Report on the Murakumokai in Paris Exhibition Weekend.
by
Pascal Azadian and Duncan Cadd.
Edited by Paul Martin.
The
Murakumokai exhibition of Shinsakuto was held in Paris at the
Franco-Japanese Cultural Centre in Passage Turquetil which is situated near
Nation in the 11th Arondissement, on Saturday and Sunday 21st-22nd May 2005.
The name Murakumokai, or Heavenly Gathering of Clouds Society, refers to
a group of presently eight swordsmiths who take their collective name from the Kusanagi
no Tsurugi, which in Japanese mythology originated from the tail of the eight
headed eight tailed serpent/dragon the Yamata no Orochi; this was supposed to
have taken place around the yokota-cho, Shimane prefecture home of the tatara,
for which some people believe the dragon is a metaphor.
The group has its own website http://www.murakumokai.jp with a
steadily-increasing amount of information on it in English.
The
eight swordsmiths are introduced below, together with the school(s) under which
they trained and the name(s) of the smith(s) they were apprenticed to.
If there has been information published in English on a particular smith,
this is also noted.
Mikami
Sadanao
mukansa (Gassan School; Gassan Sadaichi)[Modern Japanese Swords and
Swordsmiths p. 136-9]
Ogawa
Kanekuni 2nd (Seki
School; Ogawa Kanekuni (father) [Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths p.
166-70; The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths p. 180-9]
Fujiwara
Kanefusa 25th
(Seki and Gassan Schools; 24th Kanefusa and Gassan Sadaichi)
Matsuba
Kunimasa (Schools
unknown; Kobayashi Yasuhiro, Ando Hirokiyo (or Hiroshi) and Kawachi Kunihira)
Sugita
Yoshiaki
(Kawashima School; 2nd generation Kawashima Tadayoshi)
Kubo
Yoshihiro
(Yoshihara School; Yoshihara Yoshindo)
Hayasaka
Nobumasa (Hokke
School; 8th generation Hokke Saburo Nobufusa)
Yamamoto
Suketada (School
unknown; Yokoi Takashi)
In
the 2005 NBTHK Shinsakuto Competition, six of these swordsmiths collected
nine of the top prizes, three firsts, two seconds and four thirds, with a
further two smiths' entries receiving the nyusen prize (accepted).
It is therefore fair to assume that this exhibition promised a treat in
terms of quality and we were not disappointed.
The top prizes won were:
Matsuba
Kunimasa
Two prizes. Toku-Sho:
The All Japan Swordsmiths Award in Tachi, Katana, Wakizashi, Naginata & Yari
Division, Doryoku-Sho in Ko-Wakizashi, Tanto & Ken Division
Sugita
Yoshiaki
Two prizes. Yushu-Sho
in Tachi, Katana, Wakizashi, Naginata & Yari Division, Yushu-Sho in
Ko-Wakizashi, Tanto & Ken Division
Ogawa
Kanekuni
One prize. Toku-Sho:
NBTHK Chairman Award in Tachi, Katana, Wakizashi, Naginata & Yari Division
Fujiwara
Kanefusa 25th
One prize. Toku-Sho:
Kunzan Award in Tachi, Katana, Wakizashi, Naginata & Yari Division
Kubo
Yoshihiro
Two prizes. Doryoku-Sho
in Tachi, Katana, Wakizashi, Naginata & Yari Division, Doryoku-Sho in
Ko-Wakizashi, Tanto & Ken Division
Yamamoto
Suketada One
prize. Doryoku-Sho in Tachi,
Katana, Wakizashi, Naginata & Yari Division
Mikami
Sadanao being mukansa
is of course above the ranking system.
Additionally,
Hayasaka Nobumasa and Yamamoto Suketada (confusingly listed in the
results under his real name Tsubouchi Tetsuya or Tsubouchi Suketada) both were
awarded the nyusen prize for an entry into the Ko-Wakizashi, Tanto and
Ken Division.
All
said, a pretty impressive performance for the eight Murakumokai members.
The
lighting at this exhibition was really very good, and the fact that there were
no glass cases to spoil things with extra reflections was a major plus point.
All the swords were supported on stands covered with white silk and it
was possible to get as close as one wished to most of them, although handling
was not possible. Some swords were
accompanied by koshirae, but most were simply displayed without
augmentation. The Franco-Japanese
Cultural Centre should be congratulated on staging this display in the same
manner as is evidently used in Japan, and they had clearly gone to some trouble
to get everything just right. As
far as the naked eye was concerned, it could scarcely have been better.
The
camera was another story, and I'm afraid I could not in all cases position
myself to avoid specular reflections and maintain everything in focus with the
restricted depth of field available to me.
A selection of the photos taken at this Exhibition are included in this article.
The great benefit of digital photography under these conditions is that
you get to see straight away whether the picture you have is acceptable or an
outright reject, and this is all the more important in a short term exhibition
which will not allow you to try again later.
