bridgeofdreams

The Kinai book shows many examples that are not "typical Kinai," at least to my eye. Looking forward to the photo. Craig

Kyle, You seem to be getting on the right track. You wrote: "step one - save more money step two - order amazon.com "The Samurai Sword: A Handbook" - Yumoto step three - read book lol step four - patience" to which I would add: Step five: buy more books Step six: read books Step seven: get to a sword show or study group or even a museum to see fine blades Step eight: save more money Step nine: more patience Step ten: more book study Step eleven: more hands-on study Step twelve: buy first sword Now most of us here will admit to jumping to step twelve before working through the others, but that's why we're here in this 12-step program :-) Nihonto = Nihon (Japan) To (sword) If you are interested in more aspects of Japanese culture, you might visit my website or other specialty booksellers. About the katana as first sword issue, everyone wants a fully mounted katana, or even a daisho, for their first Nihonto. I remember Jim Kurrasch (RIP) making the case that the ideal first sword for a beginner was a mumei Koto wakizashi in shirasaya. Plenty to study and appreciate without the price premium found on katana or tanto, and mumei (unsigned) takes away any worry that the signature is fake and forces you to look at the sword. Any comments? - Craig

To clarify the point David just made, the NTHK will pink slip a koshirae that's been put together, and that would include otherwise en suite hardware put together with a new saya, tsuka, and ito. They were less interested in the little dings and chips on my saya than the fact that it was as old as everything else and had never been taken apart. - Craig

Mark, I can only speak from my own experience here. The NTHK doing the shinsa in San Francisco is known for evaluating condition as well as authenticity. This might mean, for example, that a blade by a 'lesser' and later smith in A+ condition might paper higher than an older blade by a 'better' smith that's tired or has 'issues.' While I had a number of very nice koshirae at one time, there was only one that I ever considered submitting for papers, which I did at the last Chicago shinsa. It was an unassuming and very plain workmanlike katana by a mid-level smith in Higo mounts, missing the kozaka but otherwise en suite and seemingly unrestored and unrepaired. It koshirae - one submits without the sword - papered decently (70 points) as a late Edo-Higo style, and it was remarked to me that the shinsa team did not see many koshirae in the West that had not been repaired, restored, or otherwise 'improved.' I don't know that the papers added much to the value when I sold that sword, but it sure didn't hurt. -Craig

Pete is absolutely correct about the true First Edition from the 30's. The copy I had (and sold to Harry) had at least 20 volumes, so it was likely issued 2 or more parts per volume. That would be like 'fasicles," Pete :-) It was reformatted and edited and issued again in the 60's, and this is the set Jesper asked about, and also the set of 10 volumes that Harry has translated 6 of so far. This edition has been reprinted several times, and may actually still be 'in print' in Japan, I haven't checked. If you want to delve into the bibliographic mysteries of reading Japanese book colophons, I recommend my friend John Yamamoto-Wilson's site: http://rarebooksinjapan.com/Japaneseeditions/index.html - Craig

Jesper, I'm looking at a first edition copy published and printed in Showa 43 (1968). I happen to also have a Volume 7 in stock that was published and printed in Showa 44 (1969) if that helps. Regards, Craig

A discussion on one of the email lists got me digging around, and I thought to share this here. Jim Kurrasch was well known in the US collecting community, very involved in the Nanka Token Kai, and especially visible in the early days of online discussion. His website was one of the first on the subject, but sadly it has disappeared following his untimely death in 2003. Jim was especially kind to me. Early on I joined everything there was to join, including the Nanka Token Kai. Many of Jim's articles were published in their newsletter. Back then I used to travel quite a bit for business, and got to Los Angeles several times a year. One of these trip coincided with a NTK meeting night, and I got in touch with Jim to let him know I was coming. He insisted on meeting me that afternoon at Collector's Armory, as I had asked about places that might be good to look for things to buy. We connected later at the meeting as well, and I was able to attend another NTK meeting on a later trip. His website as it was in it's final version, is archived at the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, and can be found here: http://bit.ly/a1RODp Click through the "Collector of Japanese Swords" link, and enjoy. It's well worth a look, and especially if you did not know Jim, be sure not to miss the article on "Sword Cleaning and Maintenance." Jim had very strong opinions about the virtues of uchiko! -Craig

