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The Secretary of the Society would like to remind members that current membership runs out on 5th April 2010. To renew your membership for next year please send a cheque for £5 payable to The To-ken Society of Great Britain enclosing a stamped addressed envelope to 11 Fishery Road. Boxmoor. Hemel Hempstead. Herts. HP1 1NB.

We will be holding a preview evening for the opening of the above exhibition on Friday 19th February at 6:00 in the evening exclusively for members of the Token Society.

This is where you will have the first opportunity to look and study the Japanese swords being exhibited.

There will be snacks and drinks provided however, there is only a limited amount of space available so please contact Eddy as soon as possible at the Japanese Gallery to confirm your place.

A LECTURE BY MISHINA KENJI - 6^TH November 2008 – Tokyo Metropolitan Office, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Mishina sensei will deliver an English language, illustrated lecture, in Tokyo on the evening of Thursday 6^th November 2008 between 1800 and 2000. This is organised by the Tokyo Metropolitan Office and is one of the campaigns by the Metropolitan Governor, Mr Ishihara, to spread traditional Japanese culture to the world. The lecture will be held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Office in Shinjuku. This location is in the so-called Skyscraper District of Shinjuku and is adjacent to the popular Keio Plaza Hotel, where the NBTHK Convention will be held, two days later. The lecture is conveniently timed between the Dai Token Ichi show and the NBTHK Convention, which I expect many of us will wish to attend. It is also only a 5 minute walk from Shinjuku railway station. The lecture is designed for English speaking residents in Japan, who may wish to understand a little more of the cultural background of the Japanese sword.

As a first class polisher of mukansa rank, it will interesting to hear of the motivation and circumstances during the 1970’s and 80’s, that persuaded Mishina Kenji (whose ancestors may be traced back to the Mishina family of swordsmiths) to become a polisher and head student of the Nagayama Kokan school of polishing. The lecture also covers the history and development of the Japanese sword as well as explaining various details of the polishing process. This is a rare opportunity to hear such details from both an acknowledged expert and in the English language, and as such should not be missed.

In addition to the lecture, there will be a demonstration of sword polishing by Honami Koshu sensei and his student. He is the last representative of the famous Honami family and 18^th generation of the Honami Ko-i branch of sword polishers and appraisers. A small display of koshirae and sword fittings will also be available for viewing.

There is no charge for attending this lecture but, for security reasons, prior registration is required. This may be done by e-mail to m-kenji@parkcity.ne.jp.

Arriving in Shinjuku, Tokyo on the 30^th October heralded the start of a frantic few days of quite intense sword study as well as much convivial celebration. It was a great shame that this clashed directly with the UK’s 2^nd NTHK shinsa in Windsor, I have yet to discover how to be in two places at the same time!

It seems that, whenever I am in Tokyo these days, I make time to visit Yasakuni Jinja. This is about an hour’s straightforward walk from Shinjuku along Yasakuni Dori and it is a great way of reminding me that I am truly back in Japan! As the weather was warm and sunny like a spring day, this was a pleasant stroll. The date was 31^st October and Halloween night, a themed night which many of the bars in Tokyo seem to have adopted as a good marketing tool. However, I had been invited to a private party at which there were six very good swords set out for viewing.

These included a fine hira-zukuri wakizashi by Echizen Yasutsugu, a tachi by Sanesada, and an unusual and famous katana, made for the Nabashima daimyo by shodai Tadayoshi. All six swords were of very fine quality and rated at least Juyo Token. In addition to these swords, some very fine kodogu were laid out for appreciation. Together with several friends, was indeed a fine way of beginning the brief visit to Japan.

The Dai Token Ichi event, now held annually at the Nihon Bijutsu Club in the Shimbashi area of Tokyo, has now become a must for me. It is an “arms fair” that is totally devoted to Japanese swords and armour and is Japan’s premier event of this nature. This year it was attended by some sixty dealers from all over Japan. As everything one sees is for sale, it is an ideal place to boost the collection and has many distinct advantages over normal auction houses and is now visited by many gaijin or foreigners. Dai Token Ichi is held over a three day period and it is possible to see hundreds of swords, all in good polish and fully authenticated, giving a wider risk-free choice than even the best US sword-show. Also I think the prices are competitive and open to negotiation in many instances. It seems that the foreign contingent is growing in number every year and I think this year was probably the record so far (probably due to the later NBTHK Convention).

