please. I assume the signature reads Takamitsu or Ryuko (隆光), although I am not 100% sure. Please correct me if I am mistaken. I have absolutely zero knowledge regarding vases. So, Is anyone familiar with such kind of vase? Or do you know where to find more info on the maker? The auction house labeled this as "Edo period" but that means roughly 1600 - 1868. Is there a way to pin this down more specifically? Thank you for any info. Best regards, Wim

Calling all NBTHK members, Shijo Kantei Nr 761 (June issue) is up and running and waiting for your participation. Please place your bids : https://www.touken.or.jp/english/nbthk/swordjournal_June.html

Mr. Robert Hughes (Keichodo)

Done

+1: Any member from the Enomoto family: father Sadayoshi or his sons Tatsuyoshi and Sadahito. They consistently produce(d) very good quality work and somehow they seem a bit underrated, so you can often find their work for a decent price (in my opinion).

Dear all, Recently, the NBTHK announced on their website that, due to Corona, the shipment of the monthly Token Bijutsu magazine to overseas members will be seriously delayed. For those members who like to participate in the monthly kantei exercise this would raise a small problem, as you have to submit your answer before the 5th of the following month. However, to my pleasant surprise I noticed that the NBTHK now offers the possibility to submit your answer electronically: https://www.touken.or.jp/english/nbthk/swordjounal_April.html You can download the oshigata, read the description and then fill in your membership details and answer, and hit the submit button No need anymore to fill in the answer card (which is presented in Japanese) and attach a stamp. So as taking part in the Shijo Kantei is now easier than ever, I would like to encourage all NBTHK members to try and participate. I know this paper form of kantei can not be compared to the real live experience, but it's still a nice exercise, which forces you to think about the details of a certain blade and hit the books. It would be very nice to see a large response of the non-Japanese members. That way it could maybe motivate the NBTHK to keep this system up and running even after Corona.

Looks like Kaneyasu (包保). I would suggest looking up the chapter on the Kaneyasu school in Nihon-Shinto-Shi by Markus Sesko.

Hello Jussi, I have all Japanese issues starting from number 135 (April 1968) until today. So I do have the years you are looking for but unfortunately I don't intend to sell them. But if there is some specific info you are looking for I could maybe scan some pages to help you out for the time being? Let me know if interested ...

Mito school (水戸) tsuba, unsigned.

I agree with Steve. The overall shape looks quite pleasing to me. Nakago seems to be unaltered (ubu), and the yasurime look like taka-no-ha, which indicates indeed Mino (Seki) work. What we can see from the hamon seems to confirm this: gunome with a hint of togariba. Yes the kitae-ware looks a bit troublesome, but we have seen other miraculous restoration works in the past. A good togishi may be able to save this one.

https://yuhindo.com/recommended-books.html

I suppose you gentlemen may be referring to the article "The Yamato Hosho Tradition from Kamakura till the Present, Reunion after Thirty Years", by Mr. Han Bing Siong? This was published in Token Bijutsu nr 556 (May 2003 issue), and can also be found on Darcy's website as reference information with the description of an important Hosho blade that once was in the collection of Mr. Han: https://yuhindo.com/hosho-sadakiyo/

After some extra searching, I think the reading is: "Nemoto Hiroshi Chūjō Haitō"