As it happens, we were told that so many people had called the
Franco-Japanese Cultural Centre attempting to register that they had decided to
extend the exhibition from two days to four.
I should perhaps point out that entry to the exhibition was free, but
registration was mandatory to gain entry to the talks and demonstrations, and
given the small size of the venue, the number of visitors was probably around
250 a day maximum.
Hopefully the pictures speak for themselves. The quality of these swords was very high, with beautiful jihada and plenty of activity in the hamon. Some of these were recognisable as having been the winning entries in this year's competition. I would have loved to feel the balance of the longer swords; when something looks this attractive you can't help wondering just how "handy" it is. Best of all, four of the smiths themselves were present. They were Mikami Sadanao, Matsuba Kunimasa, Kubo Yoshihiro and Yamamoto Suketada, and later on the Sunday afternoon they each gave a talk.
Mikami Sadanao
Matsuba Kunimasa
Kubo Yoshihiro
Yamamoto Suketada
Not
only did we have swords to look at, but also tosu and various other items
such as pieces of tamahagane were offered for sale, a small lump of tamahagane
cost €100 which we felt was a little expensive but it was interesting to be
able to see this material, and Kubo Yoshihiro had a piece which we were
permitted to handle; it has an interesting smell!
Fortunately,
the practical aspect of the sword was not left un-investigated.
A demonstration was given by Matsuba Kunimasa which had the audience
applauding most appreciatively. Firstly,
we were shown that the Japanese sword is a robust implement; Matsuba-San flexed
his sword laterally to show that it is tough and springy, and then cut a nail by
rubbing it along the edge of the blade repeatedly in order to demonstrate that
the blade has a hard cutting edge which is not easily damaged.
Then the fun began!
It
was quite evident that Matsuba Kunimasa has been an avid student of the martial
arts for a long time, I believe he said since he was four years old.
The lengths of green bamboo set vertically in breezeblock supports to his
right and left stood no chance. Not
only that, but the sequential shooting mode of my camera couldn't keep up with
him! This man is fast!
By repeated attempts, I was able to catch a few choice moments, but the
best shot belongs to my friend and co-author Pascal, who managed to catch three
(Pascal says two, but look closely!) cut fragments of bamboo in motion at the
same time. At one point in the demonstration, one of the supports failed
and Yamamoto Suketada bravely stepped into the breach, keeping his head well
down. For some reason the lyrics
from the first season of Black Adder kept coming into my mind ("Beware the
deadly flashing blade//Unless you want to end up shorter").
After
the demonstration session, there was a video presentation of a sword being
forged. I believe that the Murakumokai had actually wished to give a
real live demonstration of this as well, but that unfortunately was simply not
possible this time. Pascal had a
better view of this than I did, so his comments appear here.
It
was the first time I saw a complete forging from the pieces of tamahagane
to a full blade ready to go for final polish. I had not realized before that the
blades we saw at the lower level of the building on show were at some point so
raw in their appearance and so blunt. We
kind of forget where these blades come from, so amazed (I was going to say
"galvanized") we are by all the light reflections on the different
quality of austenite, martensite, nioi or nie, etc. which are so
beautifully composed through the continued and consistent blaze and hard
hammering during the forging process, and actually coming out from mud.
Another short but very interesting video showed the actual tamahagane
production process through a tatara which is destroyed after having been
built especially for a single very large and heavy ingot of tamahagane (kera).
{P.A.}
The
talks given on the Sunday were translated into French, and my own ability being
poor, Pascal gave me a brief summary of what was being said; here he gives his
recollections of the afternoon.
The
lady managing the Cultural Centre gave an introductory speech where she
emphasized the uniqueness of having those four smiths among us.
She then went into explaining why a Japanese blade show was taking place
during the 2005 Koi Nobori which is the Children's feast day in Japan.
This might be rather surprising and contradictory.
As
a matter of fact she explained that after years of hard warring and cutting
bodily members or heads with these weapons, now the forging of blades was
actually, in her view, the best example of how a deadly weapon could be
transformed into a peaceful event and solely devoted to craftsmanship, beauty
and elegance. This could be the symbol to show to generations to come, of how
the rude human past could pave the way of peace and respect. Hence the choice of
this show during the children's days.
She
suggested by her talk that her influence in Japan may be great, and she plans to
ultimately promote this day as a world wide day of children, with the very
appealing and demonstrative show of these flying paper carps floating in the
wind. She explained as well the
origin of these carps transforming later into dragons but, I must admit that I
do not remember clearly enough about the exact origin of these Japanese kites
representing carps.
Then
each of the four smiths presented his own perspective on his craft: the
philosophy, the history (which, by the way, in a 15 minute talk, could
unfortunately only briefly describe the main features of each sword production
era, which made it less interesting for us, as hopefully we know the general (if
not more) evolving of blades along Japanese history).
