London
Meeting Report
Thirteen members plus one wife gathered at Tavistock Square on Thursday 22nd May. There were no specific subjects for the meeting, in terms of lectures or talks etc. Refreshments were provided.
The meeting was called to order at 7.00 pm and the chairman, Clive Sinclaire reported on the latest situation, as he saw it, regarding the government’s sword ban. As had been anticipated, the Home Office’s guidelines were unclear and confusing and both HM Revenue and Customs and certain Police Forces were making errors of interpretation. Several swords had been seized by the Customs in Coventry but these had now been released, apparently after much lobbying by the owners. Kent police, as part of their Safe Spring initiative, have broadcast inaccurate information stating that anyone caught with a “samurai sword” faced huge fines and up to seven years in jail. The Home Office have undertaken to correct this latter misapprehension by these over-zealous guardians of the law! As the initially Bill made law on 6th April is so poorly and confusingly presented, an amendment will soon be put before Parliament to address the problems that it has caused so unnecessarily.
Clive Sinclaire then spoke briefly about the recent sales in London, both of which are extensively reported elsewhere on this website (see London Saleroom Report – May 08 under Articles). He then spoke briefly about each of the swords brought along that evening. These were:
1 The katana signed Nobuhide, famous for its fantastic gilded horimono that was left by BW Robinson to the present owner and is also discussed and illustrated on this website under Articles.
2 A Hizen-to with an NBTHK Hozon certificate attributing it to the 8th generation Tadayoshi. Clive felt that the blade had a stronger zori than one would normally expect to find in either a Hizen-to or a blade of this late manufacture. Unfortunately the polish had been damaged and it was due to be refinished and restored. The beautifully carved go-ji mei was commented on.
3 A koto o-wakizashi signed Norimune. This was hira-zukuri and although the jihada was very worn and difficult to see, there were many good hataraki to be found in the hamon.
4 A stunning Yamato blade of the Hosho school with the Honami kinpun-mei (gold lacquered) attributing the blade to Hosho Sadamune, the founder of the school. The main feature of this school is that the jihada is pure masame-hada, which was sometimes imitated by smiths in both the Shinto and shinshinto periods. The sword, which is ex Sir Frank Bowden and Bon Dale, was accompanied by koshirae.
5 An Echizen wakizashi with very shallow zori tapering to a small kissaki, a sugata that is associated with the Kanbun period, complete with koshirae.
The meeting closed at 9.00 pm.
LONDON
MEETING – 28TH FEBRUARY 2008
14
members and one guest were present at the meeting which started promptly at
19.00. The first piece of business was presented by Clive Sinclaire, who had
been sent a copy of the Order laid before Parliament concerning the sword ban,
and issued on the previous day. Amazingly enough, it would seem from the wording
of this document, that all swords over 50 cm “from the top of the handle to
the tip of the blade” would be illegal from 6th April 2008
EXCEPT FOR JAPANESE SWORDS!!! described in the document as “being “made
in Japan before 1954 or was made at any other time according to traditional
methods of forging”. This covers everything we collect, including
Shinsakuto and even Showa-to. * (see below)
Clive
has now made a couple of suggestions at the Home Office’s request whereby the
definition may be amended and he is endeavouring to have “cultural and
educational activities” included under the “permitted activities” section.
Clive
also said that, after discussion with senior members of the Society,
the Society was considering re-opening for membership. This was mainly to
give support to collectors after the April sword ban. Members would be required
to sign up to our “Code of Good Practice” and they would then be issued with
a card that certified they were bona-fide collectors. Details of this would be
announced later.
Following
this, two DVD’s were shown, the first showing the complete process of sword
making. This DVD is issued by the All Japan Swordsmith’s Association and has a
good English soundtrack, the translation provided by member Paul Marin. This
excellent DVD showed in great detail the selection of both Kawagane and Shingane
and demonstrated the Kobuse method of combining them. The second DVD showed
excellent work by modern swordsmiths who are members of the Murakamikai. I found
them both very informative and enjoyable. (copies are available – please
contact me)
Several
swords were present for viewing
after the DVD showings. These were:
1)
A beautiful Awataguchi blade that had Juyo Token status. It was mumei and
suriage but attributed to Kuniyasau. It was in excellent condition
and had the most graceful shape and beautiful jihada associated with early
Yamashiro-den. It was indeed a great treat to see this sword again.
