Jean

Same problem, but as I am not smart/bright enough :lol: , I try to take it by surprise. Next time I shall do the C/P from Word

We could even open a new post : "Of the influence of Shintoism on swordsmithing evolution" ...

Clive, I never struggle a lot, I let this to the young ones but I surely sweat/swear a lot

Ted and Bob, you are right, first mentality must changed - and it is a very slow process - unless some kind of revolution happens. 3 weeks ago, I went with Marc Broquin to an Arm fair dedicated to mostly knifes and axes. I bought a small pocket knife from a Japanese smith, I had the choice between 5 different kind of steel and do you guess the one I choose : the one made traditionally as tanto . I know, I am an old f..

Mark is right when saying that the most difficult thing is to find the sword worth the whole polishing process/cost. Be very carefull when choosing your polisher because the cost varies in a huge range. IMO, Unless you have a very very good sword to polish, don't go to Mishina san, he is one of the best polishers in Japan, his waiting list is probably considerable, Darcy's used his services and when you know his collection ..... (between Juyo and TokuJu). Medium blade = medium polisher - top blade = top polisher But before making your move, show your swords to different old Nihonto collectors to have an opinion if it is worth the expenses (Money is difficult to come by nowadays and eay to waste)

Ed, IMO, If I were to judge by the picture, unless polished or you being a seasonned veteran in Nihonto you'll have a hell studying anything

Ted, you are right in saying that swordsmithing can only progree/change/evove if there are patrons/sponsors. How do you get a license to be accepted as sworsmith? How do you make a living? Why are swordsmiths competing in NBTHK yearly competition? Smithing is drawn by the market/taste and the tendency is not for evolution/revolution considering that it is very difficult to make a living as swordsmith. Some very good smiths are doing swords on demand (always traditional). Compare the price of a shinsakuto to a TH blade. You' ll find it easier to get a TH koto blade that a shinsakuto that you'll have to wait for months and at a higher price. Reinhard is right but it is not heading this way

Yes Eric, unusual. I have seen this W-E an unpapered Yukihiro wakizashi (1st generation), ko itame, a mimigata hamon, it is the stoutest wak I have ever seen, il looked like the inferior part of a shortened katana with a width at the hamachi of around 35 mm and about 30mm at the kissaki. Heavier than some of the katana I have held ....

Clive, I have read superfically your book and I was delighted because it is another approach in the books. Next Holidays, I'll read it in depth. From what I have seen, are not you an Hizen addict? and being very nosy, is it your private collection?

I miss him too, what would he say about the $....

Shoami school - Kyoto branch

I know John but it was the occasion for me to precise my thoughts :D :D Now I have a question (it is a question and I have no answer) Artist ranking system (Mukansa ...) depends on the result of NBTHK yearly competition results over several years. What are the chances of obtaining a prize if the work presented differs totally from what is usually presented in the competition? In short, how total innovation would be welcomed by the Jury? Has it already been done and what was the result?

Thanks John to give me the opportunity to clear things I apologize to seem being semantic, probably due to my poor knowledge of English idioma but in French, we are very precised to avoid any misunderstading : a craftsman is merely an artist (whatever his level) in no way a master. In French, very very few craftsmen have the right to be called masters

Mike, Foreword : One cannot generalized saying that craftsmanship nowadays will never equals the past one. There are thousands of counter examples, because people mistake craftsmanship for mastery I entirely agree with what you are saying and there is no contradiction with what I said. Modern Craftsmen can be very good/excellent and equal masterpiece in there tecnical making, it has been done in all art sections and all countries - Opinions on whether, copy/fake are art or not, are controversary. Some says that to be able to achieve perfect fakes (misleading even experts upto certification) of great names makes a faker a great artist because he has not only mastered the technic but also the spirit of the master he has copied, other says no. My feeling on the subject is that technically, nowadays top craftmen are no better or worse than in the past and I agree with you that best craftsmanship does not necessarily make someone a master in terms of creativity. Craftsmanship and mastery must not been mistaken Concerning fakes : The perfect fake is the one nobody is aware of

