Paz

Thomas, I think this will remain a mystery and anyone's guess. Even the dealer did not go into detail regarding the use of the mon and who may have used it. There is another question I do wish to pose , and rather than create a separate thread il ask here. This particular piece comes with a imperial army saya , which is early meiji late edo. (Not ww2). You can tell from the hook on saya and that it is not lacquered. We're koto or late muromachi swords later mounted in new imperial saya ? Does this mean that the sword was in shirasaya or the original saya destroyed. As this particular piece has koto blade, with koshiare which is also koto period. But an imperial army saya. Thanks

It's Brian's display which intrigued me.

I had to do that at a DHL site when I ordered bogu from Japan. It was literally a warehouse freezing cold.

Thanks Michael. I will be. Something that valuable in wouldn't want lying around while I wait for them. I'd rather call them to clear the payment as soon as I can. And watch the parcel when it enters the country.

Thanks jon appreciate your response. I'm glad you can get the ball rolling rather than wait for a customs letter which for me is a bit out of date ,and your at the mercy of the postal system. Look forward to your PM.

I see. That's annoying indeed. I'm sure their are some more positive reviews. But they are the only ones now who will process antique swords. I do wonder if FedEx allow you to collect if they don't deliver.

Seems like Xmas period and covid was this an antique?

Tony was this a one off with parcelforce? Mark it seems fed ex no longer handle or deliver swords from what I know. But aoi art of whom I've ordered my sword from( awaiting export) deal with ems but have used fed ex in occasions due to covid. But I beleive it will be parcelforce as usual. Tony I would have gone to their hub in person and demanded to know or collect it instead if that was an option.

2 months ??? Where was the sword from. Did you track it as soon as it arrived in the UK. Thanks

Cheers Mark. So I'm guessing swords from Japan with correct paperwork go through EMS, then they land in conventry parcelforce international hub . Where you then pay the VAT tax, and they deliver as soon as ? Thanks

Sorry to bump this old thread. But can you actually go to Heathrow or standstead (depending where your antique arrives). And pick the item up in person rather than paying parcelforce ?

Hi all, hope you are all well. I searched through and read up on some old threads on how people display their nihontos. This question is specifically geared towards the UK collector's, as the climate obviously here is not like that of Australia or certain parts of USA. Which means different humidity which leads to different maintenance of swords. From experience having modern production swords, oil and choji maintenance isn't required as much through out the year. However with nihontos I guess its totally different business. Do any of you UK folks display your blade outside a saya in a glass cabinet ? Similar to museum pieces. I understand that this may be bad for the blade and will require more maintenance. I looked at few member photos of their display and did see glass cabinets being used. All my modern swords are in saya and on racks. However I'm thinking of giving more special treatment to a nihonto. This may come across as a naive questions to ask. But I'd rather ask it than be sorry. Thanks.

That's very interesting. Just read up on the the okuyama family. Am I right in saying that the fuchi emblem on this sword (meyui) was influenced. Or was the sword actually given to them ? The sword is koto , late muromachi period 1530s.

I was referring this particular mon , again it might be just there as a decorative.

Thanks @Bugyotsuji I think the word I was looking for was as you said permission by the family. My thinking is that in later periods just before and during the meiji period , koshiare were fitted on swords which prior had no historical relation to each other. This could also explains why after ww2 American soldiers without knowing had officers swords which were antiques and treasures.

Hi all. I have a question regarding mon and family emblems on swords. I recently viewed a few swords and one late muromachi period sword had the kamei family crest on the koshiare ( particularly fuchi). If a sword koshiare or saya, has a family emblem belonging to a daimyo. Can we assume that the sword was made for, owened by that particular family ? Even if the family domain was some distance away from where the sword was made. Or is it a case that a blade was put into shirasaya and then acquired at a much later date. And then given fittings with no regards to family crests (such as meiji period or end of edo period) Thank you.

Thanks all I'm planning to apply for membership this week.

Thanks Paul. I learnt that lesson from production swords. But the risks are far heavier with nihonto as you are paying thousands with only photos to go by at times. Usually with modern production blades there will be reviews, videos, and more opinions , but they are mass produced swords and not actual pieces of history.

I plan to get a membership with them. And I agree. They have some amazing pieces from what I can see which tempted me. But then there wasn't much info on the blade and the price was quite high.

Hi Jussi ,you did. My curiosity got the better of me, and it just made me wonder how much are we paying compared to alternatives from a local vendor. @Brianthanks , seems to make more sense

Thanks Ian. I use to be a member of the BKA, and membership allowed me to purchase iaito from abroad. Does the token society membership work the same way for nihonto. Thanks

Hi all. I've recently introduced myself in the introduction and have a question of curiosity, and is my first thread. A friend of mine recommended me to checkout nihonto from lanes armoury Brighton UK. He was also in the market for nihonto and asked me to visit them or check out their site. However after more research and asking around forums I decided to avoid purchasing from lanes due to their apparant pricing of nihonto. As a nihonto novice, I was made aware that I may be paying far more for nihonto than I should be. Before I contact my freind and tell him to go elsewhere ( aoi, nihontoart, esword). I would like to know how much more exactly are lanes charging for nihonto on their site ??. Is it a matter of hundreds or a thousands.? I wonder if the more keen eyed or more experienced members are able to tell by looking at some of their inventory, and sword descriptions. This is not attack on lanes armoury at all , I'm sure they are great people who are knowledgeable about their swords . And of course are dealers and need to make a profit. Also being in the uk ,they don't need to apply for a permit to Japan's MOE of course. And are easy to buy from. Plus you can visit them. The only minor thing I do critique is that they don't have the technical details of all swords and fill it in with period history which anyone can Google. However I'm very sure they are selling true legit swords. It's just the value which is making me scratch my head. Thanks for the help Go to Japanese sword section. https://www.thelanesarmoury.co.uk/

Thanks Ken. I can assure you just by going through many nihontos and photos ,I'm already in awe of how superior they look to the hanweis of this world. The first time I handled a nihonto it was day and night difference in weight and balance. Look forward to contributing.

Hello all happy new year. Im from the UK and a JSA practitioner for 10 years. I studied kendo, iaido and niten ich ryu form of kenjutsu (koryu). I was a member of the BKA British kendo association and stopped practicing due to work and study. I completed a masters degree in Japanese studies in 2018. And have been collecting replica production swords since 2007. I finally purchased my first nihonto this week, after saving up and almost 14 years of trying to avoid this dream of mine because of expense lol. But thanks to covid it left me with some income due to no holidays for 2 years. Saying how excited I am to receive my first nihonto ( koto, late muromachi period) is an understatement. Take care all.