Gakusee

Has anyone asked Eckhard Kremers for his thoughts?

Hi Simon i believe this was in the “golden era” in the U.K. when mukansa togishi Kenji Mishina san lived here and helped Graham Curtis and Clive Sinclaire (and others among my tutors and predecessors) bring the shinsa teams over here. For the last 15years there has not been a U.K. shinsa. There have been discussions about one but the practicalities and necessary scale (eg several hundred swords necessary, organisation committee willing to collect deposits and hold the swords, and organise the 3-day event, etc) have thus far prevented one from happening. Add to that the increasingly stringent U.K. legislation about sword ownership and the virtual inability to post these in the U.K. to one another. I also believe that in the past many collectors were either not able to buy papered swords easily in the U.K. or were afraid of sending swords to Japan. Nowadays, with the widespread prevalence of the Internet and availability of English information, people have realised that there are 30-40 Japanese dealer websites with an English version, from which they can buy already papered swords in better condition than they can find in the U.K. on average. Also, people like Paul Martin, who indefatigably and graciously ferried and papered swords for U.K. collectors, have opened the eyes of U.K. collectors as to the possibility of swords being sent to Japan and shinsa-ed there. I am always bewildered when my U.K. brethren complain about the lack of options here. Of course, we do not have the plethora our US colleagues benefit from. However, I would say that we do not lack options, but people do not research sufficiently the available avenues to them or do not ask the more experienced collectors here.

Thanks, Tom Yes, it is on my list of things to arrange for the new generation of members / collectors. I am aware the relative “old-timers” have benefitted from both National and Sano museum hands-on sessions (and also at the NBTHK), but the newer generation of collectors (let us say those sub-50) has not availed of these treasures. Hopefully in the next 5-10 years we can establish the relationships to do that.

“Professionally” = one thing and one thing only for a U.K. based collector. Means sent to Japan and polished by a Japanese togishi. There are multiple non-fully-trained European options but we are cautious discussing these. The same comment applies to “papering”. There is no U.K. option for certification, as no shinsa teams come here, unlike the US. I recommend you get in touch with a credible intermediary like Eddy Wertheim or Igor Hochmajer or Pablo Kuntz and discuss your options with them. One of them can take your sword to Japan, if it is worth the effort and fees, and can help you. Otherwise, you can also find an agent in Japan (there are plenty - eg Paul Kremers, Bob Hughes / Keichodo) and ship your sword to them, asking them to help with all the details. Again, you had better ensure that the sword merits that.

May I please check that you have held the Kokuho meito O-Kanehira and not just a sword by Ko-Bizen Kanehira? Would that have been at the NBTHK convention? I have only seen the O-Kanehira behind glass (during the 150th anniversary of the national museum last year). The same applies to KoRyu, which was also displayed there….

Sometimes his juniors merely copy and paste old descriptions from previous listings in order to “more efficiently” translate the new entry. Happens when the sword is by the same or similar (eg same school) maker. Sometimes he uses his own discretion to attach a saijo ranking (if the sword he lists is TJ or J) even if the maker is not a Fujishiro saijo maker. This requires own/deeper knowledge of who the Fujishiro saijo makers are. Eventually, it almost does not matter. Look at the sword first and only after that try to contextualise it with who made it and then figure out whether that maker had this or that ranking according to Tokuno (man yen rating) or Fujishiro.

May he rest in peace… Indeed a great man judging from his posts here and a nice participant in this forum. I hope he is up there with some Daimyo drinking sake, dancing with geisha and looking at great swords.

Thanks, Brian This is very interesting. Nothing to do with sword knowledge per se but more about the psychology and history of collecting or even merely the interest in Japanese swords (as some of the interviewees are not collectors, in their own words).

For me the link does not work

good taste there Colin !

agreed was just contextualising the Awataguchi blade at the show vs the Hikozo tsuba both worthy but different people will ascribe different values to them….

Well, people realise there were more than one Masamune, right? There is a Ko-Bizen one, a Mihara one etc

In response to Steve: yours is a wonderful post and very educational. I agree with all of that. Yet… The Awataguchi worked directly for Gotoba, a much more influential figure than the Hosokawa…. When you put that into perspective and context then things look different. That is early Kamakura period, some 4 centuries before the Hikozo…

Colin, yes the price is staggering to me too but you are referring to the appropriate elements above, which undoubtedly influence the price. Rarity, maker, age etc. By the way, genuine large Natsuo tsuba (is of this size) cost more than that. I am afraid there are too many Natsuo fakes and as far as I know there are no genuine, certified Natsuo in the U.K. I have seen quite a few good imitations, even in U.K. museums, but I am sceptical, as are some people who specialise in Natsuo.

Hi Luc May I please sense check your thoughts on and impressions of the kawari kabuto that I saw on social media below? It looks definitely better executed than the one you originally linked. However, to me the shape is again rather preponderant and bulky. Some recent lacquer work on it too. Thank you.

Thanks for the video. However I do not think he is the most famous or most preeminent polisher by far. Usually those are quiet and not in the limelight too much.