It seems that this year, in spite of the economic situation, a reasonable amount of business was being done. I know of one Kotetsu blade, for instance, which sold for Yen 30 million, but it was said that it was the gaijin who were spending freely on fittings rather than blades. As has now become almost traditional, a gaijin dinner was arranged by Mr Robert Hughes (the only foreign, registered sword dealer, living in Japan) in one of the many restaurants in this part of Tokyo. This year there were no less than 56 and by my reckoning, 9 different nationalities, partaking of the sushi and the free beer and saké.

Next on the agenda was Mishina Kenji’s lecture on Japanese Sword Culture to be held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office in Shinjuku. This lecture was part of Tokyo’s bid to stage the 2016 Olympics by educating the resident ex-pat community about Edo / Tokyo culture. This event has already been publicised on this website and I was pleased to see many old acquaintances amongst the 70 odd present.

In addition to “sword people” there were a number of foreign press representatives and some diplomatic staff. I was especially pleased to meet Tokugawa Yasuhisa, great-grandson of the last Tokugawa Shogun, a charming and most amusing character.

It was beholden on me to make a brief and rather inadequate introductory speech and this was followed by Mishina sensei’s lecture, the first half of which detailed Mishina’s early experiences that inspired him to take up sword polishing. It also detailed his time in England and his present circumstances. The second half explained the history and development of the Japanese sword from the earliest chokuto to the present day.

There followed a polishing demonstration by Honami Koshu, the 18^th generation Honami master and an assistant. Honami sensei was demonstrating the use of Jizua on the hada of a magnificent sword by Bizen Tomonari, whilst his assistant showed ground work at the uchigamori stage. It was expected that there would be a question and answer session although this was quite restrained. I was relieved at this as I am completely inadequate at answering technical polishing questions, which were answered by Mishina sensei.

Actually on the night before the NBTHK Convention (Friday 7^th November) we had a spectacular gaijin party aboard a boat in Tokyo harbour. This was a magnificent event, organised by Robert Hughes to see the spectacular lights of Tokyo Bay, whilst enjoying good sushi, tempura, beer and saké, of course. Emphasising the international aspect of this event, Gordon Robson was there having just returned from the London shinsa and the following day another attendee was just off to the Christie’s sale in London.

The 43^rd NBTHK Convention, sadly missed over the last few years, started on the Saturday morning. I was somewhat surprised that some who had made the effort to travel to Japan for Dai Token Ichi had returned whence they had come, without experiencing the swords at the convention.

Held at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, there were 155 splendid swords laid out for close, in-hand appreciation. Somewhat irksome, but an understandable necessity, was the electronic timer which gave one only about 30 seconds on a sword before the soon to become annoying timer, moved one on to the next. In some cases this meant a brief glimpse at the sugata was all that there was time for. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the main hall although a professional photographer seemed very busy.

The first swords to be seen were Yamashiro-den with blades by Awataguchi and Rai school blades, followed by Yamato and Soshu-den. It would take forever for me to attempt detail individual blades but they were all, of course, outstanding. Suffice it to say that simply seeing the jigane and jihada on the koto was worth all the expense and time in coming to Japan.

The swords were divided into two halves so that a break could be taken in the middle and this was certainly needed. After a couple of hours of viewing I started on the second half that contained mostly shinto

In addition to the main room there was also a shinsakuto display and a regular shuttle between the Keio Plaza Hotel and the Sword Museum at Yoyogi.

On the Saturday evening a Chinese banquet was held for all attendees, As in the past, the gaijin were segregated onto 4 separate tables, each of which had a translator. After a number of speeches, some on video, the meal was served. The food was OK, but I think that I would have preferred Japanese food. Kantei prizes were given out and Mike Yamazaki from the US received a 2^nd prize for which he should be congratulated.

On Sunday, the same swords were again available for viewing. With considerably less attending, this was a somewhat more relaxed affair than on the previous day, the electronic timing being more flexible.

As I had to leave Tokyo on the following day, I was regrettably unable to attend a lecture for foreigners at the Sword Museum, delivered by Tanobe sensei.

