Kaigunto230

I think it’s so fun when people post their purchases - lets us vicariously enjoy it and not spend the money Thanks!

Shoot, sorry, but I didn’t catch his name. It looks like he’s a regular though; his booth and back of his head (presumably) is in this 2016 video at 1:41, and he’s got Maker’s Mark then too: . Like I said, really nice gentleman. Thanks, everyone, for the nice comments! It was just so FUN to hold things in hand and actually talk with people about this niche topic in person.

Here's the shot of my loot upon getting home! I need to properly take photos and kantai the two katana I purchased, so those will be in the "Nihonto" sub-forum sometime in the next month. And finally is the short walkaround video I took. I didn't want to be too obtrusive, so it's probably about a third of the booths and really just a glancing view of most. But fun to see everyone!

I'm home now after my first sword show at the San Francisco Token-Kai. I had an incredible time, learned so much, made a few purchases, met some great people, and can't wait to attend another show. For those that missed it, here's a few photos and a video I took of the event. My camera is just an older iPhone, so I imagine there are better photos out there, but here's what I've got. Me up and ready bright and early for the day. My wife tagged along for the morning, but I was left free rein for the afternoon I went back and looked at this BEAUTIFUL sword several times. A Hizento by the second generation, the owner had just completed a daisho by the first generation Tadayoshi and was selling this example from the same school: One of the best attendees was this little friend: A MASSIVE o-dachi: A Yoroi-dōshi (edited for spelling, thanks Piers D!). I had been hoping to see one! Ha ha ha, I'm not quite sure about the science here, but a great way to build community, and the dealer was incredibly nice! Very few kyu gunto present. I had been hoping to study more, but honestly, I think there were perhaps 3 total. Of course, I was foolish and didn't get a good photo of this display, which was several Juyo works, and the most expensive was $175,000. Beautiful!!

I'm re-looking at it, and I had my columns misplaced. So on this photo, the black circled kanji is roughly equivalent to "this katana is signed" the red is the mei of the smith, "Fujiwara Yukinaga" and the blue is "and X centimeters long"? How many centimeters long did it list? Following that, these kanji are the "To-kyokai (our organization) has rated this item as an Extraordinary Work (Tokubetsu Kicho)"?

I am constantly blown away by the kindness of folks on this forum. Thank you!!

Oh, interesting! Is the shaku, sun, and bu measurements normally done on green origami but just not here? Or is that a switch when they redid the origami in the 1980s? Would you mind please pointing out specifically where it says that? I'm always so surprised by the length of kanji written out, but it seems like column 3 has a so many characters for just saying "This sword is X centimeters long."

@NobodyThank you for the extra information! Is there a way to determine which branch of the NBTHK issued this particular origami? So, here’s what I have after reading. Like I said, I’m illiterate and just trying to pull from Google/websites, so please feel free to tell me where I’m off. This was a little frustrating but really rewarding, and I couldn’t have done it without you two, @kyushukairu and @Nobody, so thank you! From right to left by column: Ninteisho - a writing/paper which is the recognition of authenticity This item (一) is a katana (刀)with a mei by Fujiwara Yukinaga (藤原行長). The length of the sword in shaku, sun, and bu (Still working the actual length out). To-kyokai (our organization) has rated this item as an Extraordinary Work (Tokubetsu Kicho). The shinsa was held on Showa, 49th year, 6th month, 3rd day (June 3, 1974). “Zaidan Hojin Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai” - The non-profit organization of NBTHK with its official seal. The owner of this sword was named Joe Takahashi.

@kyushukairu Thank you so much for the fast reply and for your time! I really appreciate the help. I'm headed to work, so I need to digest your link and follow-up later today/this week. At a quick glance, the link looks like a great step by step, even more thorough than other websites that go column by column (like the Japanese Sword Index (still an incredible website): http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/origami.htm ). Thank you again!

Envelope and closeup on oshigata:

Good afternoon, all. Could you please assist me with translating my green papers for a shinto katana I purchased purportedly signed by Yukinaga Fujiwara of Bungo province? If you could do a column by column translation, I’d greatly appreciate it. I understand the status of green papers and am not looking to rehash that discussion. I’m just looking to know when this shinsa was held, which NBTHK office, what they said, etc. Thank you so much for your help!

