Shogun8

And here the first of many pictures from the Japanese Armor Society's Japanese Legacy III Symposium held this past week in Amsterdam and Leiden. We had 65 attendees from all over the world, including Canada, the U.S., the U.K., South Africa, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France and for the first time - a contingent of 9 senior representatives from our mother organization in Japan. Since its inception in April 2017, the JAS' has established the following mission statement and the event was our first initiative in this regard: To foster appreciation, knowledge and scholarship of Japanese armor through friendship, respect and cultural exchange between Japan and the rest of the world. The full event included the symposium, the inaugural Samurai Armor Fair and an exclusive JAS members-only Grand Tour of Berlin, Belgium and Paris. This post covers the symposium in Leiden. Arrival in Leiden: The charming town of Leiden, home to the Seiboldhuis Museum of Asian Art: Our honoured Japanese guests: JAS president, Luc Taelman introducing NKBKHK president, Hitoshi Nagata: Immensely enjoyable opening talk by Willem van Gulik, Professor Emeritus of the Art, History and Culture of East Asia, speaking about The Gift of Exchange: The Dutch Experience in Feudal Japan: JAS board member and curator of the current exhibition at the Seibolduis Museum, Masked Warriors: Menpo in the 16th and 17th Centuries, in which he examines the relationship and influences of Noh masks on samurai facial armour. Impromptu presentation on the relationship between horsemanship and mengu by NKBKHK board member, Shigeo Kanno: Sengoku Period Armorers and Swordsmiths from Joshu Province by NKBKHK president, Hitoshi Nagata:

Is there any information on the lectures - titles, topics or speakers?

Zenon is indeed still in business and doing great work (at least with armor - I'm not familiar with his polishing work). In fact, I spent a bit of time with him at the recent Japanese Legacy III Symposium and Grand Tour at our Belgian stop. He's definitely alive, well and kicking!

Hello all, Don't want to hijack Dillon's thread, but just a quick note regarding Vajo's (Chris S.) earlier post and my subsequent response. Chris did PM me and the issue seems to be that the Japanese Armor Society forum requires all users to use their real names because we want the forum to be totally transparent and to prevent trolling, due to past experience. If one tries to register with a pseudonym, their registration is automatically deleted. This information is clearly stated in our policies and registration process. We welcome Chris' registration and participation on our forum - and anyone else interested in learning about katchu.

Hi Chris, I'm sorry to hear that you've had a difficult time accessing our forum and/or getting a response. Can you send me a PM to give me more details regarding the issues you're experiencing? Thanks in advance. John

Hi Dillon, Offhand, I would say your kabuto is a nice example of a toppai kabuto, notable in that it is higher than most. Haruta school, would need to see more pics to comment on dating. You're very welcome to post your kabuto on the Japanese Armor Society forum at www.japanesearmorsociety.org. Many of our members are actually in Europe right now attending a symposium in Leiden that wrapped up today so apologies if there is a slight delay in responding to you. Looking forward to seeing you there. John

Well done, Paul. I regret missing out on drinks with you, Luc and Jo at the Golden Gai in November!

Thanks Piers!

There will be a contingent of about 35 members of the Japanese Armor Society (including 10 members of the NKBKHK coming from Japan) who will be visiting the exhibition with the curator, Jean-Christophe Charbonnier on Wednesday, February 21st. This visit is part of a tour that includes a private visit of Peter Janssen's Samurai Art Museum in Berlin and another private collection in Belgium - all taking place after our Japanese Legacy III Symposium in Leiden, Netherlands. Visit our Facebook page (Japanese Armor Society) or our forum at www.japanesearmorsociety.org if you'd like more information about becoming a member.

Missed this original post, Piers. Great items and even better story - congrats!

Fascinating article, Peter! I wonder how those swords and fittings mentioned would fare in today's market (such as the Masaake tsuba and the Sukezane blade)...

Absolutely a great match - and quite an upset, Peter! And now on to the article - thanks for sharing!

Hi Olivier, Zenon is indeed alive, kicking and still doing great work - it just may take awhile for him to respond to you. Try him at info@japaneseart.be

Jo has done an incredible service for the katchu community by creating and compiling these videos. He has also been the critical liaison between the mother NKBKHK branch in Tokyo and the new Japanese Armor Society. He is an invaluable member of the katchu community.