2)
A blade with the mei “Bishu Osafune Yasumitsu” and dated Oei 32nd
year was in rather poor condition and may have suffered heat damage, probably
from being buffed. There was some doubt about the authenticity and age of the
blade, but condition prevented precise appraisal.
3)
A so-called Shinken or modern sword complete with koshirae and made for Iai-do.
This sword was made in the Czech Republic and was an amazing thing. The well
made blade had a fantastic ko-choji-midare hamon mostly in nioi, with some
tobiyaki. There was also a full length bo-hi. However, the jigane looked very
dark, whilst the jihada was muji-hada in style. It was mumei but I have seen a
number of such swords that are signed and they are very skilfully made and are
probably excellent pieces for Iai-do.
4)A
katana that the owner’s research led him to believe was Nao Shizu work from
the Nambokucho period. There was very little detail to be seen as the condition
was not good, but the hamon appeared to have been treated with acid and to be
very Mino in appearance. The nakago had 4 mekugi-ana but had also been
over-cleaned with acid. It was certainly either Nambokucho or Shinshinto but
difficult to tell in such condition.
5)
A Taisho period katana in good polish and made by Minamoto Yoshichika. This
sword had a very robust sugata and resembled the workmanship of Motoshige. It
had a NBTHK Hozon certificate.
I
also brought along some photographs of Abe Kazunori polishing a number of blades
including Tokubetsu Juyo swords.
Our thanks to Maurice Hayes for organising the facilities and the refreshments. The meeting finished at 21.00.
----oo0oo----
*
This has quite
understandably caused quite an uproar in the antique weapons and militaria world
as it has come out of nowhere! I cannot believe that it will be carried through
as many of the swords made post 1908 would be effected (antiques over 100 years
old are already exempt – I believe). None of these swords were included in the
consultation process and I am sure that it will be amended. In fact, I have made
suggestions to the Home Office how a very minor alteration to the wording will
bring it back to where it was intended to be.
Clive Sinclaire
London
Meeting – 5th December 2007
Reported
by A V Norman
This
meeting was the A G M plus the second part of Clive Sinclaire’s lecture on
Hizen-t. Eleven members plus one wife attended.
The
meeting started at 1900 hours with Clive Sinclaire doing the second part of his
Hizen-to lecture, this one being a Powerpoint Presentation comprising of some
thirty slides. I personally missed the first half given at the last meeting but
it was obvious that much time and work had gone into this highly detailed and
informative presentation. The lecture was followed by an update of the club’s
financial situation by Treasurer / Secretary, Mr Maurice Hayes. The situation
continues to be healthy.
This
was followed by a sword viewing of the swords brought along by several of those
attending. These may be summarised, as follows:
1)
Gendaito by Kanezane
which was in a half polished state and included photographs of it, from kissaki
to mono-uichi, in its previously extremely rusted condition. These showed no
visible line of the shinogi, ko-shinogi or yokote. Now, however, 90% of the rust
has been removed and all lines reinstated and restored to the kaisei-nagura
stage of polishing.
2)
A mumei koto katana, o-suriage with 2 mekugi-ana. No yasurime visible on
the nakago which, together with the blade had been “cleaned” with acid prior
to restoration.
3)
A large moroha zukuri (double edged) katana, most probably late
shinshinto, with the gimei Bizen
Yosaemon Sukesada, in shira-saya.
4)
A good mumei hira-zukuri katana with NBTHK Hozon paper attributing the
blade to chu-Mihara school.
5)
A very good shinshinto but mumei katana in the Bizen style with
choji-gunome midare hamon in nioi-deki. This had NBTHK Hozon attribution to Koyama Munetoshi, in
shira-saya.
