Lewis B

Not sure I can agree with you there. The boshi are impossible to see and all the photos are taken perpendicular to the blade which is less than ideal to see activity in the jihada. Resolution is good though. Best images now that Darcy's Yuhindo is no longer available are to be found on Pablo's Unique Japan IMO. This may be controversial but I think Touken Komachi gives it a very good go. Just a shame they stock mostly low end pieces.

Did anyone buy a sword at the DTI this year? How were the prices in 2025 vs previous years?

Thats a little sad to hear given the quality of the blades and katchu, the Nagoya Token World has accumulated. I have to say the Samurai Museum in central Berlin was not great either for studying blades. The angles were less than ideal and the lighting failed to illuminate the jihada and hataraki adequately, especially for the blades in the cabinets along the wall. Oddly the central display cabinet was quite good in comparison and it was easy the see the activity and get close to the blade to observe the detail. Given the obvious time and effort put into the general display design for armour, nihonto seemed overlooked.

Posted this query in another thread but maybe the right eyeballs didn't catch it. It was referring to the style of hamon that blended notare and suguha hamon styles. I read the samurai of the time valued this style of hamon. https://www.samurai-nippon.net/SHOP/V-2153.html There is a technical term for the style of hamon that transitions from notare in the central section to more suguha style in the monouchi that eludes me. As I understand it this was the intent of the smith for practical reasons and was a ferature prized by the samurai of the time, as it strengthens the area of the blade that is more likely to contact the opponents blade. And how did the smith achieve this effect? Is it simply a differential hardening exercise using different clay applications? What is the name given to this style of hamon that appeared popular during the Kamakura era and especially noteworthy in Bizen swords.

Anyone notice the listing price for the Den Sukezane ?

Another interesting blade that sold very quickly attributed to Den Sukezane https://www.samurai-nippon.net/SHOP/V-2153.html There is a technical term for the style of hamon that transitions from notare in the central section to more suguha style in the monouchi that eludes me. As I understand it this was the intent of the smith for practical reasons, as it strengthens areas of the blade that is more likely to contact the opponents blade.

Some very nice, big name blades hitting the dealer sites now that the DTI is over for another year. Take this Rai Kunitoshi with a 83cm nagasa for example. https://eirakudo.shop/893683?fbclid=IwY2xjawN8o41leHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeLQq1a5LF0_auFK8Lfzf8ISvUcl-l-IbEOqlzlAbPNdLOLAkEdhB4DXdNaBw_aem_BP-p-U1Dmg9Vtxt31T2kTA

Last visited 2020.

I'm eating in the wrong restaurants.

That kabuto looks awful

Hi Erik, The next NBTHK-EB meeting will be in 2 or 3 weeks time in Solingen. You're entitled to attend one meeting as a non-member. If you need more details please PM me.

How much is Eirakudo asking and how prominent is the midare utsuri?

@Lexvdjagt kindly sent me a short video and photo of the nakago of an exceptional Shintogo Kunimitsu tanto currently on display at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. This one was posthumously bequeathed to the museum from the Suzuki collection. The tanto itself is probably one of the best examples I've seen. The deki is archetypical Shintogo, ubu with a nengo for 1316. The nagasa is 21.9cm with a slender sugata. There are beautiful lines of kinsuji, one of the key features of this smiths work. Overall it appears to be a very healthy, original example. If the NBTHK published something about this blade it would be interesting to see. Setsumei, kantei etc?

I was hoping to attend but the German Gov have been dragging their feet processing my Settled Status application, which meant I couldn't travel outside Germany. Oh well 2026 then..... Everyone have fun and if you happen see that "Shintogo" tanto (#55) on the Ginza Japanese Sword Museum Taibundo stand, please let us know what you think. Do the papers attribute the blade specifically to Shintogo or are they less specific. The dealer has ignored efforts to get more info via email.

Here is a tachi blade worthy of consideration if you're interested in Ko-mihara. Ubu, zaimei, nengo (1384), quality koshirae and fittings. Juyo papers. Approx 80cm nagasa https://www.toukentakarado.com/item-tk019-juyo-token-mihara