Month: June 2015

From the 26th to the 28th of June, we hosted the 7th Okiniawa Token Ichi, in Naha. We host this event twice a year, and this was the 4th consecutive year for us.

I was very happy to see that once again we had more visitors than the previous event and that so many look forward to this weekend with great anticipation.
Before opening on the 3rd day, I gave a small beginners level lecture, on how to correctly handle the sword when evaluating it, or when it is being cleaned or inspected. I was happy to find that the number of people attending it had also grown since last year.
The event was an overall success both from a cultural and business perspective, and I feel very grateful to all the people that visited us.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the knowledge of the ‘Saniwa’ girls, (enthusiasts of the ‘Tōken Ranbu’ lit. “Wild Swords Dance”) that visited the event, and I think their enthusiasm and insights may be important for the future impact on, and the interest in the history and craftsmanship of, the Japanese sword. I am very happy to have spent time with these enthusiasts.

This last weekend we hosted the first sword appreciation class of this semester. It is the 5th consecutive year that we offer these lessons to interested people.

Eleven members of the old group remained and seven new were added.
Among the new students, there was a young lady and a young man. Something that made me very happy. Although, they may have been a little hesitant at first, they were quickly taken in by the rest of our group, much like new family is smoothly integrated.

I look forward to seeing their knowledge and enthusiasm grow.

A customer of ours spoke to me about a video clip that is trending on the internet. It is made by Yasukawa Electric Corporation and has a robot mimicking the cuts of a master swordsman. As I searched for the video, I found my acquaintance Machii sensei was the swords man that taught the robot to cut. Machii sensei has reached worldwide recognition for his super human ability to cut very fast and very accurate.

I would encourage anyone interested to go to YouTube and look at the video.
I myself was amazed by the highly innovative technology and the human skill displayed.

I was moved by the beauty of the clean actions of a master using a Japanese sword.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3XyDLbaUmU

On June 5th, I, our accountant, business partners and our staff took a trip to Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The aim of our trip was to educate ourselves, on the subject of Korean culture and history.

The planning for this journey has been long in the making, and it came to me as an idea several years ago. As June marks the 5th anniversary for my involvement with the company, it seemed that the timing was right. During this period, I have worked very hard, sometimes in to the early hours, to realize my wishes for the company.

Unexpectedly, an somewhat worryingly, there was a localized outbreak of the MERS virus which made me concerned for everyone’s safety, and I contemplated calling off the whole thing. However, after gathering information from the Japanese consulate and local authorities in Seoul, I realized that the risk of catching the virus was minuscule, and thus saw the adventure through.
As expected, no harm came to anyone’s health and we had a good time.

During our visit, we went to the national museum, and visited the check point between North and South Korea. We saw a traditional Korean play at a theater and visited the world heritage site ‘Changdeok Palace’. It was all very pleasant.

It has been a long time since I last traveled abroad and I would like to do so again in the near future, which is why I will keep working very hard.

Last weekend, we hosted the 9th Ningyocho Token Ichi in Tokyo. A lot of our customers came to visit and we spent much time discussing the different aspects of the Japanese sword. I always find these talks enlightening and I was pleasantly surprised that so many congratulated me on my official appointment to the Japanese Sword Traders Association. Some of them even brought me gifts which I appreciated very much. The outcome of the event was better than I expected and I feel very grateful for the continued support I enjoy from people that I more or less have come to consider as family.