Ford, Stunning work, and very informative, as I said elsewhere. I'll be back many times to look more and more carefully. On the subject of casting which Boris raised, someone - I don't recall now who* - asked me a few years back to help them find a Japanese Museum exhibit catalog (probably) that showed some molds that had been used, perhaps by the Goto. Bob Haynes said that he thought it sounded familiar, but neither he nor I have been able to identify the publication. Perhaps it will turn up one day. Craig *Rich Turner? Pete? In the face of probable eventual Alzheimer's, I ought to start taking more careful notes.

Anthony Thomas - who I met once at a Chicago show but have not heard from or of in over 10 years - compiled such an index, which is on Dr. Stein's website: http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/gtmindex.htm It is not clear which edition he worked from, and certainly the addition of kanji would be a great help. Craig

Thanks for sharing, Phillip, nice work. Is it my imagination, or does that tsuba look familiar? -Craig

Dear Mike, Thanks for your explanation, I do regret missing the session. As I will not be at SF this year, I will keep my fingers crossed for an article! I would think there would be great interest in the subject, and an article has the potential of reaching a wider audience than just those that happen to be at a particular show. I don't have any opinion at all on your Musashi, other than my general study of ko-kinko that leads me to date it at the right time period. I suppose I have a fairly common interest in Musashi guards because of the historical association, and so I was interested in learning what points would lead a respected authority to assign authenticity to one guard over another. There are certainly plenty of examples to study, and it's reasonable to assume that some small number of them could be authentic. I was hoping that there might have been some independently verifiable evidence, such as provenance. Even the most learned and respected opinion is still just an opinion, no matter how experienced, learned, and well-qualified. I am always looking forward to learning more, Craig

The color on the first two photos looks off, but from the 3rd picture I would guess copper or yamagane (impure copper.) It's impossible to tell without having the guard in hand, but this could be fairly old, early Edo or perhaps a bit older, or at least in the style of tsuba of that time. There is very little that a non-professional (i.e. 99% of us!) can do in what is commonly thought of as "restoration" or "improvement" that will not lower or destroy the value of these objects. You have a tsuba that has come to you unscathed through possibly a couple of hundred years of time and circumstance. Treasure it, learn from it. If you came upon a Paul Revere silver bowl would you polish it? If you found a Revolutionary War flag or uniform, would you throw it in the washing machine to clean it up? Too many artworks have been destroyed by unthinking American efforts to "improve" "clean up" "sharpen" or - God-forbid - chrome plate things that ought to be preserved as is. Craig

Mike, I'm sorry I missed your session on Saturday, but it was busy most of the day at my table selling books and I couldn't break away. I'm glad to see the Musashi again, but the writeup still doesn't answer the question I asked you Friday night: What facts or observations lead to the conclusion that THIS tsuba was made by Musashi, unlike the many that are of the type and claim to be made by Musashi? If there are kantei points for Musashi? I'm reading that the guard resembles Hikozo, who is said to be his teacher, and who might have made the ground metal, and that since Musashi was an amateur he likely had help making the rim. It's still all maybes and possiblys. I was thinking that there might be provenance, which is relied on more and more to authenticate many kinds of art. I'm reminded of a 1st Jingo guard at the KTK in Tokyo in 2006, I think it belonged to Mr. Inada. Several of us questioned the attribution as it did not "look" like Jingo, and the reply was pretty much it had been in the same family since it was made. If documentation of that exists, that's the kind of attribution that can't be questioned. Craig

Barry, I know you were not looking for a deal on a $12 book, but I should have pointed out that the offer I made here earlier in the month - pick the book or books you want and I'll make you the same deal I would in person at the show - which a number of MessageBoarders have taken advantage of - applies at the show as well. Anyone who knows me knows that I love selling books and making deals, and I'm not one of those "that's the price, period" booksellers. Plus at the show I offer one invaluable service: I take credit cards (or PayPal) at the show, so you can conserve your cash resources for where they are needed! See you tomorrow! Safe travels, Craig