Everybody is going to be surprised or not ( ) but my Japanese culture is very feeble/weak. All my comments on the board are based on common sense and observation. Adapting Tsuka on a battle field: If you have read the different posts on the Board, it is a direct invitation for Boothill (even without facing the Clanton's clan at OK corral - good movie but not worth "Shane" IMHO). That there is only one mekugi ana location for maximum efficacity on an ubu nakago, I doubt it because I have seen a lot of nakago (some ubu) riddled with bullet holes (mekugi ana) - I have owned several, and they correspond to new koshirae. Now, to be honest, I must confess that I have not met any samurai able to tell me which of Jacques or my theory is the good one. But sorry, I must confess that my evil twin likes to tease him probably because he reads a lot and spend a lot of times studying and that at the opposite I read less but spent more time thinking. A good compromise will be to merge both of us but it will deprived NMB of our "chamaillerie" - Time for you folks to learn French -

In fact, to simplify, I think that smiths who drilled their own mekugi ana were very meticulous and followed always the same pattern considering a given mei and type of sword. If, as it happened sometimes, the mekugi ana was drilled by someone else, it could be anywhere, meaning not following necessarily any pattern but experience Taking into account the number of swords (Koto/Shinto/Shinshinto) having several mekugi ana, I very much doubt the theory I had a Sukehiro Soshu tanto with 3 mekugi ana (ubu nakago) each clearly made to fit a definite koshirae. Here you make a point, I haven't thought of this but driven by necessity it may have been done, but with a big reserve, it could have been a direct ticket to boothill (I love western movies), our members practicing tameshigiri can elaborate on this solution.

Interesting, but it seems that there are several possible locations, taking into account : - who drilled the mekugi ana (examples of smith mei being punched upon in some cases and not in other cases) - numbers of ubu nakago with several mekugi ana I let Guido, Reinhard, Ted, Clive give their opinion http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/mei_exercise.html

Thanks Jacques, I know, but it seems that there is no Oshigata published in the afore mentioned books bearing the complete signature in line as in the sword for sale at Iida Koendo. Concerning mekugi ana, their placement vary according to the kind (variation) of signature by the same smith. And even with the same signature, we have seen it on the board, it happens that the mekugi ana may not drilled at the same place. The non-plugged mekugi ana is probably koto but the 2 other being plugged, it is hard to date them ...

Thanks a lot Jacques, I had this one on the zuikan but I was looking for an Hikobe one that I could not find.

Thanks Eric for this post. In fact I have checked some Tadamitsu nakago oshigatas, from the Fujishiro to Nihonto zuikan, trying to see if it was possible to find the position of the initial mekugi ana. Unfortunatelly, but for one or two examples, they had all several mekugi ana. It would be very interesting to find the different Koshirae done for the same blade, to see the corresponding Tsuka. Which makes me think (yes, it happens sometimes :lol: ) : Could a sword have had several mekugi ana used at the same time : e.g. battlefield koshirae/for Court koshirae/daily...

Eric, I presume that it is from the description given because it is impossible to say from the picture as it is not the same sword, mekugi ana are not placed in the same way and we don't see the hamachi. Considering yours, the two bottom ones seems to be of the same diameter and "could" have been done at the same time. This would imply that the original mekugi ana is the upper one, so the nakago in this hypothesis "could" be ubu (meaning no machi okuri, in this case).

My question was based on the oshigata of the Tadamitsu (which seems in line wiith the picture of hamachi)

That's why I put an "?" at the end of my post. Extra mekugi ana don't interfere in the UBU notion. Is the description of these swords mentionned "machi-okuri" or not?

Perhaps 2 of these exceptions : Two swords with Juyo Token, all have several mekugi ana ===> probably machi okuri. I don't know? http://www.iidakoendo.com/info/item/a173.htm http://www.iidakoendo.com/info/item/a128.htm

I shall go for Bizen, from the Nakago and the fact the sword is nioi deki. Perhaps Kozori (by a long shot as was saying Sherlock Holmes) :lol: