Nihonto Gallery

Nihonto Gallery Japanese sword gallery, samurai art and culture. Japanese Sword Gallery, Samurai Art and Culture.

Thinking of buying a Japanese sword? Tomorrow is your chance to stop guessing.If you've ever stood at a dealer's table h...
25/09/2026

Thinking of buying a Japanese sword? Tomorrow is your chance to stop guessing.

If you've ever stood at a dealer's table holding a blade and wondered, "Is this actually a good sword — or am I about to make an expensive mistake?"

This masterclass is designed to help you answer that question.

I'm Igor Hochmajer. I've spent over twenty years collecting and studying nihonto, including regular trips to Japan to learn from traditional Japanese craftsmen. Over the years, I've also had the opportunity to share what I've learned through public presentations and online masterclasses.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how to look at a Japanese sword and read the steel for yourself. Instead of relying primarily on the smith's name, age, papers, or what a seller tells you, you'll learn to examine the things that actually matter:

⚔️ Shape and construction
⚔️ Forging and jihada
⚔️ Hardening and hamon
⚔️ Condition and polish
⚔️ What to look for — and what should make you walk away

The goal is simple: to give you a framework you can actually use when you're standing in front of a sword.

You'll also learn about some of the costly mistakes I see beginners make — such as assuming good papers automatically mean a good sword, paying a premium for a famous name on a tired or over-polished blade, or buying a cheap sword with the intention of restoring it later.

I've spent two decades learning many of these lessons through study, collecting and, inevitably, mistakes.

Tomorrow, I'll try to compress as much of that experience as possible into around 90 minutes.

What previous attendees said:

"You did an outstanding job providing information for newcomers to Nihonto, especially what a proper healthy sword should look like. I've already used this knowledge to identify several swords I was following online as fakes." — Mat.

"Thank you again for the lecture. Already the next day, browsing listings online, I was seeing completely different things than before." — Jan.

"I particularly liked that you highlighted what to look for when purchasing a sword, and the books worth buying for a beginner. I look forward to the next event." — Ian.

"Just a short message to say how informative and enjoyable the session was — thank you!" — Bernie.

📅 Saturday, 26 September — this Saturday
🕕 18:00 London (BST) / 19:00 Central Europe / 13:00 US East
💻 Live online (Zoom) + Q&A · recording available for 14 days
🎟️ $67 (approx. £49) — live session + replay included

🔗 Comment SWORD or message me and I'll send you the registration link.

If you've been thinking about learning how to judge nihonto for yourself, this is the last reminder before we go live tomorrow.

Here is a sword I spent some time with in a shop in Japan this summer.I cannot tell you the name of the shop, but I can ...
23/09/2026

Here is a sword I spent some time with in a shop in Japan this summer.

I cannot tell you the name of the shop, but I can tell you the name on the blade: Kotetsu.

Nagasone Kotetsu worked in Edo in the 1660s. He came to swordmaking relatively late, having first worked as an armour maker, and his blades acquired an extraordinary reputation for cutting ability.

A genuine Kotetsu tends to show the Kanbun Shinto shape — a shallow curve and elegant taper — and often the jūzuba hamon, a temper line made up of rounded heads resembling a string of prayer beads.

Here is the catch, and it is the reason any Kotetsu is worth stopping for.

Kotetsu is one of the most frequently forged names in the history of Japanese swords. Collectors have long joked that there are more false Kotetsu than genuine ones.

A signature alone proves nothing.

With a sword like this, you have to look at the whole blade: the steel, the shape, the hamon, the workmanship — and, of course, the way the mei (signature) itself is cut.

So I want to hear from you.

If this blade were in your hands, what would you look at first to decide — genuine, or gimei (a false signature)?

Come and say so in the group.

Igor

Here is a tsuba worth a closer look — and a small test of the eye.A friend in Japan sent it to me as an offer. An openwo...
21/09/2026

Here is a tsuba worth a closer look — and a small test of the eye.

A friend in Japan sent it to me as an offer. An openwork soft-metal plate with a snarling beast wreathed in flame, carved in high relief. Bold, theatrical and very well made.

But look at the centre.

The seppa-dai — the area where the blade and fittings would clamp the guard in place — is filled with raised carving. This tsuba was never intended to be mounted. It is a decorative piece shaped like a tsuba.

Pieces like this were produced later in the Edo period and into the Meiji years, when craftsmen increasingly turned their skills toward ornament and objects made for a Western market. Beautiful objects, certainly, but serving a different purpose.

And I'll be honest with you: it is not a tsuba for me anymore.

When I started out, this work pulled me in straight away — the drama, the movement, the sheer confidence of it. Over the years, my eye has moved the other way, toward quieter and more restrained work.

That is not a judgement on the piece. It is well made and full of character. It is simply not where my taste sits now.

That is one of the quiet lessons of collecting. Your eye changes. What impresses you in the first year is often not what you keep in the tenth. Neither way of looking at it is wrong. They simply reflect different stages of collecting — and different preferences.

So I want to hear from you.

Is this your kind of tsuba, or not — and why?

And while you're at it, tell me what you see in that beast. People read it differently, and I'm curious how you see it.

Come and say so in the group. This is exactly the sort of thing we're here to talk about.

