Nihonto shop recommendations in Tokyo?

[hillman]

I makes business trips to Japan about 3 to 4 times a year, and usually stop over in Tokyp for a day or two.

 

Does anyone know of any nihonto shops to visit in and around Tokyo that will entertain a buyer of cheaper swords? (~US$5K)

 

My spoken Japanese is also halting, at best, so it would be great if they spoke a little English.

 

Thanks!

[Brian]

Mr Chen (Don't forget to sign posts with name)

The best imho for swords under $5K would be Aoi Arts, and they do get by with their English.

Not sure how many you will see on display, but they have a large stock, small shop.

See the links page for their info, and to other shops in Tokyo. There are some great shops, but many specialize in more expensive swords.

Remember that with the deregistration process and licencing, you won't be able to take the sword with you, it will have to be sent a week or so later.

 

Regards,

Brian

[hillman]

Hi Brian,

 

Sorry about the signing thing, I'm new here, and didn't know what the "check" meant...

 

Yes, I do know about Aoi-Art, and I didn't realize that they were so close to the NBTHK museum when I visited 3 months ago. I'm kicking myself for not going a few "chomes" over to see their swords.

 

Actually, I'm quite interested in getting some lower grade nihonto for Iai also, and I've seen these go for around $2K to $3K in Japan, whereas a relatively long (~29" to 30") nihonto for Iai in the US usually seems to go for much more.

 

Would you know of any stores in and around Tokyo selling non-shinken Iai-tos?

 

Thanks.

 

Kade

[Ken-Hawaii]

Kade, why would you want to use a Nihonto for iaido?? Even moderate practice puts considerable wear on a blade. I use an old, beat-up Showato shinken for jodo waza practice, & it really is showing it after only a few years. There are many custom sword shops with standard iaito blades made of zinc-aluminum or zinc-beryllium; I've used one of the latter for well over a decade, & other than wear-&-tear to the saya & tsukamaki, it looks like new. More advanced/custom iaito blades can be made from pattern-forged steel, too; one of mine almost fooled two shinsa in my Japanese Sword Society.

 

I'm getting ready to order a very custom iaito as a gift to myself ( ), & you can PM me if you'd like info on the shop I found after a lot of research.

[Matthew Whittle]

Kade,

 

If you are looking to buy an iaito in Tokyo, I recommend that you visit Sakuraya which is located in Kudanshita (not far from Yasukuni Shrine). See: http://www.sakuraya.org/english/sakurayaframeeng.htm. I believe the store owner speaks a little English.

 

Regards,

Matthew

[hillman]

Ken,

 

Well, I haven't used any nihonto for tameshigiri as yet, but the balance characterstics of a real nihonto compared to a Hanwei or showato is pretty obvious, so I'm curious to see how one would cut.

 

Of course, I'm concerned about the ability of the tsuka and blade withstanding the force of a cut, but I'm guessing tatami would be do-able, no bamboo.

 

Yes, I've seen the nice hand forged shinkens at swordstore.com and the likes, and I won't be surprised if they passed off as true nihonto. Even the Chinese-made ones at Buzendo look pretty good, but for that price, I thought I could get a low end, properly mounted nihonto in the ~$3K range.

 

 

Matthew,

 

Thanks for the recommendation for Sakuraya. I'll definitely check it out whe I'm in Tokyo in September.

 

Kade