Please find, when following the link below, a 12 point document. This is a code of good practice which I am confident makes sense for any collector or user of Japanese swords. Whilst you may find it unnecessary and rather Politically Correct, I assure you that in today’s health and safety environment, it is essential for us all to acknowledge and act in accordance with these guidelines. They are set out in order that we may continue to collect and study Japanese swords with impunity and to demonstrate that we do this in a responsible and safe manner.

If you download and sign the document, and return it with a £10 subscription, to the address shown below, you will be included on the To-Ken Society’s data base and issued with a membership card. This will be renewable on an annual basis for a further £5 per annum. If you are in procession of a membership card, officers of the society will be able to testify, should it become necessary, that you have agreed to be bound by our guidelines. You will also, of course, be fully entitled to attend meetings and enjoy all other privileges of membership.

Please download and send your copy of the guidelines document, plus your £10 first year’s subscription and registration (cheques should be made out to To-ken Society of Great Britain), to: The Membership Secretary

Link to Home Office site re latest news on the proposed ban on Japanese swords. Added12.12.07

AN EXHIBITION OF JAPANESE LACQUER TO BE HELD AT TWO VENUES IN OKAYAMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN

The exhibition at Hishio will be introduced by the ‘Living National Treasure’ Kitamura Shosai. It will comprise of:

Details of transport and further information may be obtained by telephone or from the Hishio website.

We are grateful for the support of the Hayashibara Foundation, Okayama; Christies, London and AXA Art Insurance Limited, UK

As is fairly usual, we have all come to expect Clive and his wife Jean, single handily to put a great deal of effort into organising and manning an event such as this, in order to convey the aims of the To-ken society of Great Britain, to a different audience. Clive produced an A4 sized information sheet, stating the aims of the Society, past and present, as well as its future direction. All of these were distributed to interested people.

Clive was also responsible for putting on a stunning display / exhibition from his own personal collection. These included some 6 Tokubetsu Hozon blades. I know of few others who could match this from their personal collections. All swords were beautifully set up on white silk or on some fine katana-kake. As well as the blades, some very attractive koshirae were displayed. Clive also attempted to demonstrate drawing an oshigata, but from the poor lighting, the constant kia from the kendo demonstration and the loud drumming from the Taiko, made concentration difficult.

Although I might envy Clive his collection, I did not envy him the job of dismantling the display and taking it all back to his hotel room overnight. Whilst the organisers did provide overnight security, the risk of leaving the swords out, was too great. Of course, this meant that the entire display had to be rebuilt on the Sunday morning.

I went to the event by public transport and had to carry my baggage with two rather painful injured arms. I took a couple of swords and some polishing stones along for display and unfortunately, due to a prior engagement, I had to leave Clive and Jean to the unending questions on Sunday.

This show was a exposition on all things Japanese, including tourism, Japanese food, kendo displays, taiko drums, origami and go. However, the vast majority of space was taken up by Manga and related stalls and all that that entails. This attracted many young people whose dress was, to put it mildly, unusual and “extreme”. Apart from us, there was little of Japanese cultural or artistic interest and we did seem a little out of place in this environment.

Having said this, there were a number of very interested people and I was encouraged by some of the intelligent questions that we were asked. Considering the logistics entailed, I am not sure that we should repeat the experience next year.

Visit by Abe Kazunori Sensei and

Ono Yoshi Mitsu Sensei was a great

success. A BIG THANK YOU to

Paul Martin for organising this event.

Tony Norman.

Link to report by Tony Norman

The 2007 Shinsaku-Meitoten

June 5^th 2007, swordsmiths from all over Japan converged at the NBTHK sword museum in Yoyogi for the Awards ceremony of the 2007 Shinsaku-Meitoten. However, this year’s competition is different to previous years. Due to the ongoing troubles of the NBTHK the Bunka-cho and the Sansho kai, the Bunka-cho withdrew the Takamatsu Award and the Agency for Cultural Affairs Chairman’s Award. In addition to this they have withdrawn funding for the training of swordsmiths at the Tatara in Shimane prefecture, leaving the fate of licensing new smiths in limbo at the moment. One has to wonder if the upcoming National election in Japan has had some influence on these severe decisions. Undoubtedly, the withdrawal of these two special prizes can have a long-term effect of the annual competition. Most of the usual entries were accepted with a few familiar names missing and the usual amount of abstainers. Without the two special prizes the chance of becoming Mukansa is decreased, and is clearly detaining the elevation to such a rank for the time being of the next in-line.

