Mark S.

Only to point out the obvious Catch 22, I think many are using Shinsa to determine if a blade is worth the cost of polishing. And to the OP's question (which is vague on details)... it would also matter what the 3 different attributions were. Were the 3 close with regard to school/smith/style or where they wildly different? If the schools/style were similar and all have similar attributes (IF the condition allowed them to be seen), then it is quite possible that 3 different attributions are possible.

Below, please find pics of the bowl in place on my very modest tea ceremony table. Alas, poor knees no longer allow for proper kneeling, so I am reduced to a modified table style in the corner of the sun room in my home. We all do what we can do...

So I tried my first attempt at ‘kintsugi’… or at least a distant attempt to mock kintsugi and I thought I would share. Attached, please find some before and after pics. The chawan (tea bowl) was nothing important (no national treasure here) and was a $40 bowl I purchased for $6 due to the crack. I figured it would be a good test case and on top of it, I really liked the bowl! After some research (urushi and real gold not being an option), I used a food safe 2-part epoxy and ‘gold dust’ used to decorate cakes. While not a perfect result, I think it turned out acceptable and made the chawan useable again. I am waiting for it to totally cure before I make a bowl of matcha in it and see how it holds up to hot water and the whisk. One of the ‘before’ pics was taken from the original website where I bought the bowl, so the color is a bit off, but it still gives you an idea of the extent of the cracks. There were also some cracks that were hard to see, but could be felt on the inside of the bowl that needed additional sealing. Obviously, there are natural cracks in the glaze which did not require ‘repair’ that appear in the photos as well. I am not claiming this is traditional, or even well done (still learning how to use the medium)… however, it met its intended purpose… to make a bowl I like useful again so I can enjoy a cup of matcha with it! Mark S.

Congratulations Bazza!!!... and well played by everyone involved! It’s nice to see that out on the internet there are still places you can go that are civil up to the point of being happy someone else won... sadly, you just don’t find that too often anymore.

Was hoping Ray would give us a little preview...

In an effort to keep the fun and anticipation going, can I ask a couple general questions? 1) As a group (the members here), have all 3 blades (individually) been correctly identified by one or more members? and 2) Has anyone scored Atari on all 3? Not asking for names or results. Just a “yes” or “no” would be interesting

Good with Brian’s method...

So... just wondering (in an effort to make myself feel better)... is anyone else with OCD keeping a spreadsheet of answers???

Not sure which is more fun... the Kantei process... the anticipation of the lottery... or the wild speculation of which blade is the prize!!! This whole thing is fun on so many levels!

Only because I brought it up and Rayhan gave a hint that the prize is amongst the Kantei options, I’m guessing the prize is blade #1.. If selected, I also have a certain % in mind as an additional donation.... can’t believe what an excellent opportunity this is!!!

Hope I’m not out of place, but just as an added bonus Kantei (and assuming the lottery winner is completely comfortable with it once selected), could the winner be named, but before the big reveal of what the prize is, could the prize be posted and a separate Kantei be conducted? Maybe just a short period of time for this Kantei?.. just for fun and education?

Good enough for me... sometimes kinda the same way we pick women...

Oh boy... as the old saying goes... "time to flop it out on the table and let everyone whack at it with a stick"... Kantei 1 - Long blade with nice sori. Kesho yasuri and condition of nakago point to Shinto/Shinshinto. Choji midare hamon and boshi with midare komi and POSSIBLY a short kaeri based on oshigata (although I am inferring what is NOT actually shown). I'm going with Shinshinto Osafune School Yokoyama Sukenaga or Sukekane working in Bizen tradition. Mid-1800's. Kantei 2 - Shorter blade and shallow sori along with kesho yasuri point to Shinto/Shinshinto although location of mekugi ana might indicate slight shortening or machi-okuri? Chu-suguha(?) with wide nioiguchi and some nie in hamon. I'm going with Shinto era Tadatsuna II. Late 1600's Kantei 3 - Appears o-suriage with deep sori. Age of nakago and shape of blade point to older Koto. Hard (for me at least) to get a lot of defined detail from photo, but think I see a combination of suguha and gunome hamon and mokume-hada (and am I imagining utsuri?), so just kind of going by feel on this one. I'm going with Fukuoka Ichimonji (or one of the Ichimonji schools) but I am also going out on a limb and looking at the possibility of a No Sada copy of Fukuoka Ichimonji due to the whitish color of the jihada (although it could just be the photograph?). EDIT (9/19): As I keep looking at this blade, I am also seeing some possibility of Yamato Shizu, although I don't think the hada is correct. I know in kantei, we are supposed to pick one and go with it so I will still stick with my original Fukuoka Ichimonji, but then again I'm still learning too and just putting it out there.

BU!!!! of course! This is so embarrassing... I was staring at it knowing I had seen that kanji before. All I had to do was turn the paper over!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much.

Second is the Shinsa final paperwork. Just a quick question on the notation after (what I believe is) Kaeri

All, So I guess I will be the first one to ask for some help with just a couple translations from my recent Chicago Shinsa papers that came in. I've worked hard trying to do as much as I can, but there are a couple that I have not been able to translate. There are two off the score sheet and one off the final Shinsa papers. Questions are circled in red. I'll say "Thank You" in advance for anyone with a few minutes to take a look. Oh... and if you see anything else I am way off on... please feel free to let me know. First is the Score Sheet. I think one of my questions refers to Utsuri... unfortunately, the notation did not end up on the final paperwork.

Mine arrived today as well. I was in the Saturday/Sunday group.

Most important question... what does your tameshigiri teacher recommend? No offense, but if you are not in a position to know what type of live blade you should be using, you shouldn’t be cutting with said blade without the direct supervision of someone who does know. THAT is the FIRST person you should be asking... and I say that giving all due respect to the members here...

Thanks for the update!

So... while we wait for the Shinsa paperwork to arrive in the mail from Japan... can anyone describe what the process looks like once the judging team arrives back in Japan? Is it simply a matter of transcribing the judgment score sheets or do the judges reassemble to discuss items, confirm information such as smith dates, etc.? Also, I would assume there is a catalog process for all the items they judge. How do they catalog the information they collect? Simply by year of Shinsa, by smith, other? Any idea on numbers of items catalogued by the different organizations? Thanks, Mark S.

I submitted a mumei wakizashi that was judged to be Den Bingo Kai Mihara Masashige, Tenbun era, with a score of 74 so not too bad. Kinda funny, when I bought the blade I thought it might be Mihara school, but after trying to research and getting some very good advice, I thought it might be Mino, Zenjo school... and it came back full circle to Kai Mihara. Just wondering if there were any surprises, or exceptional scores that the Shinsa team awarded?

It was a wonderful show!!! Everyone involved should be proud of the event they put on. Hope everyone's Shinsa results went well...

Mark, Thanks for the update. Mark S.

Mark, Once the times are finalized for the lectures/presentations, would it be possible to get that information posted here before the show? Just don't want to miss anything. Thank You, Mark S.

My letter arrived today. Mark S.