6)
A gendaito with full length bo-hi signed Kanefusa and Kiku
Ichimonji.
7)
A slender katana, the hamon finishing in yakiotoshi about an inch above
the machi. Mumei and possibly saiha (re-tempered) in good Kai-gunto mounts.
8)
A katana with Kanbun-shinto sugata, one of the straightest blades that I
have ever seen (incidentally, a favourite shape of Bill Tilly’s!), in modern
mounts and new saya. Signed Echizen (no) Kuni Ju Harima Daijo
Fujiwara Shigetaka (probably nidai).
After
the sword viewing, light refreshments were available to all.
13th
June 2007
Reported
by A V Norman
The meeting was held at our usual venue of the Baiforth Rooms in Tavistock Square, in London. The meeting was attended by eleven members plus two wives.
The chairman, Clive Sinclaire, opened the meeting with a report updating the situation regarding the proposed government ban on “samurai swords”. He read a response to the e-petition on the PM’s website. This basically stated that the Home Office consultation period had finished at the end of May, it would be studied and the government’s reaction would be made in the autumn, probably October of this year. On the same subject, the chairman also read from the editorial of Classic Arms & Armour magazine. In a section called the The Last Word, a frank view of the Home Office proposal was expressed directly and forcefully.
This prompted some discussion after which a letter from Ian Bottomley, chairman of the Northern Token Society was read to the meeting. In it, Ian said that any of our members would be welcome to Northern To-ken meetings should they be in the area at the time. They would also be welcome at his home. This letter was sent to me after the Seni weekend in London which was well attended by our colleagues from the north. I have replied with a reciprocal offer.
Clive mentioned that he had been in Liverpool recently and, as well as acquiring an interesting piece, had spent an enjoyable lunch with a number of Northern To-ken members. He also said how much he had enjoyed the Seni event in London, and how the efforts of Paul Martin were greatly appreciated in this respect. #
Following this, I also spoke about what a great and rewarding time Seni had been for me personally. I was especially impressed by the warmth and generosity of spirit that was displayed by Abe Kazunori and his son Soichiro, as well Ono Yoshimitsu sensei. However, I was also somewhat surprised to see only a few Southern members in attendance. I was there for both days
There were several swords at the meeting, as follows:
1) A wakizashi in shira-saya, possibly Odawara Soshu, polished on the ura in my normal way and on the omote, in a more subtle way after discussion with Abe sensei.
2) A large shinshinto katana signed Mitsuhiro, complete with koshirae.
3) A sue-koto Mino tanto in shira-saya, much sunagaeshi throughout, in the style of Kanesada, signed Kanetaka. (the owner, one of our founder members, mentioned that these 2 pieces had cost £14 for the katana and £4 for the tanto. Of course he was offered a small profit on both of them!)
4) A good gendaito from the mid-Showa period by Hokke Saburo Nobufusa. This sword had a Hozon paper. It was in shira-saya but also had good quality gunto koshirae.
5) A good Meiji period tanto, signed Fujiwara Yoshishige and dated Meiji Gannen, also with Hozon paper from the NBTHK.
6) A small magari yari in beautifully made shira-saya with a Koyama Munetoshi mei (see UK Sword Reg No. 88 for further details).
More on the Seni show is to be found on our website under “Members Area”.
To-Ken Society Meeting
26th April 2007
Tavistock Square, London
Report by A V
Norman
A special
meeting, at our usual venue in Tavistock Square,
to discuss the draft reply to the Home Office sword ban consultation was
held on 26th April (the response must be in by 28th May).
This was prepared by our Chairman over the past 3
months.
Considering the
potential importance of this meeting, it was quite poorly attended, in all 9
members and one guest. The meeting started at approximately 7.00 pm.
Clive read out
a letter from the Northern To-ken that explained their response to the Home
Office proposal. Their understandable approach was that protecting the interests
of their members and the collecting of Japanese swords was all that mattered.