There were 79 accepted entries this year. 18 of which were Mukansa, producing the standard and styles of workmanship that we have come to expect from them. A tachi by Amata sensei, a Yamashiro tachi by Osumi sensei, the choji-midare of the Yoshihara smiths, a Yamatorige utsushimono by Ono Yoshimitsu, an utsushii-mono of the kogarasumaru by Hiroki Hirokuni and a Sukehiro style toranba by one of last years nominated Mukansa Ogawa Kanekuni (father). One blade that stood out to me amongst the Mukansa group was not particularly because of its aesthetic quality, but for its technical skill. It was a Kamakura Ichimonji style tachi with a flamboyant choji-midare hamon that in some places was reached up towards the shinogi whilst displaying a strong utsuri throughout its length. In fact, I have said before that I personally find the current times among gendai smiths very exciting and innovative in a competitive research sense. They are obviously in strong competition with each other and this is displayed in the subtleties and skill of their workmanship illustrated by the fact that a suguha blade took the highest position on this occasion. Another observation was, although was a usual high amount of choji-midare entries, there does seem to be a Soshu den trend creeping in.

With only four special prizes this year there were two winners of the NBTHK chairman’s award. I have to wonder if this was an effort to counter the effect of losing two prizes or if in fact they did attain the same amount of points during judging. Placed in first position in the museum’s display cases was a Kamakura style tachi by Kubo Yoshihiro of Hiroshima. The hamon was a suguha-based gunome that continues into the boshi and ends in ko-maru. It had a well-forged hada achieving its aim of the elegant style suguha blades of Osafune Nagamitsu. However, the special feature on this blade was the subtle choji-midare utsuri running throughout. A very classy piece of workmanship by this former student of the Yoshihara School. It was a good year for Kubo as he also took an Award for Excellence in the short sword category with a bitchu style saka-choji tanto that also displayed a strong saki-choji utsuri. In addition to this, his former student, Myochin Munehiro also took an Award for Effort in the long swords category.

Following on the heels of his ASJA Chairman’s award from last year, the other person to share the NBTHK Chairman’s award is another relatively young smith Takami Kuniichi. This promising smith is a former apprentice of Mukansa smith Kawachi Kunihira. This year he produced a large Kamakura Ichimonji style tachi with a large choji-midare hamon. It was a good result in general for the Kawachi School, with Kiyota Jiro Kunietsu taking an Award for Effort. Ishida Kunihisa just missing out on the Award for Effort being placed at the head of the nyusen awards. Last years Newcomers Award and Award for Effort Komiya Kokuten and Kawachi Kunihira’s son, Ippei were accepted for entry, whilst Kokuten’s uncle of the Komiya School, Komiya Shiro Kunimitsu II, took an Award for Effort.

The winner of the Kunzan prize went to Takehana Ikkansai Shigehisa. It was good to see this former prize-winner and head of the Tokyo chapter of the All Japan Swordsmiths association return to form and to the special prize category. His blade was a recreation of the sue-Bizen workmanship of Katsumitsu or Yosozaemon Sukesada, with a horimono of a kurikara in the lower part of the saki-sori blade and a bohi in the upper part. Shigehisa was also successful in the tanto category taking an Award for Effort.

The Kanzan prize went to a young smith from the Miyairi School who is fast becoming no stranger to first prizes. Kawasaki Akihira from Saitama prefecture produced a lovely Soshu den Nambokucho shaped blade of even curvature with a notare hamon on velvety itame-hada with an abundance of well-controlled nie. I expect we’ll see more of the same from him in the future.

The All Japan Swordsmiths Association Chairman’s award went to Ogawa Kanekuni (son of Mukansa smith Ogawa Kanekuni) Like his father he too produced an Osaka Sukehiro style toranba blade with a deep and controlled nioi. Ogawa from Gifu prefecture like Kubo Yoshihiro is a member of the Murakumokai. Another of their colleagues Matsuba Kunimasa, from Kyushu, took the Award for Excellence in both the long and short sword categories.

