My katana

This article was originally something I wrote for the Kendo-world forum back in 2007 when I got my katana. Digging through the archives, I thought it would be fun to post it here. 

(May 2007) Last Monday, I had a chance to get to Seki, Gifu where my father-in-law and I met with Mr. Igarashi to pick up my new katana. It took about 6 months to make and was produced by a local Seki toshyo. We went to the Nosyudo shop, and spent some time looking at the inventory he had on hand. Things were pretty hectic as Mr. Igarashi was preparing for the Kyoto budo demonstration and taikai.

Mr. Igarashi

On the second floor of his shop, he had a very nice selection of old and new blades, some affordable, and some very expensive, but of course all very nice.

As we had some tea, he brought up my custom ordered katana. I was a bit nervous – my hands actually started sweating as I drew it from the saya. Beautiful, very well-balanced, and all I had hoped for. My father-in-law who had helped order the sword for me also was a bit nervous as I passed it to him to inspect.

Go-mai-sa-za kamon on the habaki

My wife’s family kamon is a 5 leaved bamboo leaf cluster called “go-mai-sa-za”. We used the same design to have a custom silver habaki made. I was very impressed with how everything turned out. Even the extra saya we had made was beautiful in a wine-red lacquer.

The first floor display of iaito at Nosyudo

Mr. Igarashi was very nice, informative, and helpful despite the near-chaos of the 1st floor staff preparing, gathering, and loading all of their goods for the trip to Kyoto. He explained how to remove the tsuka, clean, and properly oil the katana. He also gave us a quick rundown on what to look for when appraising a katana and some of the easy pointers for deciding if the blade is a good one. Of course it takes years of practice to really know how to appraise a blade, but he gave us some quick, useful information anyway.

Then we went for a quick tour to the toshyo’s house and smithy. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there, but we were still able to see the place where he had actually forged my blade. I guess that smiths in Japan are only allowed to forge 24 blades a year. Tough way to make a living I think, but beautiful. My smithy was a 3rd generation smith in his family. On the tang the kanji reads, “Nosyujyukanemichi.”

After that, we went to the small katana and smithy museum in Seki for a quick tour, video explanation about the forging and making of a katana, and then looked at some of the katanas on display by Seki smiths. Beautiful! I was happy to see the smith that made my blade had a display as well.

Shaping the blade

We hopped back to Mr. Igarashi’s shop, for a quick tour of where they make and assemble their iaito and katanas. Iaito blades are made somewhere else, and then brought to the shop as rough “blanks.”

They are polished using a wheel by one of the staff there as seen in the photo above.

They also hand-make the tsuka in-house as seen in the photo below.

Making tsuka

The saya, habaki, and tsubas come from other specialists all to be assembled in-house by Mr. Igarashi’s staff. It was all very impressive even though it was in a very small space.

I and my father-in-law had a great time and Mr. Igarashi went out of his way – especially for being so very busy- to make us feel welcome and to present me with my new katana.

It swings beautifully, and I can’t wait to start practicing for real with it!

Here are some photos of the katana.

Above you can see with the very nice black saya, silk sageo. Note the curvature of the blade and tsuka – it’s beautiful!

In the photo above, you can see the menuki, tsuba, and fuchigane are all bamboo themed. This is to match the habaki kamon of the “go-mai-sa-za.”

More bamboo.

Here’s a quick look at the hamon. It’s much more defined, but the lighting and reflection make it difficult to see.

And the kissaki. Razor sharp by the way!

As a follow-up note: I was able to go back later and meet the smith, Mr. Kanemichi and his apprentice at his smithery. He was a very nice gentleman, and I enjoyed meeting him. My father-in-law later commissioned him make a new tanto (to be used for family events – weddings and funerals) as well. He showed us literally, a “wall” of charcoal that he uses to make a single katana. I was amazed at how much it takes! His forge had all of the traditional forging tools, as well as a hydraulic hammer to speed the process when needed. His apprentice was actually working on a blade as we met.