This was at some variance to Clive’s thinking, which was that this outlook
lent credence to a proposal that was fundamentally flawed and morally wrong and
somehow, this should be stated. Of course,
preserving our right to collect Japanese swords was of paramount
importance but it was uncomfortable to register no protest whatsoever.
Generally, the meeting concurred with this.
A
copy of the draft response, which took on board some of the points raised by our
northern colleagues, was given to all those present and they were requested, as
soon as possible, to come back to
Clive should they have any comments. Some good points were raised at the meeting
and will also be included in our response.
Our
thanks to Clive for his work in the preparation of the document. As this
discussion was somewhat lengthy, little time was left for sword viewing and
there were only 4 swords present anyway.
1) A superb gendaito with an absolutely stunning activities within the hamon, to my mind, a special order sword and signed Ten Shin Shi Taira Sadashige Saku. It had an NTHK paper and had been given 75 points at shinsa.
2) A very strongly curved wakizashi in handachi mounts, signed Kosuke Daijo Hisakuni. See UK Sword Reg on the website for oshigata and full details of this sword.
3) A Kowakizashi by Gammaku Ujinobu, with shiorasaya and NTHK papers.
4) A Tachi attributed to “Shinto Jumyo” at NBTHK shinsa, in shirasaya, also late but good tachi koshirae.
All blades were in good condition and polish.
To-Ken Society Meeting
8th March 2007
Tavistock Square, London
Thirteen members (some may say a coven!), one guest plus one wife were present.
The return of a past member, Mr Anthony Gibb was most welcome as was the presence of our President Mr Victor Harris, accompanied by a sword.
Our Chairman, Mr Clive Sinclaire called the meeting to order after coffee and biscuits. He spoke about the Home Office proposal to ban “Samurai Swords”. The latest development is the consultation paper that has been issued and there are links to our website which is thankfully up and running after a brief hic-up a few weeks ago.
It is plain to see that our Chairman is still keeping a close eye on all developments and working hard on our behalf. He pointed out that there is close contact and liaison on this matter with our colleagues in the Northern To-Ken Society.
Clive intends to draft a reply to the consultation paper for us all to see before it is sent off.
As the closing date for the consultation is 28th May, a meeting will be called before this deadline. It is therefore advisable, if you own a sword, that you attend this meeting which will be announced on the website.
Swords At The Meeting:
1) A naginata-zukuri large katana inscribed Sa Yasuyoshi.
2) A superb gendaito by Ikkansai Kasam Shigetsugu with a stunning Fudo-kaen Horimono, a special order sword made for Adolf Hitler (See sword register Number 48).
3) Katana by Koyama Munetsugu made for Aseomon Yoshimasa head of the family of testers. The more I see it the more I see into it.
4) A wakizashi in a poor state of polish with the mei, Yasatsugu oite echizen saku kore, with Aoi-mon and thought to be the 3rd generation Echizen swordsmith.
5) An o-suriage katana with kuchigaiba, a yakitsune boshi and unofficially attributed to the Yamato Tegai school. Although not in the best state of polish, a lovely old sword accompanied by its koshirae.
6) A tanto in excellent polish signed Bishu Ju Masahiro Saku. There were three generations named Masahiro in the ko-mihara school and this is thought to be by the second. The sword came from Ron Gregory and was traded for a military hilt many years ago. It is a stunning example.
7) A Shinto katana with the mei Hizen Kuni Tadayuki.
8) A gendaito in shirasaya with a graceful sugata and dated March 1945. It was signed Hizen Kuni Yoshitada and also had a special order inscription, the customer being one Takahashi Shoji. Apparently it is understood that this smith had verbal instructions passed on to him by the last Tadayoshi.
9) Finally a rather large katana with thick kasane and a wide mihaba. This was a heavy sword in an ornate koshirae and was thought to be by the sixth generation of the mainline Tadayoshi family with the mei Hizen Kuni Omi (no) Kami Tadayoshi.
The following fittings were on display.
