Clive Sinclaire

A trifle unjust and hurtful to attribute soley commercial reasons to what I said. There is little doubt that shinto blades whose nakago is altered in the manner of this sword, are considered less desirable than those that are ubu. This is not the case so much with koto of course. I am sure most, other than Stephen apparently, would far prefer ubu swords. Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen The kanji on the Tadayoshi look fine and well cut but there are a couple of problems apparent on this sword's nakago. These are the machi-okuri and the suriage, both undesirable on a shinto blade. Further the mei reads HIZEN KUNI JUNIN TADAYOSHI. I believe that with this so-called Junin-mei there is always "saku" at the end. This has obviously been lost in the suriage, again devaluing the sword somewhat. A look at the blade might be interesting. Coincidentally I recently came accross another Hizen-to with similar problems, but this was a Masahiro> May I take this opportunity of wishing you all SEASON'S GREETINGS Regards Clive Sinclaire PS It seems many "grandfather's swords" are coming up for sale recently. As a grandfather myself I must be caqreful!

Gentlemen I think that it is important to remember that this book was translated from Token Kantei Dokuhon which was designed as an aid to Kantei. It happens to be packed with much basic info that is of use to both the beginner and more advanced student. I particularly like Nagayama sensei's individualistic oshigata. These are not oshigata of actual swords but serve to illustrate certain features of particular schools and swordsmiths (I actually have some originals). As I assisted in the production of this book and wrote the Intro, I was fortunate in receiving a complimentary copy from Kodansha. Whilst I can see that there seems to be a great variety of prices being charged for second hand copies, these prices pale into insignificance when compared to the price of swords and so, comparitively speaking, they are inexpensive. Whilst I appreciate that collectors want their references at as keen a price as possible, it seems churlish not to buy it when you need it, at whatever price you can. I apologise if I repeat anything already mentioned (I have been out of touch with the NMB for a few months) Regards Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen I am sure many of you have already seen the Christie's New York, March 18th sale. In it there is a fabulous articulated dragon by Myochin Nobumasa. It is accompanied by a very interesting essay on the subject of articulated animals written by my good friend Victor Harris, who is Hon Presdident of To-ken Society pf GB. I am pleased that we have obtained permission to reproduce this on our website at http://www.To-ken.com. You may wish to read it there. Regards Clive Sinclaire Incidentally, the dragon is estimated at $200,000 - $300.000 !

Thanks chaps - there is certainly plenty of room for thought there. Regards C S

Gentlemen You may be interested to see a short profile on a senbikizaru (1000 monkeys) tsuba on the To-ken Society of GB's website which may be found at http://www.To-ken.com Any comments or additional information would of course, be most welcome. Regards Clive Sinclaire PS: I bought it azt the Birmingham (UK) Arms Fair 2 Sundays ago.

Gentlemen We have just placed an Obituary on http://www.To-ken.com for the recently deceased founder members of our society, Mike Dean and John Harding. These two gentlemen may be known to older collectors of Japanese sword, active especially in the 1970's Clive Sinclaire

On the subject of oshigata, I have just been asked if there is anyone in thew US who draws oshigata?? Anyone help? Clive Sinclaire

Guido I see it also says Sasaki sensei and Nagayama Kokan O-sensei amongst others Clive S

Gentlemen I was also at that lecture and am in that photo (the smartly dressed dude with the shirt and tie) I must also say that I am not surprised that you are pleased with your polishes. I have had many swords polished by Mishina over the years and never been disapointed. Interestingly, I always thought that all shinshinto blades were muji-hada but Mishina is skilled at bringing out the usually tight jihada in these swords to great effect. His family have been very good to me and my family over the last 25 years or so and I count him amongst my best friends. Whilst I hope I have your attention, may I tell you that about 3 weeks ago, I sat at a table in Saitama-ken looking at swords and later drinking much sake, with no less than seven polishers, including Mishina sensei and sasaki sensei (also a family friend for many years) and at the time I had no swords requiring polishing! Regards Clive Sinclaire PS I agree with Guido, sensei is the correct form and shows due respect even when on the NMB

