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Hello: Were the blades seen without the tsuka? Arnold F.

Hello: None of the legitimate organizations will issue papers for living, perhaps even recently deceased, makers. Recently the new NBTHK standards, not new in that regard, were posted on Danny Massey's nihontocraft site. There were some surprising changes, but no change there. Arnold F.

Hi: I am a member of the NTHK branch which is under the direction of Yoshikawa Eichi. It issues a periodical titled Token to Rekishi, as does the NPO branch of the NTHK. A most valuable part of each issue is the report of a kantei session, held periodically by the NTHK and led by Sano Masao and very ably translated by Gordon Robson. The theme is to show a nicely done oshigata and describe the visual information the contestants have seen. The judge then reveals who the smith was and critiques the submissions of the participants. In Issue 715, Heisei 26 (2014) 10, I saw for the first time, a shinsakuto blade used in the contest. It was a shobu-zukuri wakizashi with elaborate horimono, a Kiyomaro utsushi which, when its identity was revealed, turned out to have been made by Chikushu Sanno ju So Tsutomu, dated Heisei 5 (1993). Kantei are always humbling affairs that tax both memory and knowledge, and new complications came in with that sword. The participants, the number unknown to me, are a group of regulars and some novice collectors, but as a whole they usually do a great job with either right on judgments or close calls. This time one person only thought it to be by another shinsakuto smith, and almost everyone else went for Nobuhide or Kiyondo and no one newer than shinshinto. This is the first time I have seen a new blade used for kantei and it certainly shows a catching up of sorts. I wonder if anyone else has similar examples? Arnold F.

Hello: In case you missed the notice that Danny Massey sent out, the revised standards can be seen on his site nihontocraft.com There is a lot of detail and some surprising information. Arnold F.

Hello: Pete, they aren't an integral part of the kashira as far as I can tell. That kashira, along with its fuchi mate, were most likely once part of a more standard tsuka arrangement with same, menuki, and conventional ito which would have gone as binding through the now covered holes in the kashira. If so, that certainly doesn't diminish the interesting VOC connection with the koshirae that those covers imply. Arnold F.

Hello: This morning an interesting tanto and koshirae popped up on Aoi-Art. The item is AS15454, a tanto signed Kanesuke with a Tensho date. The interesting thing is that the koshirae tsuka has an incorporated emblem, a mon almost, of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC). We all know of the importance of the window on Japan that company gave us, and perhaps even more useful information for the Japanese during the long period of Sakoku when their activities were restricted to Dejima Island at Nagasaki. Their years at the island were from 1634 to 1860 and I suppose the koshirae could have been for a samurai or Japanese trader almost any time during that span, or it might even have been ordered by a Hollander. It is not expressly Christian so I would guess it would not have been prohibited. The whole thing is an artifact of history in more ways than one. Arnold F.

Hello: Interesting topic indeed. As for shinsakuto, those made since the war in Japan have often been really stunning examples of the craft and some even seem to have rediscovered integral qualities, such as utsuri, which were once thought lost to newer pre-war smiths. It is probably also true that with the passage of time, examples looking like Japanese made shinsakuto, but being made elsewhere, will increasingly test our ability to discern. However there is also another angle, and that is the unquestionable qualitative factor brought to a Japanese sword made for its intended use from earliest times. While all collectors appreciate the post-war sword, all of those swords are qualitatively different in their "for use" dimension. That has to have had an impact on prospective collector's interest and it is doubtless a limiting factor in the sale of shinsakuto, irrespective of where made, compared to what it might be otherwise. As sales diminish the craft itself is at risk and no clearer illustrative example can be found than the very rapid disappearance of active smiths post the Haito-rei wearing restrictions during the 1870s. Arnold F.

Hello: No guarantee but tsuba such as this, are probably Late Edo, this one in iron and with rather a symmetric wave pattern, is quite possibly Choshu. Choshu Shigetsune did similar work. Arnold F.

Hello: They look something like the work of Nara Tsuneshige. While he worked in soft metal and often did not sign his work, he is considered a tsuba-ko, as distinct from a kinko artist, but Torigoye and Haynes. Arnold F.

