This is somewhat connected to the conversation James and I had.
So I wanted to answer his question here.
That is, how can someone in the modern world possibly study swords?
Reading lots of books can help, attending conventions would be great
and so forth. Getting a doctorate in metallurgy and becoming fluent
in Japanese would be ideal too. (^_^) ::kidding::
In Japan ofcourse one may learn more by visiting a sword museum such
as this one seen here
insert links into
http://www.nifty.com/globalgate/
http://shinneitai.com/html/siseki-so-touken.htm
In English...
http://www.tcvb.or.jp/en/infomation/5museum/23sword.html
I would also like to take this opportunity to mention that James
contributed Okita fanart here:
http://www.shinsengumihq.com/art.htm
Some new cosplay photos from wolverinesg7 has been uploaded here:
http://www.shinsengumihq.com/cosplay.htm
Wanda recently contributed some timeline entries from Hillsborough's
Shinsengumi book
http://www.shinsengumihq.com/ShinsengumiBakumatsuTimeline.htm
and remember everyone, on page xix, Hillsborough states: "I...have
used the Chinese calendar rather than the Gregorian one to preserve
the actual feeling of mid-nineteenth-century Japan. For clarity's
sake, Japanese dates and era names are generally accompanied by the
corresponding years in the WEstern calendar."
I think that books which cover this topic should always include lunar
dates first and gregorian dates in [[brackets]] right next to it to
prevent confusion.
It will be a while before the timeline is "complete"
::secretarytocapt3 sighs::
We encourage people who know other languages such as French, Spanish,
African languages, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese, Thai and so forth to
please find books on the Bakumatsu. Very likely researchers in
different cultures will have a unique view of this part of Japanese
history. Most of what we have is -just- from the American and British
perspective. Please share, we want to learn from you (also include the
book title, author, publisher and publication date).
For example, we know there were French soldiers, such as Jules Brunet,
in Hakodate RIGHT THERE WITH HIJIKATA....so perhaps between 1869 and
2006 a French researcher may have written an article about the French
involvement in 1869 at the Republic of Ezo. All these teeny tiny
details add up and help us understand the conditions in which the
Shinsengumi (former Shinsengumi technically) fought.
Another good example is Ernest Satow. He wasn't everywhere, nor did
he see everything himself but he did mention ""Aidzu had occupied the
castle of Yodo, a few miles south of Kioto on the direct road, with
500 of his own troops, and 300 of the Shinsen-gumi, a recenty raised
body of Tokugawa infantry, had also proceeded thither, while all along
the road small detachments were stationed." (Satow 305)
That isn't a big deal---but don't you feel ~better~ that -someone-
bothered to note the "Shinsen-gumi" (^_^). Ok so his perfectly round
number of Shinsengumi may not be accurate...he couldn't go and count
himself.
Good topics here:
http://community.livejournal.com/edo_meiji/
and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/edojidai/
contains downloadable articles discussing *Bushido* and Inazo Nitobe's
BUSHIDO especially........
----------------------------------------------
Satow, Ernest Mason, Sir, 1843-1929. A diplomat in Japan; the inner
history of the critical years in the evolution of Japan when the ports
were opened and the monarchy restored, recorded by a diplomatist who
took an active part in the events of the time, with an account of his
personal experiences during that period. London, Seeley, Service, 1921.
--- In SHQ@yahoogroups.com, "James" wrote:
>
> Hello. For those of you who have wondered about okita's swords
> please dont worry too much about what happened to them but wonder if
> the swords he had was his. I found a website talking about Okita's
> swords and what happened. I shall qoute the paragraphs."Reproduction
> of Souji Okita's Sword
>
> Sources: Please insert the links below into: babelfish.altavista.com
> and click translate from Japanese to English:
>
> Other sources:http://www.jaxion.com/samurais.net/sword.htm
> http://www.jaxion.com/samurais.net/katana/hm15.htm
> www.n-p-s.net/kiyomitu.htm
> www.shinsengumihq.com
> www.miburo.com
>
> (IMG:http://img14.imgspot.com/u/05/97/16/kiyomitu102.jpg)
>
> In fact, a famous sword Okita used at Ikeda-ya (one supposedly made
> by Kojiki Kiyomitsu) is said to have broken. This is the sword I've
> seen on most websites being sold as "Okita's favorite".
>
> According to some sources, after that sword broke, he used a sword
> made by Yamatonokami Yasusada. The sword was 2.2 shaku long
> according to a source at www.n-p-s.net/aitoh.htm , but my
> photocopied page from a swordbook (name of book lost long ago) says
> it was 2 shaku, 3 sun, and 6 bu long.
>
> On a side note, OishiKuwajiro (known by the nickname"
> hitokirikuwajiro) also used a sword made by Yamatonokami Yasusada
> that was 2 shaku 5 sun in length according to this site
> www.bakusin.com/jiten41.html
>
> Okita's most famous sword, though, was the "Kikuichimonji", which
> was 2 shaku 4 sun 2 bu in length. There is some speculation as to
> whether he actually owned such a valuable sword, but we will
> probably never know if he really owned it since it was supposedly
> lost after he died. If you are interested in reading more about it,
> I recommend Shinsengumi Keppuroku by Shiba Ryotaro.
>
> As far as the swords being accurate, for sure Hijikata's is
> accurate. Unfortunately the model on that page is the "affordable
> model". The exact replica which is listed on Ozawa swords Japan is
> quite a bit more.
>
> Okita's replica is in what they call handachi (han-dachi)mounts,
> literally "half tachi" mounts, which come from the pre-edo periods
> where there was a transition from tachi to katana. Unfortunately,
> i've seen conflicting data on if his Ichimonji blade was mounted in
> handachi mounts. He owned one other sword besides the Kiku Ichimonji
> and that one could have been the one mounted handachi style." I hope
> this will help you think better and to tell ya we might not ever
> find his swords. Thanks for reading this and I hope that someone
> will find them.
>