Barry, You know by now that I always have special deals for NMB members, old friends, new friends, etc. I will have a fair number of books not on my website, and other odds and ends. As far as Paul's book goes, he's really not making any money on it as it is, and he probably should have put a higher price on it - but I admire his dedication to spreading knowledge and support him fully in that. Craig

If you are coming to the Midwest Token Kai this coming weekend, I have plenty of copies available - English only - that I will be selling for Paul. Plus another 500 or so assorted books from my inventory. Do stop and introduce yourself if we've not met before - why don't they ever have name tags for non-exhibitors at sword shows? Craig

Namban are not usually my cup of tea, but they are interesting. As Tom says, these are killer, and for sure a set like this is something I've never seen.

If I had done that it would have had to have been one custom made EXPANDABLE wooden box, maybe something modular, because the collection kept growing, and growing, and growing. Until it started shrinking. Craig

Justin, Having known Boris for some time, it ought to be pointed out that he is a scientist by training and approaches these studies with the same critical eye and rigorous methodology. He has published several articles on kodogu that take this empirical approach to the subject matter in a way not usually seen in even some of the best writing on the subject. I don't know anything about this nerikawa tsuba, but I suspect Boris has very specific reasons for dating it as he does. This might have something to do with provenance, something that's not discussed much in Nihonto-related circles, but can have great importance in establishing authenticity. I do know that in listing my own items for consignment sale, Boris dated a kozuka at least a couple of hundred years newer than Bob Haynes had, and he had very good reasons for doing so. Craig

I'll second Curran's recommendations, with the same caveat about the Haynes Index. It's much harder to come up with a clear cut progressive reading list for fittings than it is for swords. I think the Kodogu volume of Nihonto Koza is one that Harry still has available and is a great overview. The Haynes "Tsuba: An Aesthetic Study" is available in a new reprint from the Northern California Japanese Sword Club. In fact, anyone with an interest in kodogu ought to be a member of the NCJSC just to get the newsletter. It has some of the best ongoing articles in English on fittings - and swords, and everything else, of course. The Haynes Index I think is for a more advanced collector. It has a ton of information that is useful if you have some of the other books that illustrate signatures. The "online" version is a cd with a pdf version of the text as originally published, and is not for sale from the publisher as a separate item, but they are out there for sale where I suppose they have been separated from the books. I have a couple of copies that were extras from when I had a stock of books. I also have one last copy of Kodogu by Heckmann in stock, ask me about the special NBM deal if anyone is interested. Craig

Ditto to everything that's been said so far. I always wanted to expand my "early soft metal" collection to include examples of kagami-shi, but could never find any that were affordable. Heck I could hardly find ANY for sale. Craig PS - Tom gets bonus points for correctly spelling "frak" - it is a four letter word, there's no "c" in it.

Mariusz, I am glad you got several nice tsuba, and I am looking forward to reading your impressions of them here or on your blog. In some ways I am having more fun distributing this collection than I had assembling it, since I have now become connected to a number of great people that I did not know before. I hope you get the other tsuba you are saving for - I think I know which one it is and it is really unlike anything else I've seen. Best regards, Craig

Disclaimer: I have no connection to Yamabushi Antiques except Boris is a friend and I own all the items he has listed on the consignment page. I've written elsewhere on the forum about how this collection came to be, and why I'm letting it go. Yamabushi is not likely to put these items on ebay as that's not my intention. They can do what they like with their own pieces. These are already priced very fairly, and the prices shown were cut by 25% last fall after they had been online for nearly six months. That being said, serious offers -especially for multiple items - will be brought to my attention. I am far more likely to try to find someone with some serious cash and a gambler's spirit to negotiate a sale of the remaining items than I am to run them through ebay. In short, if you see something you like, now's the time to get in touch with Boris and make a deal. I've got bills to pay. Thanks for looking. Craig

Reinhard, Well said. In case anyone is wondering where to find a copy of this wonderful book ... Craig

I agree it's a reasonably ok tsuba made ugly, from from the perspective of an iaido student, it would have the advantage of making it impossible for one's katana to roll when set on the floor. with tongue firmly in cheek, Craig