Mitokoromono: Consisting of a kodzuka, kogai and menuki (Edo period). Possibly Ishiguro style, similar to the Goto style. Shakudo-nanako depicting court musicians and musical items, all in fitted box.
Mitokoromono: Consisting of a kodzuka, kogai and menuki (Edo period) Higo-kinko, depicting bamboo screens. NBTHK Hozon certificate, fitted box.
Futokoromono: Kodzuka and kogai (Edo period). Possibly Mito school. Red copper with ishime ground with swallows in flight with fitted box.
Reported by A.V. Norman.
TO-KEN December 2005 Meeting and AGM
Ten members attended.
Clive Sinclaire (Chairman) suggested
swords to be viewed then put away before wine and snacks served.
Clive gave a talk which was
well received and enjoyed on his recent trip to Japan whilst referring to laptop
images showing a wonderful historical procession through the ages in Kyoto along
with the sites of Himeji and Niso castles.
Tony Norman showed some examples of his
lacquer work on a ko wakizashi mount which was quite impressive.
M. Hayes presented the society’s
accounts.
Swords on display.
Wakizashi
Mumie Hira-zukuri Shinshinto
Soshu style.
Shinto
wakizashi Isido school, Mei,
Norinaga
Katana Kozuri school showing utsuri.
Muromachi period in gunto mounts.
Katana Showa period, Mei, Nobutake.
Tokyo workshop dated 1943, a very good Gendai-to.
Katana Mei, Yamato no Kami Yasumichi.
Katana/Tachi
sugata like Tachi.
Possibly early Muromachi.
Katana Showa period. Mino Hamon San Bon
Sugi in Military mounts.
Katana Shinto period Mei, Izumi No Kami
Fujiwara Kunisada a good blade in shirasaya.
Koto Tanto Mumei
Koto Tanto Mino Kanesaki with sayagaki..
made in middle Christian era 1500’s by Kanesaki of Mino.
Comments
by Tony Norman on the special meeting held 8.05.06
arranged by Paul Martin, Clive Sinclaire and Maurice Hayes.
Guest
Speaker Mr Tatsuya Fujishiro
Son
of Okisato Fujishiro and Grandson of Matsuo Fujishiro.
This was a rare chance to meet a man from one of the top schools of polishing in Japan. His presentation with references to stunning photographic slides was ably translated by Mr Paul Martin.
For me personally it was good to hear that collectors and museums in Japan favour sashikomi polish these days.
It was a great evening as all attending remarked how very much they enjoyed the event.
A big well done to Paul, Clive and Maurice.
TO-KEN SOCIETY MEETING, 6th July 2006
Report by Tony Norman
The
Chairman opened the informal meeting and suggested, as there were some nine
swords on the table, that we looked at and discussed the blades first, after
only a short discussion on the forthcoming sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s
in London. (catalogues were there for the members to browse through).
Members
are encouraged to discuss the swords, which they bring to meetings. Clive spoke
first about his sword, an early shinto wakizashi with a strong and robust sugata
by the first generation Hizen Yukihiro that has Tokubetsu Hozon designation. The
sword was in a beautiful polish by Kenji Mishina and for a full explanation of
this sword, see the UK Sword Register on our web site.
Next,
David Maynard had two shinto wakizashi, which had both recently, returned from
NBTHK shinsa in Japan. The first of these was attributed to Akifusa of the Owari
Seki school (Hozon) and was a broad strong blade. The second was by Harima Daijo
Fujiwara Masatsuna and was also Hozon.
Next,
Trevor Read showed an o-suriage katana in Shingunto mounts which dated from the
late Nambokucho / early Muromachi period and had been given a Ko-zori school
attribution. His second sword was almost certainly gimei, signed Tsuda Echizen
Sukehiro and had a tapering sugata with horimono on both sides of the blade. The
owner believes it to be a copy and probably made by a shinshinto smith such as
Gassan Sadakazu.
Maurice
Hayes brought along a large sized naginata by Koyama Munetsugu. It is signed
with Munetsugu’s Bizen (no) Suke title and is a stunning work of art in
steel. Please refer to our web site for detailed information on this piece. The
owner also brought along a full size oshigata that had been drawn by the
chairman on 1st Jan 2000.