So very true, Luc. Unfortunately, this is not always recognized or it is simply ignored. We have much to learn.

I consider Tadao Ando to be one of the world's greatest living architects. Self-taught, he is somehow able to create spiritually calming spaces utilizing the silky-smooth concrete surface for which he is known. Check out his famous Church of the Light: https://www.archdaily.com/101260/ad-classics-church-of-the-light-tadao-ando/5037f3b828ba0d599b000648-ad-classics-church-of-the-light-tadao-ando-drawings

HI Chris, My name is found at the bottom of my post, so feel free to reach out to me in PM. You can also visit the Japanese Armor Society Forum at www.japanesearmorsociety.org, where we require members and participants to use their real names. We welcome new members and there's a ton of information and opportunity to discuss all things armor. John

I think I can speak for my fellow Japanese Armor Society board members, Luc Taelman and Jo Anseeuw in saying that yesterday was one we shall never forget - and another monumental step in the growth and development of the Japanese Armor Society. This is because for the first time in it's long history, the executive branch of the NKBKHK in Tokyo invited non-Japanese to attend the shinsa in an official capacity. In fact, this is the first time that individuals who were not shinsa judges were even allowed to be in the room. For those of you who do not know what a shinsa is, it is an annual event at which individuals are able to bring their Japanese armor items to be evaluated and judged for their authenticity, age and quality as deemed by the shinsa committee, which is drawn from the NKBKHK executive and of course, includes the top experts and scholars of Japanese Armor in the world. This was obviously an honour of the highest order and it speaks volumes for the willingness and efforts being made by the NKBKHK to be more open, inclusive and modern in its approach, while maintaining true to its standards, ethos and cultural traditions. The organization has come under criticism in some circles (including from certain vocal individuals here in the west) for sometimes not being with the times, but this gesture - along with several conversations we had with the executive team - is just the first step in fostering the exchange of culture, knowledge, experience and fellowship which is the mission of the Japanese Armor Society. The Japanese Armor Society is now the second largest branch of the NKBKHK (next to the the Tokyo branch) and as even the president of the NKBKHK, Nagata-san said to us yesterday, he is incredibly impressed by our growth and development and is excited to participate with us as we move forward. I am pleased to confirm that he, along with several of the executives and shinsa team will be attending the Japanese Legacy III Symposium in Leiden and also the After-Tour. Not coincidentally, we have also discussed the first shinsa to be held outside of Japan at a future Japanese Legacy event, so stay tuned for these exciting developments. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, photographs of the items were not permitted but I am pleased to share pictures of the shinsa team: From L-R: Jo Anseeuw (JAS board member); Matsumoto-san (Shinsa Judge and one of the top collectors in the world); Nishioka-san (Shinsa Judge and renowned armor expert and restorer; Takemura-san (Shinsa Judge, armor expert, scholar and collector); Nagata-san (NKBKHK President, Shinsa Judge, armor expert and collector); Luc Taelman (JAS President); Orikasa-san (Shinsa Judge, renowned and published armor expert and scholar); yours truly From L-R: Otsuka-san (collector); Luc; Jo; Takemura-san; Matsumoto-san; Nagata-san; Orikasa-san The JAS team with Orikasa-sensei

Congratulations on quite an achievement, Jan!!

"Bould" perhaps, but true.

I'm pleased to say that we already have several of the top dealers in the world confirmed for this Armor Fair. It will be the first of its kind in terms of concentrated quality in the world.

The Met is not a private museum. However, there is no public right of access, as with private museums. One can make requests for scholarly studies, but such requests are usually from institution to institution.

T Thanks Dave. I actually am familiar with the process because you've described it in the past. However, my question was really about which method would have been more time-consuming and difficult: to go through the process above and then lacquer or just simply go straight to lacquering without the cutting back and kokuso process?

But wouldn't it be just as much work (if not more) to make and fill in with kokuso and then sand it down than to just paint the nooks and crannies of a wrinkle? Nevertheless, I think we all agree that all was not right with this piece and I'm glad that Chansa was able to get his money back.

Great exhibit! Here are a couple of pics that i took of some of the pieces: This last one in particular intrigued me because the artist utilized traditional urushi techniques to cover the piece: