Bugyotsuji

The one above!

Hamfish, I believe 90 seconds is quite generous. At the NBTHK national meeting in the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo some years ago, we were given 60 seconds per blade, I seem to recall. With classical music playing in the background, we were transported to some finer plane where time melted away. In both cases though, the organizers generously offered a second round!

Thank you for looking. I enjoyed writing it, though it is not easy to be neutral, dispassionate or objective.

That sums it up well Jussi. Also I think they will be looking for swords that have been previously hidden from view, i.e. something fresh. The appeal to members is as much to those who naturally prefer not to show anything in public, who think they run the risk of 目垢(めあか)が付く.

Well Eric, the official name given to that one is 'Kata Kama yari', i.e. One-sided sickle spear', but there is no hole in the back of the blade. In 1978 the NBTHK gave it the paperwork, but no suggestion as to its age. There was a smith of this name Kanesaki active around Bunsei, (Nihonto Meikan) said to be of the school of Suishinshi Masahide. Hmmm...

Caveat Emptor rules. We have to keep our ears and eyes open, stay on our toes, constantly do the homework, and just occasionally suck it up when stuff slips through. I wish there was someone we could trust 100%...

$1,200 including shipping is dirt cheap. Congratulations. A replica could cost way more than that. And Yae no Sakura was a great TV series. Bugyotsuji 5-star recommendation. (Yae went on to marry Niijima Joe who had escaped feudal Japan, gone to Amherst College Mass., and later founded Doshisha University in Kyoto.)

Sticky warning! Can I just add a clarification? Members of NMB have in the past emailed me expressing their plan to visit Tokyo and particularly Aoi Art, and asking if I would recommend them. How should I reply? Although I have met Tsuruta San once, I do not live in Tokyo and I have never been to their shop. They have wide and generally positive exposure in the West, I agree. I keep my ears open and I hear things here and there, but with no first-hand experience what should I say? Give a list of rumours from competing dealers? The only direct impressions are what I get from their website, same as everyone. Just sayin'....

Reading between the lines of these posts one gets the message that many blades did not make the grade in March, and some people will be wanting to know a little more as to why. Could there be some constraints at work, possibly that recent shinsa have been too loose, or some such? A beautiful blade of mine failed some years ago, with the single word 'Gimei'. Well, maybe, but I was hoping to learn more about the blade itself. To add insult to injury someone had added in spidery writing that there was a nick in the edge of the kissaki. Ah so? Under a microsope perhaps! Grrr.... (I was so shocked and disappointed that I sold it soon afterwards, and have regretted that ever since!)

You are right. The Japanese page does not mention Tokubetsu as far as I can see, but maybe I am missing something. Their English page says Tokubetsu. Must be a clerical error. PS Agreed about Aoi.

Matt, that is an NBTHK Pass certificate at the bottom.

Well the Japanese itself is a little difficult for me, and their (Aoi's) English is never perfect, but seems to be saying that compared to (other) Juyo blades (in general) it cannot be faulted, particularly the jigane and hamon hold their own at this level. 重要刀剣に比較しても何ら遜色の無い見事な地金と刃紋です。

I will pass your question up the chain, Jean, and see what happens. PS Not sure how the title of this thread became like that. 奉納刀 Hono, Hohnoh, Hounou+tou = Hōnō-tō?

Even after Haitorei, swords were still forged.

Another one for 3,000 Euros further down the page.

Michael, photos were not allowed, but I have the museum catalogue, so a blade shot or two taken from that might be possible. Which one would you be interested in?

A couple more for good measure! 小鴉丸造り　Kogarasu-maru zukuri, they kept saying, often seen in shrine blades and imperially-connected efu-dachi, etc.

Hoping that these shots will be self-evident. In the first shot can be seen the Kan-Nushi/Guuji, then our branch Token president Mr K, and closest to the camera, the Togishi polisher. In the second we can see the book of contributors.