Birmingham Arms Fair today. :)
20/09/2026

Birmingham Arms Fair today. :)

A reminder that the Birmingham Arms Fair is this Sunday, the 20th of September.It is the largest antique arms fair in th...
18/09/2026

A reminder that the Birmingham Arms Fair is this Sunday, the 20th of September.

It is the largest antique arms fair in the country, and always worth the trip. Among the militaria and edged weapons, you will usually find a few Japanese swords and fittings scattered across the tables — some good, some not, which is part of what makes it a useful day. No better training for the eye than handling blades in person and talking them over with other collectors.

You will find me at table 39 in the front hall, and I will be there for the day. Do come and say hello. I am always glad to look at a sword with you, whether it is one you are thinking of buying or a piece from your own collection you would like a second pair of eyes on.

Igor

Live Online Masterclass Announcement!!!Thinking about buying a Japanese sword? Or already own one and want to understand...
16/09/2026

Live Online Masterclass Announcement!!!
Thinking about buying a Japanese sword? Or already own one and want to understand it properly?

This masterclass is built for both of you — and here's what you'll actually walk away with.

If you're thinking of buying your first nihonto, this is the starting point I wish someone had given me. The essentials of assessing a blade, laid out plainly, so you don't spend years piecing it together the hard way. It'll save you time and keep you from the mistakes that cost beginners real money.

If you already own swords, this is how you go deeper. Most collectors live with a blade for years without ever truly reading what's in front of them. I'll show you how to look again — properly this time — and discover things about your own swords you've been walking past.

But the real takeaway isn't about any one sword. It's a framework for inspecting any blade. Once you know what to look for and in what order, you can pick up a sword you've never seen before and start reading it with confidence. That skill stays with you for the rest of your collecting life.

And for anyone still deciding whether to buy at all — you'll get a practical, honest, inside view of what it's actually like to own a Japanese sword. Not the romance of it, the reality. So you go in knowing what you're getting into.

📅 Saturday, 26 September
🕕 Time: **18:00 BST / 19:00 CEST / 13:00 EDT**
💻 Format: Live online masterclass + interactive Q&A
🎥 Recording: Replay available for 10 days after the live session
🎟️ Price: $67 (live access + replay included)

Comment 'SWORD' or message me, and I'll send you the registration link.

WakizashiMei: TomomitsuBizen-denNanbokucho period (1363)Shusui Museum of Art, Toyama
16/09/2026

Wakizashi
Mei: Tomomitsu
Bizen-den
Nanbokucho period (1363)
Shusui Museum of Art, Toyama

**How to Look at a Japanese Sword** # # # Judging Nihonto for Yourself — Live Online Masterclass**What if you could look...
14/09/2026

**How to Look at a Japanese Sword**

# # # Judging Nihonto for Yourself — Live Online Masterclass

**What if you could look at a Japanese sword and form your own judgement about its quality — before looking at the name or the papers?**

Too often, collectors begin with the signature, the age, or the certificate. But these things can tell you *who made a sword* or *what it has been attributed to*. They don't necessarily tell you how good the blade actually is.

In this live masterclass, I'll show you how to start with the blade itself.

I originally gave this lecture in person in Prague. Now, for the first time, I'm opening it up online so collectors anywhere in the world can join me.

After more than 20 years studying Japanese swords under master craftsmen in Japan, I've learned to approach a blade by looking closely at what is actually there: its construction, steel, forging, hardening, workmanship and condition.

**We'll work through those details together — just as I would if the sword were in front of us.**

# # # What you'll learn

• What to look for when examining a blade
• Which details separate an exceptional blade from an ordinary one
• The common mistakes that can cost beginning collectors real money
• How to develop your own eye rather than relying entirely on names and certificates
• How to think like a collector — not simply a buyer

**This isn't a lecture about memorising names or dates.**

It's a practical introduction to *reading the sword itself* — and developing the confidence to make your own assessment.

📅 **Saturday, 26 September**
🕕 **18:00 BST / 19:00 CEST / 13:00 EDT**
💻 **Live online masterclass + interactive Q&A**
🎥 **10-day replay included**
🎟️ **$67 — live access + replay**

Comment 'SWORD' or message me and I'll send you the registration link.

Before I say anything, I want to hear your reading first. Where would you place it — school, period, the subject that is...
13/09/2026

Before I say anything, I want to hear your reading first. Where would you place it — school, period, the subject that is carved or inlaid, and the technique used to make it? There is no wrong answer here. Attribution is a skill we all build by looking, being corrected, and looking again. It is how I learned, and how I am still learning.

I will also be exhibiting at the International Birmingham Arms Fair on Sunday 20th September, table 39. If you are coming, bring your questions, and if you can, a few tosogu (sword fittings) of your own.

https://www.birminghamarmsfair.com/

INVITATION: Let's talk Nihonto at the Birmingham Arms Fair! ⚔️I'll be at the National Motorcycle Museum with a table ded...
10/09/2026

INVITATION: Let's talk Nihonto at the Birmingham Arms Fair! ⚔️

I'll be at the National Motorcycle Museum with a table dedicated entirely to Japanese swords, tosogu, and reference books.

If you're attending, please drop by! It’s always a pleasure to meet fellow enthusiasts in person to examine blades, discuss historical details, and share our passion for nihonto.

📍 When: September 20th
📍 Where: National Motorcycle Museum
🔗 Details & Tickets: https://www.birminghamarmsfair.com

Stop by, say hello, and let’s talk swords. I look forward to seeing you there!

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