Hello: Thank you Peter for your insightful comments. As a scholar and anthropologist you put the context of the determining forces into sharp focus. I suppose the unknown is the strength of those forces at work and at what speed the impacts will take place. It seems to me that without collectors, broadly defined, there would be no museums at all. As long as the ego and sense of history of the well off collector is stroked, the physical institutions will not disappear though they may undergo some almost unrecognizable changes. As I understand it Seattle now has a guitar museum thanks to the interests of a Mr. Big at Microsoft. Who would have thunk it? Arnold F.

Hello: Peter, what observational data or mechanism do you see in operation now or in the future that would lead to the "museum collapse syndrome"? I don't question the insight that your professional background might bring to the observation; I'm just curious as to the determinants. Do you care to elaborate? Arnold F.

Hello: I think John T.'s question is quite subtle and observant. You might be onto a good kantei point, but more generally I would caution not to put too much, certainly not exclusive attention, to the strong sori found on some older koto. Some periods and schools had stronger sori, by either of the versions of sori being discussed, and if suriage mu mei, one would have to be a pretty good kantei-ka to know whether it is a typical characteristic of a given group or not. Retemper or saiba conclusions are based on a whole bundle of observations and sometimes it is just a consensus among contradictory observations that you are left with. Arnold F.

Hello: The issue of sori is confused by the licensing requirement of the chord measured between the tip of the kissaki and the munemachi, and that might have been historically introduced because of the ease of that method's use where the tsuka need not be removed. For a discussion of the measurement as a chord between the tip of the kissaki and the butt of the nakago and its implication for the sori of the blade, and hence its cutting efficiency, see Sam C. Saunders, "Shape and Cutting Efficiency: The Unique Nihonto Curvature," JSS/US Newsletter, Vol. 33, No. 7 (December, 2001), pp. 20-30. In that article is the "real secret" as to why the Japanese sword cuts so well in necessarily linked to the less commonly used length measurement referred to in Nakahara. It is not a matter of the metal used, the folding process, the laminations, or the fire tempering. While all those things are highly contributory, it is the equi-angular form of the cutting edge that maintains a constant angle, as drawn through the medium cut, that maximizes cutting efficiency. I have never seen that issue touched on anywhere else in the sword literature. While Sam shows a "legal measurement" diagram, all the others and the associated discussion involve sori measurements from tip to nakago. I had some role in the preliminaries to his writing and publishing the piece and continued to bring up the standard measure we usually refer to as length and associated sori, but he knew better, and should have as he was an Emeritus Professor of pure math. Arnold F.

Hello: It looks similar to but different from Shinto Bengi Oshigata which was published running 163 pp by Willis Hawley in partially translated form in 1975. Before photography and the ability to publish actual books of oshigata, such references were vital. I believe they were renderings of mei rather than actual rubbings. Collectors in 1975 tended to put them down because of their artistic license, but in their time they must have been very useful and still give a quick check of the representative mei of various smiths. Arnold F.

Hello: This is wonderful and will be the source of much recollection for old time collectors who will remember the times when David Scott regaled everyone at many shows with his very convincing stories about the blade stretching machine that he had invented. David, with Albert Yamanaka, for those that do not know him, was the man who brought us the Honami Koson Teiryo Yoji in translation. He was much fun at shows as he also was the very successful seller of Kamikaze medals, the number in the array signifying the number of successful missions flown by the recipient. Arnold F.

Hello: Toryu is certainly right about Enshin. I have three Hayama Enshin and all of them have a low marumune. Though he was a leading smith during the "near death gap" between the Haitorei and the 1920s, his forte was utsushi of very old blade styles of Heian sugata and even kogarasu-maru, so it is safe to say he was emulating something early with marumune. Arnold F.

Hello: I would hardly think that a Kamikaze pilot would have the luxury of contemplating seppuku while focusing 100% on diving into to an enemy ship. Aside from that it certainly looks rather bizarre. Arnold F.

Hello Peter: Thanks for the fascinating reference. Anything that catches the interest of Freeman Dyson is something special. Arnold F.

Hello Markus: I haven't checked this topic recently or I would have replied sooner. I don't know our time, but would guess it will be Saturday afternoon. We will have a small paper and 16 tsuba illustrated as well and on hand for viewing. The pieces we will discuss are essentially selected for their educational value rather than anything else. Arnold

Hello: I think Chris Bowen would be posting here, but I believe he is currently in Japan. Anyway, as I understand it, he will be organizing a NTHK (NPO) shinsa to be held in Tampa this next February. There was a busy shinsa in Chicago this spring, Tampa the year before, so it seems that the pool of blade candidates is more or less endless. Arnold F.