Gentlemen Since coming back home from Japan, I have been keeping my "web master" busy with updates to the the Token Society of Great Britan's website at http://www.To-ken.com The entries are on various subjects relatef the Japanese swords and I would greatly welcome any comments you might care to make. The topics are: 1) Diary of the Restoration of a Japanese Armour - Part 8. This job which has taken slight;ly in excess of 2 years is now complete and I am very pleased with the result. It is now on display in my sword room at home. 2) in our UK Sword Register, the latest, No.129 is a blade signed ]Hizen Kuni Ju Fujiwara Tadayoshi. I strongly suspect that this may be Tosa (no) Kami Tadayoshi and I would especially like to hear other opinions, although I think iit may be difficult to tell from my poor oshigata. 3) Whilst in the Dubliner's in Shinjuku I got chatting (as you do) with an Irish customer who showed me a cutting in that day's Japan Times, of a surrendered sword that was recently returned to the family of the World War 2 owner. This is reproduced on our site but you may have already seen it on the ubiquitous Paul Martin's s website. 4) And finally, we feel it may be necessary to state our Societie's position, should members encounter difficulties with disreputable dealers, agents, polishers etc - it is a wiicked world we live in! Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen, Earlier this year. at a UK Birmingham Arms Fair, I bought a wakizashi in "Satsuma Rebellion" koshirae of no great interest but the blade was signed with a Tadayoshi go-ji mei. I believe it is a rare Tosa (no) Kami Tadayoshi but this is only my personal opinion. It should be back from the polisher later this week. As it was only a couple of humdred pounds sterling, I considered the koshira as incidental but, if I am correct in my appraisal, it will be the first blade by this smith that I have acquired. It is always worth checking out the blade in these otherwise usually low quality koshirae. Anyhow, it was a great New Year present to myself! Regards Clive Sinclaire

Ian I certainly don't think you should rule out farmers. Satsuma had a very large percentage of Samurai in the population as many farmers were promoted to samurai rank when Hideyoshi invaded Kyushu in the 16th century. They retained this rank for ever even though they returned to the land after fighting. Clive Sinclaire PS Enjoyed the day at Tower of London East meets West.

Miha I have catagorised it as a tachi blade because the nagasa exceeds 60 cm, the slim sugata siggests a tachi and it is signed tachi-mei. I believe would have been difficult to catagorise it in any other way. Don't be afraid of asking "wierd newbie questions" Nice one Wah, I see that it was made one year before mine when he was a young man only 81 years old. Regards Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen We have just put a sword by the Teishitsu Gigein swordsmith Sugawara Kanenori onto the UK Sword Register No. 127 at http://www.To-ken.com. I believe we may have discussed this before but this now includes a rather poor oshigaata and, as always, I would value your comments. Regards Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen Whiilst all the foregoing advice is both wise and sound, I am surprised nobody has advised the beginner to find a teacher and go to Japan for advice and to and handle truely great swords. He will then know what good swords are like and be in a better place to buy. Events such as the DTI and the NBTHK taikai in a few weeks are ideal and should not be missed by any of us! If he can't afford to go to Japan then he probably can't afford to collect decent words, maybe harsh but true. Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen I have just received the catalogue for the Bonhams New York Sale to be held October 8. There are some very good pieces being offered and I wondered if anyone knows the vendors "a collector from Arkensa", another from a Florida collector, "property of a Texas gentlemen" etc. I am interested to know if these are legacy swords, where collectors from the 1960,s and 1970's have shuffled off their mortal coils and whose families are selling the collections, sometimes with indecent haste. I know this is occuring in the UK and I believe it is also the case in Japan. It seems that at some of these sales prices are very low except for very good items (Juyo and the like). The wierd thing is it seems, that surviving old collectors, such as yours truly, are often the ones buying these lots because it is several decades since we saw such cheap swords being offered! Of course, it is a comparitivly short time before we are going to the great shinsa in the sky ourselves and so all these pieces will come back onto the market in a few years time, so good luck then! Regards Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen I will be there as will several of our members. Application forms and details are on http://www.To-ken'com Clive Sinclaire

