sabiji

I still have my book from back then in connection with the event and lectures related to the exhibition at the BM. I think that was in the fall of 2004. At that time, you could see some of the newly restored blades at this event. I admit that I basically only remember the Shintogo Kunimitsu. When I buy literature today, it is almost always with meaningful oshigata. However, it is an exhibition catalog in which the blades on display are described and the photos are of relatively good quality. One must not forget how much effort, work, and expense is involved in producing a catalog. In this respect, the catalog is a nice reminder of a special exhibition over 20 years ago, at which (I believe) never again since then have so many blades been presented to the public in a museum outside Japan.

Well, it is a “samurai exhibition.” I'm afraid it will be less about the art of sword smithing of the museum's important blades. Regardless, the success of a presentation of important blades at such an exhibition depends on perfect lighting. If this is not taken into account, even the best blades will remain uninteresting. But an experienced curator will surely know this, or at least experienced curatorial staff. I think. I hope... T

I wouldn't take the dating too seriously. It's more symbolic, meant to bring good luck. Most Sue-Bizen blades were “created” in either the 2nd or 8th month of the year. The number 8 stands for Hachiman, and in Japan, 8 also stands for eternity and infinity.

Piers, it was just a well-intentioned criticism on my part. All detailed explanations about blades were exclusively in Japanese. Usually, the name of the blacksmith was written in Latin letters, often along with the era and school. But the next sign could be 100% in Japanese again. This inconsistency annoyed me. I wouldn't write it if it weren't the case. I was very sad that I could hardly study the museum's signed Kinju. The Japanese description rightly pointed out the extreme rarity of signed works by Kinju. But the Tanto/Ko Waki was so poorly positioned and so high up that even with my height of 1.85 m, I could see very little of the blade's characteristics. Of course, the large number of blades on display is impressive. But it is also too large to fight your way through the collection with full concentration and discipline. It is quite exhausting. Less would be more, and then it would be 100% well presented. In return, there could be more temporary exhibitions. But I am also aware that a lot of work, effort, time, and money goes into it. These are just my thoughts.

The term “Gannen” is commonly used when the new era begins in an existing calendar year. Thus, “Heisei Gannen Ni Gatsu Hi.”

Google Maps and Google Lens are essential survival tools in Japan. Fortunately, I know a little Japanese and can at least read the hiragana transcriptions quite well if I am unfamiliar with the kanji. However, at some point, one gets tired of holding one's smartphone up to every sign. For smaller museums and exhibitions, this is completely understandable. But for a sword museum of this size and prestige, it's very disappointing, especially since it advertises itself as a new tourist hotspot in Nagoya. But then again, Nagoya isn't really on the list of Western tourists. I only saw Japanese and a few Chinese people at the museum that day. It was pretty empty.

I was there on November 4. November 3 (Monday) was Bunka no Hi, a holiday honoring art and culture. Museums are usually open on this day, but I was in Seki. I'm not sure what to think of Token World. The concept behind the presentation of the blades raises questions. Ninety-five percent of the labels are in Japanese, sometimes even 100%. The lighting is like Russian roulette. Some blades can be studied well, others not at all. For some, you need to be 1.85 meters tall or taller, while for others, you shouldn't be taller than 1.30 meters. And what the curators are thinking when they exhibit a blade that can't be seen at all because of the cloth covering the sword stand, or when they put a large sign in front of it, is a complete mystery to me.

