cabowen Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 NBTHK's 2 former executives will be tried by the Public Prosecutors Office for unlawful handling of swords according to an article in the Oct. 28th Mainichi Shinbun.....They were found to have 400 unlicensed swords on the premises...Their President recently resigned as well.....seems there are still problems there,,,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfson Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Wow, this is amazing. I wonder if the NBTHK is going to slip from the perch of being the final arbiter of authenticity and quality in Japanese swords? Along those lines, might the NTHK (either one) ever give higher ranks of papers equivalent to tokubetsu hozon, juyo, tokubetsu juyo etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabowen Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Both flavors of the NTHK issue Yushu Saku papers which are considered their equivalent to Juyo Token... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugyotsuji Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 This seems to be a huge headache for everyone concerned, but people are mildly surprised the police are bothering to go ahead with a prosecution. Thanks for posting this, Chris. I had heard the rumours/rumors. The article says that most of the swords' provenance is unknown (actually, ownership cannot be established, I believe), and a large proportion of the 400 have turned to rusty junk. There are some swords among them that have historical or artistic merit/value/importance. The police have narrowed it down to 30 swords with which they feel they can make a case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guido Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 A bunch of rusty, unimportant swords that were dumped on the NBTHK in its founding days, not considered worthy of restauration and therefore put in storage, unregistered as they were. An administrative oversight that recently was dug up and exploited for "political" reasons. But since it concerns the sword and firearms law - taken seriously by the police because it's one of the very few means the have in nailing Bôryokudan (Yakuza) - the DA can't simply drop the case, he has to show that he's "doing something." A rather silly waste of (Japanese) taxpayer's money. ... Yushu Saku papers which are considered their equivalent to Juyo Token...Yes, I'm sure some consider them that ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raiden Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I heard about this since it came out while I was in Japan, but it seems that there are only a few people alive from that time that even "might" know about this. From what i heard, there will most likely be no prosecutions as there really isn't anyone left alive to prosecute. But the world seems to love drama, and as Guido says, the police have to at least look into the situation once it has been reported. Just like how I remember something about a Umetada Myoju sword and Mr. "e" of the NTHK..........and I am also a long time NTHK member even having studied under Yoshikawa sensei a while ago when there was only 1 NTHK group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Reminds me of a Shakespeare play.... "Much ado about nothing" A real pity that swords have to be part of political wrangling and hidden agendas. Hopefully it passes quickly and there are no serious repercussions. Legislated or not, there realy is something terribly silly about legal prosecutions over the equivalent of very long kitchen knives hidden in a basement... Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugyotsuji Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 The case may be slightly more intricate than that described in the press release above. This could be why the President resigned. But then we would be entering the world of unsubstantiated rumour, so I can go no further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Sinclaire Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Gentlemen This "scandal" has been rumbling on for quite a while now and doesn't really seem to be going anywhere. As already stated, here are numerous political undertones that are difficult for gaijin to fully appreciate. Anyhow, I was given these press cuttings recently whilst in Japan. ( I will ask Jean to attach them, he's good like that). Glad you are safely back in China Guido, I almost enjoyed our various meetings! Clive Sinclaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guido Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Glad you are safely back in China Guido, I almost enjoyed our various meetings!Likewise, Clive. I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Here they are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NihontoEurope Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Howdy, Two links to the story: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/201 ... 2000c.html http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20100930a5.html /Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanB Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Gentlemen, I really don't know why the Japanese authorities are creating such a fuss when the solution to the whole problem is so simple, and would only take a day or so to implement. First put the swords in a packing case and ship them to me - I would even pay the cost of shipping. Why don't people in authority come up with such complicated solutions that cause so much stress when the obvious answer would avert the negative effects on the many and give at least one pleasure? Ian Bottomley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geraint Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 So we are back to the thread about unpolished swords without papers. One can't help feeling that there might be something interesting in all that "junk". I'll go halves with you on the posatage Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabowen Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 From what i heard, there will most likely be no prosecutions as there really isn't anyone left alive to prosecute. Perhaps you missed it in the original post: two former executives (both former members of the shinsa team) of the NBTHK ARE being prosecuted.... Much ado about nothing? Anyone that knows anything about Japan understands what reaches the newspapers is only the tip of the iceberg. Everyone with even a passing association with the sword world in Japan has heard the rumors and scandals for many many years. Consider the latest simply the straw.... And honestly, any individual caught with unregistered swords in Japan is going to pay the price. It is refreshing to see the law actually applied equally for a change..... And the real crime is that NBTHK was established to preserve swords, not secret them away and let them rust into oblivion.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabowen Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 An administrative oversight that recently was dug up and exploited for "political" reasons. Yes, I'm sure some consider them that ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbkmd43 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 In march of 2010 I posted the story of the trouble with the NBTHK boy was I attacked by a bunch of non believers including all those american b ranch guys well la di da now I finally feel vindicated LKanarekMD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabowen Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 In march of 2010 I posted the story of the trouble with the NBTHK boy was I attacked by a bunch of non believers including all those american b ranch guys well la di da now I finally feel vindicatedLKanarekMD reminds me of a story, something about an emperor and his clothes????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Bleed Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 This is a sorry situation. I truly cannot imagine how it was allowed to come to this. Whatever the back story, I think WE need the NBTHK. We must hope for a positive resolution. It is my understanding that some serious North American voices are in Japan at the moment. I hope they can and will express support. They are also likely to be a source of information better than the newspapers. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NihontoEurope Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hi all, I did make one observation when reading the articles I found; NBTHK did apply for a diviórce from the government in order to go for public service organisation instead of the current setup. Is this good or bad? What are the impacts? What are the benefits? I am afraid that prices of their services would raise. /Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabowen Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Actually, they had their funding pulled/cut by the Ministry of Education, who had been providing support, after prior scandals. They had also previously tried to apply to the government for non-profit status, which was turned down. They cleaned house a year or so ago and appointed new administration. Now the President has resigned and they are in the midst of more trouble. Remains to be seen if their efforts to gain non-profit status will be fruitful in the future.... Agree with Peter and others...it is a sad situation. We do indeed need a Japanese organization to speak to the needs of swords and sword lovers. It remains to be seen if it will be the NBTHK or another in the future... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reinhard Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 We do indeed need a Japanese organization to speak to the needs of swords and sword lovers. It remains to be seen if it will be the NBTHK or another in the future... Well, it will definitely not be the NTHK for obvious reasons. reinhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raiden Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 C Bowen, Well if you know when and who exactly will be prosecuted for sure, I would really like to know who you mean by having you post that info on this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raiden Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 one other thing for all to consider, is that I have never seen anyone from the NBTHK "throw rocks" at any other group including the NTHK when it went through its strange split syndrome.......I believe that these things do the hobby no justice at all, but there are those out there with ulterior motives that hurt the growth of Japanese swords around the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 I'll suggest we move on till there are real new news on the matter. Meanwhile I lock the post, free to Brian to unlock it if he feels it necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 No, I'm happy to leave it locked. We will open if there are any new facts that are not emotionally based. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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