For the advanced Kantei participants, and for those who just love to read about all sorts of sword stuff, I am offering the first five years of Honma ‘Kunzan’ Junji’s Appraisal Diary (Kantō Hibi Shō), which was published in the Tōken Bijutsu magazine of the NBTHK between 1969 and 1983. The translations provide a very valuable insight into the mind of one of the greatest sword scholars of the 20th century, and unlike in “official” blade descriptions, Honma is occasionally quite frank about period attributions and what he thinks about a certain blade.
In about 480 (letter format, paperback) pages, Volume 1, which covers the years from 1969 to 1971, introduces roughly 400 blades, of which many are accompanied by oshigata drawings. Price for Volume 1 arrives at $129.00, which includes shipping.
Volume 2, which covers the years 1972 and 1973, introduces in about 370 pages roughy 300 blades and arrives at $99.00, again, with shipping included.
If you are interested in acquiring a copy or both, please reach out to me via markus.sesko@gmail.com. Thank you!