Quick note if you’re planning on attending the show that there is a new county regulation which requires indoor mask wearing for all persons regardless of vaccination status under the CDC’s new guidelines. Tell your friends attending the show!

@Toryu2020 I saw you had commented on both this and another thread about the Token, and the pit of my stomach dropped thinking it was a cancellation message due to COVID. So thankful we’re still on; frankly, I can’t remember the last event I’ve been so excited for. Bought a hard rifle case to fly a new treasure(s 😁) home, been reading and studying a bunch, made flash cards for Nihonto terminology. I’m in totally nerd mode and super excited 🤓 People at the office are egging me on too; it’s great!

That’s a great point! I meant it as a specific trait of this sword, but you’re right that this could get extrapolated out out and get someone into hot water.

Lonnie, this forum has a For Sale thread that may be helpful if you’d like to connect with those interested buyers: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/forum/6-for-sale-or-trade/

Thank you so much, Maxime! I hadn’t seen it, and that was a great piece. I particularly liked seeing the live-in aspect of apprenticeship, the challenges there, and bond formed between student and sensei (not always built on positive reactions to each other).

Is the display going to be up the whole time or just for one day? I’m coming Saturday and would love to see it, particularly if it’s accompanied by a lecture.

And yes, the sword does yell “I’m a fake” (glancing again, I see the lack of yokote, the “same” ( 😬 ), the tzukamaki, etc. etc. ), and people’s time is limited for commenting. I just know as a fellow beginner, it can be helpful to point out specifics to focus on and think “OH, that is totally fake when I see the real ones side by side.”

For Arnold’s (and everyone’s) sake, instead of just saying “it’s an obvious fake, hit the books,” can we please list some things that helped you identify it as a fake? Not all, but here’s what I saw right away: 1. Kanji on the mei was too spread out, on both sides, funkily chiseled (if it even WAS chiseled), and not normally recognizable characters (katakana?) 2. Thought the erotic scene on the kozuka was very out of place, and the figures themselves were too crude. 3. Kogatana’s blade shape was odd; the sori looked almost fantasy-like with the carved-out area. 4. Rust on nakago was an odd color, too bright. 5. Loose/missing seppas 6. seemed like the habaki and blade were off-center through the tsuba There are others certainly, but I think it’s helpful to take an extra few seconds to point out the WHY instead of always pointing towards the books without further context.

@IbexiSterlinfa any further developments on this one? I’d love to hear if you submitted for shinsa and the results.

This was incredible. Not only the story itself, but Ian, you’re a great writer and drew me in the whole time; I felt like it was me doing the discovery. Thank you and congratulations!

This has been a great discussion all around to be a fly on the wall for. Jon, good luck with your purchase; they all look gorgeous! Thomas, could you please say a little more about Shinto blades and why condition is relatively more important for them than for swords of other eras?

This topic is so interesting to me. Has anyone run into similar stories regarding their own swords? I'd love to see photos and hear what you know. Here's a good scholarly article on revenge killings in the Edo era: Kataki-Uchi - The Practice of Blood-Revenge in Pre-Modern Japan by D.E. Mills.pdf And here's a podcast on the same: https://radiopublic.com/samurai-archives-Japanese-history-GA5rdp/s1!65f68

I posed in my member introduction that I lived in Japan for two and half years a couple years ago, and during that time, we were lucky enough to travel to a bunch of museums. I promised I would post some interesting stories from our travels. This one's the most interesting, and I'm kicking myself that I don't have better photos of the blade itself for us to study the sword's characteristics. Even so, I think it's still an incredibly interesting story. This was at the Odawara Castle museum in Kanagawa prefecture. The two Asada brothers had their father murdered by a Narutaki Mansuke, who escaped from jail and fled. The brothers received permission from their daimyo and hunted down Mansuke and murdered him in revenge. Here's the sword used during the killing as well as more information: Edit: I posted this in the Nihonto thread because of the sword itself, but Brian/Admin, please feel free to move it to a different thread if you think it's more appropriate. Thank you!

@mtexter I wanted to follow up on this thread. Did you ever get any photos of the actual blades or learn anything further rom these? Thanks!