Thanks for that Brian, you would think that I would know that address! One of the previous owners has contacted me and apparently the sword is Tokubetsu Hozon but the papers are mislaid and I am doing what I can to track them down. Regards Clive Sinclaire

Aex For me, at least, attending Arms Fairs and even auctions, allows one to handle and study swords close up in hand, a facility unavailable online. Handling swords and close study like this is by far the best way of gaining an understanding of Japanese swords, which is why some of us go to Japan every year, to see and handle the best there is. Of course, I am not saying that there is not a place for online study, but I consider it to be secondary to the physical handing of swords and that you should take every opportunity to do this. Arms Fairs and auction viewings allow you to do this free of charge, I am sure most experienced collectors will agree with this position. Regards Clive Sinclaire

[ I am not ure that I agree with Alex. There are certainly fewer dealers with "shops" but they are still wel represented at Arms and Militaria fairs. In fact, surpriingly, I have bought items at te last 5 that I have attended in both London and Birmingham. Actually 2 of these were from Billy Tagg, who I knew very well. Also, of course, the auction houses are also active. There are a number of old collections recently from collectors, most of who I also knew, who were collecting in the 1960's and 70's and have now passed on. These sales are quite depressing for us older collectors, especially as many of the pieces are sold at very competitive and buyable prices and some even with no reserve price. It seems, therefore, that I personally, am buying quite a lot ( 4 swords and several tsuba this year), none of which I have purchased online. I realise that "younger" collectors who are very familiar with the internet, may favour an online approach, but it is certainly not the only option available, even today. I will try to give you advanced warning of my own demise and where my sword collection wil be available to buy. Regards Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen I crave your assistance on a recently acquired Hizento by Tadasugu. Unlike most Hizen swordsmiths, which are very well researched and recorded, I am only able to find out the most basic info in my reference books. I have put this on our website http://www.Token.com under Sword Register No.126. This is complete with oshigata and a number of wild guesses which are my conclusions, but if any of you have better ideas, I would be most grateful. Regards Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen I think that young Ian B has good advice for beginners. My first sword was bought in 1969 from the local gun dealer. I had just reached shodan at Judo and fancied a "Samurai Sword" to display with my certificate. I thought the sword, which cost me £9 (about 15 USD was a marvelous thing, but I bought Yumoto's book along with it. After a cursory glance at the book, I realised that I had bought a bone mounted tourist piece of junk and fortunately the dealer (obviously realising that I was a potential long-term meal ticket) returned my money. It was a time of many swords being available and I was able to study extensively. Joining To-ken Society of Great Britain was very benificial as I was then able to learn a great deal and handle many swords. However, the best learning experiences happened when I began regular visits to Japan where the best was available to see and study. I was able to handle swords from both private and mueum collections including swords of National Treasure status. My membership of NBTHK from the earliest dates stood me in good stead and I was given lessons at Yoyogi. When Mishina Kenji the mukansa polisher came to live in the UK in the late 80's, we were most fortunate as we now had a real sensei who new more than any of us and who freely shared his understanding of Japanese swords and Japanese contacts. We began to organise sword shows in the UK and I began attending similar events in the US, principally in Tampa and San Fran. Although I was running a business and raising a young family, Japanese swords remained a heady passion and they still do to this day. My advice to beginners is to totally emerse yourself in Japanese culture by studing swords, kendo, sake drinking etc etc. It is not possible to understand these things on a half-hearted basis and you must take every opportunity to study and handle good swords. They say that life is too short to bother with bad quality cheap wine and so it is with Japanese swords. Forgive the diatribe, I am going for a drink to calm down! regards Clive S

I am afraid so, please don't hold it against me. Clive Sinclaire

Gentlemen I gave both of my grandchildren tanto by Jumyo when they were born (they are now 4 and 5years old) as this seemed appropriate. At this age they are quite obviously too young to have physical possesion of the blades, so I signed over and gave the shinsa papers to them whilst looking after the blades until they are old enough to fully appreciate them, maybe in their later teens. If I am still around, I might review matters later. This works OK for me and the parents. Clive Sinclaire