Several of my students have also purchased their iaito from Nosyudo, and I must say, they are quite beautiful. The craftsmanship, quality, and balance are exceptional.

I can’t recommend Mr. Igarashi and Nosyudo enough. First class all the way.

Kendo is …. (fill in the blank)

I started kendo in 1996, as a “consolation” martial art for not being able to find Japanese swordsmanship iaido or kenjutsu in the city I was living in. I realize now that kendo was essential to starting my study of iaido and provided me with a great baseline for the kihon, concepts, and reishiki.

When I first arrived in Japan, my priorities were:

1. Start to learn the language
2. Find a dojo that teaches the sword

And that’s it.

Below are some excerpts from the diary I wrote when I arrived in Japan that fateful day in April 1996. Disclaimer: I was pretty young… ‘nuf said.

May 12, 1996

… I am still hoping very much that I will be able to study Kendo. This is one of the main reasons that I came here, unofficially of course. I have been practicing my Karate the last couple of days though, and feel better about that. I need to stay tuned. I really do miss my friends at the Dojo and the regular workouts.

May 27, 1996

… Went a touring on my bike today. Wow, the seat is short!! Found a martial arts shop that sells Kendo, karate, judo gear and after many sheets of paper, the owner called and talked to a Kendo sensei. I went to the BuDoKai center and again after using the dictionary and more paper, arranged lessons twice weekly starting on the first. I am totally psyched! The hakama’s they were are really sharp, and for about ¥1600 I can own one. The shinai is about ¥2000 and the lessons are ¥130 each!  Finally I will be able to start. My student, Tadashi, is a police officer and said that he will introduce me to his sensei next Saturday evening. Maybe I can take it from two at once.

June 1, 1996

Today was my first Kendo lesson. I went to the BuDoKai and worked with my instructor for an hour on the formal seiza, “greeting procedure” before a match, and footwork. My arms were a bit sore after working with the bokken, but I will practice at home and become stronger as I progress. The footwork is difficult, because I keep wanting to step into a triangle stance. I have to keep my feet straight, and shorten my stance considerably. Again, time will take care of that. My instructor speaks very little English, so the lesson was completely in Japanese, and we did consult the dictionary quite a bit. He seems really nice, and presented me with a bokken as a gift to study at home.
During the afternoon, I went to the festival in the city down by Aeon. There were hundreds of booths on all of the side streets with many different things you can purchase. There was food, games, plants, clothing, even small chickens, live eels, and gold fish for sale. I sampled some of the local quisine again, but went for the crepe again for dessert. Many things to buy, so little money to spend.
I went to my first Kendo lesson at the Dojo that Tadashi took me to. The Sensei was very nice, and I met his family. The Dojo is very impressive. It is only two years old, and the floors are beautiful. There was a small kitchen/reception area where we had tea. We talked a bit before the lesson, and then I watched his class. The Sensei had his daughter work with me on footwork and striking. Again, it was difficult, but I felt very welcome there. I am looking forward to my next lesson there too.

June 8, 1996

Went to my Kendo class this a.m. and had fun. My foot (blister) was taped, so hopefully I will develop some calluses soon. I do get tired from swinging the bokken and shinai, but again, that is all part of the developing. My biggest fear is developing bad or incorrect habits and never re-learning correctly. My instructor, Mitsuru Nakasuji, is really patient and funny, and he laughs at my mistakes too. He is very supportive, and does say when I do it correctly, “Very good Bradley.” I found out he is a big San Francisco Braves fan, so I asked my mom to pick up a hat and mail it to me. He gave me a head band for a gift to use under my bogu gear. The kanji say Sim Sin Cho Wa, or heart, body, harmony. I think it’s really cool, and I plan to send one to Mike and Paul back at the dojo. Mitsuru refers to me as Ken Si, maybe student??