In
a sense the most interesting talk was made by Yoshihiro KUBO san on the actual
forging from tamahagane; he explained the evolution of steel processing
during ages, the present centralization of tatara production, and
uniformization. He would not answer questions (you know the French !) on the
details of forging using this special ore, why this made it different from
western ore, etc. and other indiscrete questions related on their secret know
hows...
Takanoi
MIKAMI san concluded with the relationship he had with his family and children,
and of course his talk wrapped up back to the Koi Nobori children feast.
{P.A.}
Mikami Sadanao, Yamamoto Suketada, Kubo Yoshihiro, Matsuba Kunimasa.
I
could very easily find myself beating a path to the door of any of these
swordsmiths! The hada achieved by Mikami Sadanao in one of his tachi, by Matsuba
Kunimasa in his katana and by Sugita Yoshiaki I found very attractive.
I was also a little surprised to see a wakizashi by Mikami Sadanao
featuring ayasugi hada, evidently this comes via his apprenticeship to Gassan
Sadaichi, but I hadn't realised that Mikami-San ever used this himself.
It was particularly pleasing to see a sword by Hayasaka Nobumasa as he
was apprenticed to the 8th generation Hokke Saburo Nobufusa, who made a
deliberate decision after World War 2 to abandon his inherited style (Bizen) in
order to work in the Yamato Hosho tradition for the sake of preserving it from
dying out. I am sorry that my
photography did not show this particular sword at its best, it certainly
deserved better than I gave it.
This
was a wonderful weekend, made all the more special because of the demonstrations
of swordsmanship by Matsuba-San. I
can't help being impressed by a swordsmith who can really use a sword, and such
ability must surely repay the years of effort when it comes to making swords;
there must be a level of inherent feedback and experience here which is
unattainable by any other means. It
was also good to have the talks given by all four tosho on various aspects of
the Japanese sword, though I confess my grasp of French was woefully inadequate
and I was very dependent upon Pascal's brief summaries of the material being
covered. The local audience also
profited by being able to talk to the smiths via a couple of interpreters who
were on hand. I daresay it will be
a few years before we are presented with another such opportunity, I am glad at
least that Pascal and I had the chance to take advantage of this one.
Shinsakuto
currently endure the rather lukewarm reception which until recently was reserved
for shinshinto, one probable reason being that few opportunities to see
them exist outside Japan. With the
occasional exception provided by visiting experts such as Kenji Mishina and
swordsmith groups such as the Murakumokai, who are evidently keen to show modern
swords to a wider audience, there are signs that this is changing. However, another probable and sadly more persistent reason
for relatively low interest in shinsakuto is the unfortunate fact that
they are not particularly good investments outside Japan, thanks to currency
exchange charges and taxes which will add at least 10% and perhaps as much as
30% to the asking price of a new sword. It
is also necessary to wait a considerable time for a new sword to be made and
polished, not unlike the waiting list for a best London shotgun by Purdey or
Holland & Holland. Add to this
the ju-to-ho law which limits swordsmiths to two long swords or three
short swords per month, from the sale of which the smiths and allied artists
have to live, and shinsakuto become excessively pricey.
It
is most irritating {I can understand
your irritation! I am too much of a child and I want to own right now what I
purchase!! P.A.} but
it seems there is little to be done; owning a new sword requires a measure of
determination and a degree of indifference to filthy money which no doubt would
have received approval from your local samurai.
Most sword lovers are probably not that bothered about the investment
aspects of sword collecting, and will be content if in climbing the learning
curve of sword appreciation and revelling in the joy of a beautiful treasure we
can break even on our acquisitions and disposals, but the burden of these extra
costs of ownership is admittedly a deterrent to developing good collections of shinsakuto
here in Europe. It is all the more
interesting then to seize opportunities to see good shinsakuto when the
chance is there. For the record,
the swords we saw in Paris were priced at €10,000-20,000, or about £7,000-14,000.
Certainly for a sword made by a mukansa-rated smith, £14,000
sounds like a bargain.
I
personally wonder why one would invest in one of these superb blades when
comparing it to same prices, there are available beautifully forged ones, but
older and replete with history of bakufus, retired emperors, battles,
invasions, philosophy, ethics and social intricate relationships of old ages.
{P.A.}
Pascal
has a good point, I cannot deny it. For
many people it is the history, the romance if you will, of Japan's feudal and
often warlike past which makes swords - and particularly those of the koto
period - so interesting. Certainly
I could not readily contemplate focussing on shinsakuto without some
background knowledge of the history of the Japanese sword, to which end both
Pascal and I have recently invested in Harry "Afu" Watson's
translation (http://www.afuresearch.com/)
of the Nihon to Koza. I have
to admit that I find old swords very attractive, and I am particularly moved by
those which bear kirikomi, the battle scars of centuries gone by - ah! if
only they could talk! Stripped of
its majestic past, the newly-made sword may not make much sense, but I like to
look at it this way; if in seven hundred years from now, anyone is to enjoy
seven hundred year-old Japanese swords, then somebody needs to be buying them
today.
Copyright © Pascal Azadian and Duncan Cadd 2005