This Ho-no-To project is gradually moving forward under the enthusiastic energy of a few local NBTHK people. Today we went to Ani Jinja near Hoden where a newly-polished wakizashi was brought back for a ceremony of dedication and display.　RNC TV was there again to film the event. Originally made and dated Meiji 8 by (Gen 2) Sukekane of Bizen this blade bears the inscription 安仁神釼. It may have been offered there by someone local, not necessarily the smith himself. The Okayama Prefectural Museum has several blades in storage which need polishing and this one was the one most recently chosen. Again a deal was struck where the shrine people, knowing that they cannot look after a blade that really should be enjoyed by the people of Japan, agree to allow it to be stored and occasionally put on display at the Prefectural Museum. It will be part of the display from September this year. Absolute ownership still resides with the shrine, however, so they can ask for it back any time, and a record of the blade (shigata, photographs) and the people who contributed to its polishing are kept at the shrine. This ceremony was much simpler than the one I reported on previously in this thread, and the Guji/Kan-nushi was brilliant with his drumming, chanting, cut-paper whisk waving and Suzu bell ringing. I took a slew of photos and a couple of short video clips. It was observed by supporters of the shrine, some Bizen smiths and some of the artisans involved in the restoration of the blade, including Mr Yasui, the polisher. *The next shrine I have been invited to visit will be Kibitsu Hiko Jinja, for the dedication, purification and display of the 4th blade, a Kozuke Daijo Sukesada on Friday June 30. Watching the interaction of the artisans and the Shinto priests I was struck by how a blade is a creation that needs to be kept somehow pristine, perhaps to prevent bad fortune or malignant forces from becoming attached to it.

Matt, the easy answer is no. ...But if you said I could take five of them home with me, then the Nobufusa, Yasufusa, Ichimonji, Mitsutada, Nagamitsu, Iesuke, Katsumitsu and a couple of others. Michael, some of these swords do get put out on display every so often at the Hayashibara Museum in Okayama.

1. Tachi. Masatsune, Juyo Bunkazai. 74.2cm. 2. Tachi. Nobufusa, Juyo Bijutsuhin. 77.7cm. (Yakidashi at both ends?!) 3. Tachi. Yoshifusa, Kokuho. (Togo Heihachiro had a Yoshifusa!) 4. Tachi. Mumei, Ichimonji (Yoshifusa?) Juyo Bunkazai. (Beautiful hamon, what an eye-opener!) 5. Tachi. Mitsutada, Juyo Bunkazai. Father of... 6. Tachi. Nagamitsu, Kokuho. Mid Kamakura, 13th C. (Long and heavy) 78.8 cm. 7. Tachi. Rin(Tomo)mitsu, ex W Compton, ex Tosa Yama(no)uchi family. 1365. (Very light in hand with slim kasane.) 8. Tachi. Iesuke, Oei Bizen. ex Compton, ex Kaga Maeda family.1412. ('E.S.K.' Massive blade with wonderful hamon.) 76.8cm. 9. Katana. Katsumitsu. 1511. (Hamon right up to the shinogi throughout!) 10. Tachi. Tsunetsugu, Ko Aoe. Late Kamakura 1330. (Suguha) 73.2cm.

Today one of the local museums opened its doors to a special gathering of the regional NBTHK. It was not a public event. 50 members signed up for this a couple of months in advance, and it is being described as a one-off. Musical zabuton(s). We were divided into five groups of ten and given 30-minute time slots, with 90 seconds to hold each sword, and then a further round of another 90 seconds each for a second and final look. The 10 swords were chosen for their near ubu sugata, so we would have a chance to see how a Tachi might have looked and felt way back when. I had had a chance to study the museum catalog(ue) in advance, so to some extent I was prepared for what was to come. Afterwards I was careful to grab the curator and express how impressive the event was, and how it would be wonderful if we could do something similar again in the future, next year even. We were requested to remove jewellery and wear face masks. The temperature outside was 33 degrees and many of us were still sweating when we finally got our hands on those by now slippery nakago. I saw the staff going round after each group and wiping the nakago with tissues. Even having seen the photos of the blades and having read the descriptions, expecting there would be nothing left to discover, there was a huge surprise ahead. We talk about 'Japanese swords' but each one was so very different in weight, length, thickness, style, design and appearance. What the hell had I been expecting? By the second round the pressure was off and I felt I could just enjoy holding each blade. See next post for list of blades. Some of them have splendid koshirae, but those were not on display today.

More sad news indeed. Why do we lose such valuable people? Unlike many of you I only had one occasion to chat with him, last summer, and over the phone. He was immensely helpful, so I asked if maybe we could share a drink together some time. He sounded very busy and slightly reluctant, so I did not press it. Now it will never happen.

Neat. Many thanks. Brandish the siege guns and get the ground dancing? For a massive and wonderful literary feast, 'Clouds Above the Hill' by Shiba Ryotaro covers this overall campaign in detail and gets five out of five stars from me. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saka_no_Ue_no_Kumo

This sake cup was probably to commemorate the fall of Port Arthur in 1905? The army moved heavy 11 inch howitzers up into the hills and bombarded the Russian fortifications and harbour with 500 pound shells from behind. I cannot yet find any independent reference to 舞 ('dancing') heavy guns. 退営記念舞重砲