Hello: You've got that right SAS. How to tell a good uchiko without dangerous experimentation is something else again. You have the right stuff and I know Bob's time has a very low rate of compensation for the time it takes to make those. All uchiko users should stay away from the "sword care kit" unknowns, and in general remember that one that seems heavy in weight and expense is the way to go, and don't try to hit a home run with one. Arnold F.

Hello: I marvel at the near religious fervor with which uchiko use is attacked. We are not all in agreement that uchiko is a bad thing as such, but I am sure we are all in agreement that improper use of uchiko is a bad thing. Examples of careless use and misuse of uchiko are not sufficient to condemn uchiko out of hand. Ideally a controlled experiment might yield real evidence; in lieu of that I am willing to accept the personal opinions of several highly regarded polishers with whom I have discussed uchiko use. For those committed to view all uchiko use as bad, please take the trouble to Google "NBTHK sword care recommendations" and then inform the NBTHK in Tokyo and the NBTHK American Branch of their misguided ways. Arnold F.

Hello: The issue of "use" or "don't use" uchiko is an important one, and Darcy's comments are an important and helpful contribution to this long standing issue which, among other things, seems to have been spiked since the introduction of microfiber cloths a few years ago. I do not claim to know "the answer", but I do not consider the issue closed from the arguments that have been made. Dirty shirasaya, oiled blades, poor quality or degraded uchiko, the incorrect use of uchiko, to say nothing of the cloth or tissue that might be used to remove it and exactly how it is removed, including finger pressure, only cloud the issue. The question of the best medium of care for a fine blade polished by a top togi-shi is after all something that could be tested through a controlled experimental design, though I realize that is unlikely to happen and we will continue to have anecdote as evidence. I would like see fully qualified togi-shi address this issue. I recently had a correspondence with a very well known and experienced togi-shi, known both in Japan and abroad, and happened to ask about utsuri and the use of uchiko of high quality, as laboriously produced by a polisher, not the unknown substance usually sold in so called sword care kits. His answer addressed uchiko and also the complex interaction between immediately emphasizing utsuri, versus the characteristics of the jihada. The nuanced answer, in part, was: "It is not so difficult to emphasize utsuri in the finishing work but the details of the jihada and jigane are sacrificed. Anyway, utsuri will be getting clearer year after year by proper uchiko cleaning. Though, needless uchiko hitting should be avoided." That statement implies to me that a polish evolves with time, and the "cost" might be some relative reduction of jihada effects. I suppose if one wanted to retain lessened utsuri effects, in blades that have utsuri, uchiko use should be minimized as it obviously has an effect. That effect is not necessarily bad; it merely reflects, if used the right way, a sort of trade off. Most people admire utsuri on nioi-deki based blades. I realize that introducing utsuri may be wandering beyond the Darcy's post, but it does suggest that the uchiko issue is not one dimensional and in the eyes of some qualified people it can beneficial. I have no polar position for or against uchiko; I just don't believe all legitimate points of view have been considered. Arnold F.

Hello Steve: The shop you were at is O.K. but mostly deals with tourists visiting the castle across the street. There is another shop in Kyoto, about three blocks from the Kyoto Tower, which has quite nice material, at least the last time I was there, but is open infrequently. For directions check with the Tourist Information office just inside the rail station not far from the eastern entrance. Arnold F.

Hello All: It is easy to confuse one of a kind art objects subject to collection with "collectibles" which, by definition are objects subject to limitless replication. Traditional Nihonto of any age can be reproduced and faked, but not limitlessly. For anyone seriously interested in "the art market" and art collecting it is very enlightening to read Joseph Alsop. The Rare Art Traditions: The History of Art Collecting and Its Linked Phenomena Wherever These Have Appeared. (Princeton University Press, 1982), 691 pp., ISBN 0-06-010091-5. Under Collecting's General Laws he proposes three binding relations: 1. All collectors' categories are created by collectors; 2. By creating their own categories, all collectors create their own rarities; 3. In all forms of collecting, the collectors' category is always controlling, since all collectors require their prizes to belong to the correct category. The power of the thus defined "rarity" is so important that fakes and reproductions must be avoided at all costs. One cost is investing in the learning process as a collector, and any other is the periodic shinsa, which in one guise or another, will always be with us. Arnold F.