The matter is much more complex than a blacksmith might think: everything is stupid, from now on we'll make swords like we used to. The Shinshinto marks the beginning of a noticeable social change in the transition from the 18th to the 19th century. Here, too, various factors come into play that cannot be described in a few sentences. But it is remarkable in any case that an emperor, in this case Kokaku, begins to interfere, albeit “gently,” in the politics of the shogunate. Events such as the great Tenmei famine, but also diplomatic incidents with Russian expeditions, reveal the shogunate's inability and inflexibility to respond to such crises in a timely and appropriate manner. However, the prudent and cautious appearance of an emperor in circumstances of public interest at that time inevitably brought with it the idea of placing the emperor at the head of the country as the actual political and social guiding institution. Some philosophers refer back to the time before the introduction of Buddhism in Japan, seeking there the strengths of an original Japanese identity with the emperor as the leading and guiding institution of ALL Japanese people (a role that the Tokugawa shogunate had long since ceased to fulfill) in order to address the problems of the present day. There have been and still are some attempts at reform by the shogunate, but the circumstances mentioned above are forcing an unstoppable spiritual renewal, especially among the simple and middle-class samurai, most of whom are young. The longing for a strong country with strong leadership is leading to a renaissance of the samurai spirit. And in this context, one can also understand the renaissance within the sword-making traditions, which are inevitably affected by this general mood. It may sound crude, but the quest for a strong country, strong leadership, and a strong identity goes hand in hand with the desire for strong blades. In my opinion, this is the essence of Shinshinto. The Meiji Restoration is logically the result of what emerged as a foundation from the Tenmei era onwards. Events such as Perry's arrival only accelerated this development and were milestones in a “more active phase,” even among sword smiths. Shinshinto may have been a short phase, but it was enough to reveal the character of the different generations of swordsmiths. Suishinshi Masahide and Kato Tsunahide were just as much children of their time as Kiyomaro and Munetsugu were later on. But for me, Shinshinto ends with the Haito Edict and the abolition of the samurai caste. In my opinion, this marks the end of a social foundation on which all previous sword traditions existed in the first place. The continuation of craft traditions, or the creation of blades after this point in time, is based on completely different foundations, needs, and goals.

It is said that swordsmiths of the Mokusa tradition settled in Musashi, but also in Kamakura, before the Soshu-Den was established.

Morikuni is certainly a very good swordsmith, but—and please correct me if I'm wrong—I had associated Morikuni with Edo Shinto and his proximity to Yasusada or Kaneshige. But I don't know much about Morikuni. Did he also study in Osaka?

I can only recognize very little in the photos. Based on the outlines of the boshi and the hada, for example, I would not have guessed Osaka Shinto.

With Georg's (Promo) permission, here is a little reminder of Masayuki (Kiyomaro) exhibited at the Berlin Samurai Museum. The sword will be on display in the museum's blade room until next spring and is probably the only work by Masayuki (Kiyomaro) on public display in Europe. (I'm not sure, but currently Kiyomaro is probably only on display at Touken World in Nagoya. However, I'm happy to be corrected). Next to Masayuki, his great rival Koyama Munetsugu stands peacefully side by side, along with other works from the Shin Shinto period, which “round off” the picture of this last phase of the Edo period in terms of sword smithing. So if you happen to be anywhere near Berlin, Germany, you should take the opportunity to visit Masayuki here.

I will be at the museum on Friday for an event. If the blade is on display, I would love to take a photo. No, the horimono is not centered on the ji, it is centered on the shinogi.

The Samurai Museum Berlin has a katana with a 74 cm nagasa, covered in horimono along its entire length. A very large naga-bonji has been added to the monouchi. The blade is by Hizen Iyo no Jo Munetsugu, has TokuHo and a sayagaki by Tanobe-Sensei from 2006. I am not a Hizen expert, but Munetsugu's horimono seem typical of Hizen to me. The horimono are centered on the shinogiji and thus affect the ji and the shinogiji in equal measure. I don't like this type of horimono, but they do exist. And that brings me back to my saying, “there is nothing that does not exist.” However, I find the composition of the horimono on the sword in this thread very strange. Even if it is pure speculation, the figurative horimono are probably much later than the bohi.

Michael, I deliberately used the example of the suriage Kanbun blade without papers. And it was meant to be a dig at what is generally thought about Shinto blades here in the forum. Someone had recommended that I take this particular sword with me because I didn't know any better – and he was right. And even though it was “only” Shinto and even suriage, Micha Hagenbusch didn't tear it apart. Quite the contrary. The workmanship and quality were important to him. I thought that was easy to understand. I still own the sword today. It is a Migi Mutsu Kaneyasu, in the Tegai style with some Kuichigai-ba, Uchinoke, and a pretty Kaen-Boshi. Migi Mutsu, who actually worked until Enpo, is known for his textbook Kanbun Sugata. Little sori, a pronounced taper, and a relatively short tip in relation to the sakihaba. In the original, the blade must have had a motokasane of at least 9 mm, but the Kanbun tapering makes such blades both robust and extremely maneuverable. The koshirae is a toppei koshirae, which leads me to believe that the blade was shortened very late in its history and that the sword was still being carried by an officer in the early Meiji period, well into the 1870s. At some point, I sent it to Japan for a Hozon. But it's simply not worth selling. Interest in the blade, although it's not bad, would be too low for a suriage Shinto. This is also due to the well-intentioned advice given here to the new collector.