There were 6 prizes for excellence and at the head of these was a gorgeous tachi by Matsuda Tsuguyasu. It was aimed at early Rai School work with a quiet choji-midare, profuse ji-nie and displayed nie-utsuri in places. The hada on this blade is outstanding. One cannot but be full of sympathy for this excellent smith. His placement at the head of the Yushusho (Award for Excellence) category was a clear indication that he would have been a recipient of the special prizes had they not been withdrawn. Matsuda probably holds more special awards than most Mukansa smiths. On two previous occasions just when he has attained the required amount of special awards to become Mukansa, the requirements were raised. When he had won six, the requirement became 8, then when he won eight, the requirement was lifted to the current 10. The withdrawal of the top prizes must be a crushing blow to this superb craftsman. Matsuda san has the reputation for producing blades that even the most experienced have trouble deciding if they are a healthy meito or a gendaito. He is known to produce all the qualities of ko-Bizen and Kamakura Bizen blades including activities such as antai.

In addition to the 6 awards for excellence there were 6 awards for effort. This welcomed the return to the arena of another seasoned smith –Furukawa Kiyoyuki another big prize-winner in the past. In addition to the two NBTHK Chairman’s Awards there were also two Newcomers Awards won by Gassan Sadanobu (son of Sadatoshi) and the 26^th Generation (Kato) Kanefusa. Sadly, some up and coming smiths were missing amid the problems of being a smith in the current climate and trying to sell swords. It was a shame not to see the work of Kawashima Masaki a very talented young smith from Okayama prefecture, who is apparently researching juka-choji very seriously at the moment for future entries.

Despite all of the problems surrounding the sword world at the moment the competition was a resounding success. The standard of workmanship on the whole was excellent. The cream on the sword world were there appreciating new swords with the same vigour as appreciating old ones. A lesson we may have to heed in the west if we wish to help sustain the craft through these troubled times into the future.

Paul Martin

Photo: Front L-R Takehana Shigehisa, Kubo Yoshihiro, Takami Kuniichi. Back: Ogawa Kanekuni (son), Kawasaki Akihira.

For a full list of results please go to:

http://www.touken.or.jp/english/sword_forging_competition_2006.html

Another archive picture, this one from To-ken Taikai 1989 at which Mr Iida Kazuo brought a shinsa panel to London (published in Aito Magazine)

On a recent clear out of my loft, I came across the above. It was taken in 1976 when we hosted a meeting with a tour by members of the Japanese sword newspaper, To-ken Shunju Press, run by Mr Iida Kazuo. I am pleased to say that it is still thriving.

Mr Iida is front row, left hand side, Jon Anderson (chairman at that time) is front centre, next to him a young Clive Sinclaire and far right is Colin Nun. Standing behind him is Alan Bale and Chris Allen. 2^nd row, behind me is David Parker and behind him (3^rd row seated) is Graham Curtis. Centre standing towards the back is David Searle (bearded and now deceased)) and behind him right at the back is Chris Randal. Towards the front and against the wall, standing and looking towards the middle is Mole Benn and slightly back from him, by the wall with glasses, is Fred Stride (I think).

It was decided at the 2004 EGM that this web site would become the main focal point for members instead of The Programme and the monthly meetings.

In time this area will only be accessible to Token GB members with the use of a password. The content of other pages on this site will eventually be transferred to this page.

We ask that you include the following announcement in your newsletter, website, or other communiqués. We hope your members/users will be interested in accessing LACMA's extensive Japanese art holdings in the future.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art would like to let you know about our over 4,900 high resolution images of Japanese works of art from our collection which can be viewed free of charge on LACMA's website (http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/). The pieces range from arms and armour to screens, and include such highlights as works by Hokusai and over 800 images of netsuke, in addition to images of archaeological artefacts, lacquer, and furniture, all with descriptions included. Many of these pieces have never been exhibited or published before. The images can be downloaded, printed, e-mailed, or compared and contrasted with one another using the site's unique "Image Viewer." We will continue to add images and information to the database and encourage you to re-visit LACMA's Collections Online website periodically.

Link to essays from the Seminar on Japanese Swords held 7th February 2005 by Tsurugi-Bashi Kendo Kai, University of Cambridge Kendo Society.

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JAPANESE SWORD CULTURE