George, let us just say that, as a Bizen collector, I am very familiar with that Munetada blade and the full story behind it. Both Darcy and Ted are good friends of mine, as well as to some extent Tanobe sensei. I cannot comment on this blade as it is not mine. All I can say is that I am very glad that the blade was restored very nicely eventually (beyond recognition) and it found a very good home. In Tanobe sensei’s own words it should easily reach Juyo status…. On some of the points above: using an optical analogy, one needs a complex evaluation process entailing a perspective on own acquisition / collecting objectives viewed through the financial-ability lens with a risk/reward filter against a background of what is available in the market. The risk/rewards filter is for fine-tuning what one is comfortable with. Personally, I have no issues with a shorter blade and prefer to sacrifice length but gain quality. Hence, I sometimes acquire kodachi. Shorter katana/tachi blades are often underpriced and undervalued. Again, the filter is important as is the objective. If one aims for a TokuJu level, then more often than not, one should not sacrifice length (unless we speak of tanto or very rare-smith zaimei kodachi). But if one is content with “only” Juyo and, importantly, understands what one is buying, then length is a subsidiary issue. in relation to your question about what else is available. At the 2022 DTI I bought a blade from a good friend, a Japanese dealer. There was another superb Bizen blade which ended up in the US. He at the 2022 show had a very nice Awataguchi, which also ended up in the US. That blade was well into six figures. From memory, Kusanaginosya had an Awataguchi in the last 6-9 months. At the moment also Sato san (Katananokura) has one but that is in the $115-120k ballpark I seem to remember. And so on…. Do not rush. Take your time. Research. It took me 8 years to find / be able to afford / buy a Muramasa and then finally I got two. Eventually, sold them and moved on to something else.

George, this is from a solid, strict shinsa session (#65). You are clearly not that new to the game if you are looking at Awataguchi, so my presumption is that you are familiar with the laxer, more confusing mid-20s sessions. Shinsa 65 should be solid. Agreement from Tanobe sensei is a second, reliable opinion. If he did not agree, he would not have written the sayagaki. He goes one further: he attributes it to a specific smith. There are various considerations about the smith he has attributed it to - please research. To a comment made above: not all Awataguchi blades have nashiji hada. Some have larger / looser grain too. Yes, ideally you would want nashiji as that is stereotypical. One needs to register the rarity: around 150 Awataguchi Juyo swords….of them roughly 40-50 TokuJu and among the latter - only a couple of short katana. The majority are longer than this. So, length is indeed a factor here. Probably the blade characteristics / smith play a role too. if you can afford it and get a good deal from Fred, why not? Of course, there is always the danger of demonstrating wealth and affordability on the board as that might sometimes attract certain type of commentary. But if you have the ability and financial status to invest as you outline, an Awataguchi is in my humble view a worthwhile investment. Compare also to Eirakudo’s, for completeness, before you pull the trigger. Talk to Fred and some of the collectors with Awataguchi.

At the moment there are 4-5 Awataguchi across different dealers in Japan and US. Perhaps a good time to consider options as indeed these are not common at all…

Been like this for a while. Just use a concatenated complex search in your search engine using the term + aoijapan.net

Jeff - please spend a bit more time reading to familiarise yourself with the context, the meanings, the methods used by smiths and so on. Please firstly understand the quality implications of custom-ordered swords with particular emphasis on what that meant in terms of quality and performance characteristics, before you make sweeping statements about what it might hypothetically mean merely semantically.

Indeed, they were not made for one battle but were simply mass produced swords forged in large numbers and distributed in bundles. M Sesko: kazuuchi-mono (数打ち物) – The changes in the Muromachi period, the insecure times during the warring Sengoku era, and the sword trade with Ming China brought an unprecedented mass production of swords. These mass produced swords became to be called kazuuchi-mono (lit. “made in large numbers”) and the Osafune smiths of Bizen province and the Seki smiths of Mino province were the main producers of such swords. But also Yamato was back then a center of sword mass production. As they were delivered in bundles (taba), they were also referred to as tabagatana (束刀, lit. “bundle swords”) or tabane-mono (束ね物). To distinguish between a mass produced and a elaborately made swords when talking of swords from the Muromachi and Sengoku era, the term chūmon-uchi (注文打ち) was introduced which means lit. “special order sword” or “sword made on order (and not produced ahead for stocks).”Mostly kazuuchi-mono were only briefly signed or not signed at all whereas chūmon-uchi proudly mention the full name of the swordsmith, his place of residence, and the production date on the tang.

Congratulations and enjoy them! Often the greatest pleasure is in the journey, not the destination, and appertaining expectation….So please do not rush to get everything immediately done but savour the anticipation

You both could join established clubs which have regular Zoom sessions. I know the NBTHK AB organises these online sessions and so do other clubs. It is not ideal but if your objective is to “talk swords”, as you both state above, such sessions should at least go some way. Of course, they are no substitute for physical meetings.

Well, have you checked Eddy Wertheim of the Japanese Gallery in Kensington or Pablo Kunz from Unique Japan (who people do not realise is based and lives in the U.K.) and so on? Peter Yorke sadly passed away… There are probably another 5-6 U.K.-based people from whom you can buy papered swords and they operate on a “semi-professional” basis. There are also the various antique dealers who specialise in more than just Asian art eg Peter Finer and his sons and the like. Actually, there are sources (including the auction houses with their biannual Japanese auctions) from where you can buy papered swords in the U.K. . Also, members of the ToKen Society buy and sell from each other too. https://new.uniquejapan.com/home/ japanesegallery.com peterfiner.com NB: I am not endorsing anyone mentioned above and have no relation to these apart from knowing some of them. Caveat emptor and make your own conclusions.