Vincent brought along
a sword he had recently acquired. Although in poor condition and with Shingunto
mounts, the shinshinto blade was signed Shinano (no) Kami Fujiwara Daido.
Finally, our latest member also brought a poor condition shinshinto blade, with
a broad sugata repeated gunome hamon signed Kuniyuki, I believe. Finally, a late
koto naginata blade, which was mumei and o-suriage, was shown. This had some
o-hada and a mitsu-mune and many hataraki were visible in the hamon.
After the swords, a discussion on the proposed UK ban on so-called samurai swords was discussed by everyone. Clive gave all the up to date information that he had and it appeared that most members in the room had written to their MP or the Home Office. Any that had not, were urged to do so. There are letters of guidance on the web site. As is to be expected in cases such as this, there are plenty of ideas as to what may happen, but all is still speculation at the moment.
REPORT
ON DECEMBER 06 MEETING (AGM)
Reported
by A V Norman
Our Chairman, Clive Sinclaire
explained the reasons behind the cancellation of the planned International
Conference on Japanese Swords and Armour, which was to be held at the Royal
Armoury in Leeds last October. This was because of the serious illness of Mr Ian
Bottomley, chief curator and organiser. This he followed by the account of a
sword recently donated to the Society by Burma Vet, Mr Horner at Southend Police
Station on Nov 7th (a full account of this may be found elsewhere on
this website). Mr Tony Norman offered to restore this gendaito blade at no cost
to the Society. Although no firm decision was made, it was suggested that maybe
the sword would be offered for sale via Bonhams auction house, if they could be
persuaded to forego their commission and then the proceeds would be donated to
the Burma Star Association.
Clive also spoke briefly on the
proposed ban on “samurai swords” and again full details of this may be found
on our website.
Mr T Read informed the meeting that
the date coincided with the 303rd anniversary of the famous incident
of the 47 ronin’s attack on Lord Kira.
The meeting then proceeded to look at
the swords which had been brought along for discussion and as normal, the owners
introduced them. It was good to see that most of them were in a good state of
polish. The swords included:
1) The previously mentioned Burma Star sword, a gendaito by Kanenori dated
Showa 18th year, 1st month.
2) A stunning blade signed Hizen Kuni Kawachi Daijo Fujiwara Masahiro
(1st
generation) Tokubetsu Hozon and with koshirae. The shira-saya bag was
embroidered with the mei and the blade was in good polish with many activities
apparent in both ji and ha.. Altogether a great “package”.
3) Another sword by the same swordsmith but slightly suriage. Hozon To-ken.
This was quite different and probably the standard work of the 1st generation
Masahiro, to me more typical of the sword of Hizen-to generally encountered.
4) A Gamaku Uji Nobu signed wakizashi and the owner stated that it was
typical workmanship for this Mino smith, also with NBTHK Hozon papers, in shira-saya
and in polish.
5) A shinshinto katana signed Bizen Yokoyama Sukekane plus the 58th
generation from Tomanari inscription. The sword, was accompanied by a koshirae.
6) The same owner had a strong and robust looking blade by a sue-koto
Kanemoto (2 character mei with sanbon tsuji hamon.
7) A fine
Yasukuni shrine sword in pristine condition, this sword was in
suguha with many ko-choji ashi and a tight ko-mokume hada. It was signed by
Yasuoki, a founding smith of the Nihonto Tanren Kai at Yasukuni.
8) Another Yasukuni shrine sword but this had not faired so well although
the Suguha hamon was discernable. Signed Yasunori.
9) A wakizashi that the owner felt might be koto, possibly Taima school from
Yamato. There was much to see in the blade which had a later horimono and may
well have been the end of a much longer blade.
10)
Finally a hira-zukuri ko-wakizashi in shira-saya which was speculated as
Odawara Soshu. A notare type hamon with some activities and a O-hada with
ji-nie.