June 15, 1996

What a great day! It started with Mitsuru buying me lunch at the Dojo. I had some zaru soba, and some cha han. It was a nice lunch, and I really enjoyed talking to him about things other than Kendo. I told him I had a date that evening. He started giving me shit until I told him that she was taller than he is (about 165cm).

July 3, 1996

Things have been going pretty smoothly lately. I have been learning slowly at Kendo, and everyone says that I’m doing really good. I am “a very powerful Kendo player.”

November 2, 1996

Today, not so genki. I had kendo this morning, but my ki was weak. I had a really good practice yesterday, but today I couldn’t seem to get into the groove. I think that part of the problem is I can’t see well without my glasses, and I can’t wear glasses in the head-gear. Anyway, I couldn’t hit at all, and then I became very slow and frustrated. I am learning kata well, though, and I really enjoy that, but the idea is to learn something new. Mitsuru was a real help and gave me a little talk about how long he has been practicing, and that I shouldn’t be frustrated. I don’t want to let him down.

June 26, 1998

I am doing well, and very busy. I have been studying Japanese at least once a week in class, and have recently started Kendo again here. It has been a lot of fun to resume again, and my feet are finally starting to get back into shape with some callouses on the bottoms. I’ve suffered from the blister-on-blister problem for a few weeks now, and besides being painful, it makes it difficult to practice. My new sensei is very good (7th degree), and speaks a little English, so maybe I can learn more of the tradition and meaning behind the art, and not just the mechanics.

December 9, 1998 (Letter to my Grandpa)

I am still studying kendo.  Kendo is Japanese sword fighting using a bamboo sword and protective gear where you score a hit on either the chest, head, or hand.  It’s a lot of fun, and I think you knew that I got my black belt (shodan) last year.  I am improving in that as well, but still have A LOT to learn.  It’s also sometimes difficult trying to communicate with the sensei sometimes, but I seem to manage okay.  Someday, I hope to buy a real samurai sword to bring home as a souvenir, but they’re rather expensive.

April 23, 2001

… We cut bamboo in my Iaido class last night. It was pretty fun, and my cutting is improving. I was a bit worried when I bent my Sensei’s sword though, but he straightened it and then bent it himself also. If you don’t cut correctly, you can easily bend or break your sword. No pressure. We have a demonstration this weekend before a kendo tournament, so I will do kata with the rest of the group, and then 3 of the higher students will do cutting again. It should be fun and my first “public” performance.

I transitioned from kendo to iaido around 1999 when I moved from Toyama prefecture to Shizuoka prefecture. I started kendo, but when my back started to hurt and the movements became painful for me to do, I searched once again for kenjutsu or iaido, and was able to connect with Takeda sensei who did both kendo and iaido. I later found out that my pain was associated with a herniated back which chiropractic treatments has resolved.

I’d like to start kendo again, but it’s been hard due to the lack of local instructors being available. The closest club is Minnehaha in the Minneapolis area.

I never did take my 2dan test, and would consider myself a “rank beginner” again if I restart.

Funny story about Nakasuji sensei. I was totally incorrect in the conversation about his favorite baseball team. After further conversations I learned it wasn’t the Braves as his favorite team, it was the Giants. In my naivety, I assumed he meant the American team the San Francisco Giants, but of course he was referring to the most popular national Japanese team the Tokyo Giants. It was a bit of an awkward moment when I presented him with a SF Giants baseball cap as a present expecting a great “thank you” and it ended up a complete miscommunication and a somewhat awkward, yet grateful acceptance for the “gesture” behind the hat. I think he wore that hat for the rest of the day, and then I saw it on his desk in the Budokan every time I came in. I’m guessing it made for a great story about his “Gaijiin” student’s effort to present him with something special, and the mis-communication that followed. I laugh about it now remembering his face when I gave him the hat and he looked like, “Whaaaaaat??”

Natsukashiii ne!? Good times.

I miss both my sensei a lot. Takeda sensei is the 4th from the left on the front row.