yea i mean i can undetand you wanting to own a Katana there very beautiful swords ot wanting to learn to fight with them for a hobbie o dressing up for cosplay and perhaps taking your real sword to show off at a convetion
But why would you want to walk down the road with it or dressed up to fight with it
I mean i'm Gothic Lolita but thats fashion not armour ^^ i love Kendo but you kind find classes round here = (
yea i mean i can undetand you wanting to own a Katana there very beautiful swords ot wanting to learn to fight with them for a hobbie o dressing up for cosplay and perhaps taking your real sword to show off at a convetion[...]
We're opposites here, on this particular opinion... Cosplay, not my thing, but to each their own. I do find the aspects of girls who cosplay rather cute, in their own ways... Maybe it's the idea that cosplay doesn't make a girl 'otaku', sort of 'otaku-lite'...
I find irony in that comment as battoujutsu is a defensive art
And yeah, I blame anime for allot of the stupidity we have lately.
Edit: Lets put it this way - I practice a few martial arts. I have several swords in my home which are training implements (shinai are currently holding my washing up, but thats a story for another day) and are in their cases, in the cupboard out the way. Uniforms are always cleaned, pressed, folded correctly and ready to be taken to training. To wear the uniform outside "just for fun" would be disrespectful of my teacher, my club and my art, as I'm just making a mockery of it.
To wear a sword on your belt in Japan is no different to wearing a pistol on your belt in the UK (where firearms are banned), its illegal and likely to get you arrested, the sword taken away and destroyed, and yourself fined or imprisoned. Just don't be stupid.
Frank D Wite: Of course I wouldn't take my katana for a walk to the mall! I'm not that crazy! But I don't see why wearing a hakama in public seems so weird. I've been going out with it many times here and I've never had any problems or strange looks directed at me. That is why I was so surprised.
Emoni: About why I'd like to swing the sword in my own back yard - because if you simply limit yourself to just the 2 or 3 hours of one or two days of the week when you are at the dojo without practicing in other days as well on your own, then you are most likely to forget a part of the things that you were taught and also if you only limit yourself to the dojo time, then you will never become a pro. And I don't use armor.
undrentide: I have practiced Japanese swordsmanship. To be honest, I didn't enjoy kendo much. It was more focused on developing the spirit as you said. I liked Iaido more since it was more focused on the cutting part.
Mike Cash: This has nothing to do with cosplay. I simply feel good when I'm wearing hakama instead of the boring old jeans.
miki78: Yeah, I do want to own a katana, but none of the ones I've seen until now for sale suited my preferences. The ones I've seen simply didn't have the katana feeling. I mean, when you hold such a sword in your hand you need to feel that it's alive, that it suits you and that it can actualy be your practice partner. A katana must be of quality made by a master who actualy knows how to pour some spirit into it, not the commercial crap I've seen for sale until now. I guess I'll have to buy my katana from Japan, but I have to go buy it in person so that I can tell if it has what it takes.
Ewok85: I have to make a distincion here between the let's say swordsmanship costume with hakama and everything (not armor) and the practice costume that is used at the dojo that has the name of the dojo on it and stuff. It is logical that no sane person would go out for a walk wearing the practice outfit - that would be ridiculous and even dangerous if you encounter by accident some students from a rival dojo or something and also an insult to your teacher. But the other one, as I already said, I'd rather wear a hakama than a pair of common jeans that you see on 90% of the people on the street.
Oh man... if some fool ever gives this kid a real sword let me know so I can stay the heck away and alert a hospital to be prepared. I'm sorry, but this is just one of those classic JRef threads that happens once every 3 months.
I have to make a distincion here between the let's say swordsmanship costume with hakama and everything (not armor) and the practice costume that is used at the dojo that has the name of the dojo on it and stuff. It is logical that no sane person would go out for a walk wearing the practice outfit - that would be ridiculous and even dangerous if you encounter by accident some students from a rival dojo or something and also an insult to your teacher. But the other one, as I already said, I'd rather wear a hakama than a pair of common jeans that you see on 90% of the people on the street.
Wear a skirt, your hakama is for the dojo, not the street.
Might just be a language thing, but you don't grasp the concept of Iaido correctly.
A huge part of Iaido is form. I never practice outside of the dojo for Iaido as bad habits set, and take a long time to fix. You do not use a katana for Iaido, you use a Iaitou. Also for someone who is starting you use a bokutou until your teacher feels that you have progressed enough to be able to train with an Iaitou, because you need to show sufficient skill, maturity and sense, as although not sharp, can still cause considerable harm to yourself and others.
I known people in Japan who had swords. The sword was kept in family and was past down from one generation to the next. These sword where over 100 years old or more and where kept on either a stand or encased behind glass. However while I was living in Japan I never saw anyone wearing one and going down the street. I don't know what it is like in Japan now but twenty years ago I felt very safe there, for a country with a very large population.
To wear a sword on your belt in Japan is no different to wearing a pistol on your belt in the UK (where firearms are banned), its illegal and likely to get you arrested, the sword taken away and destroyed, and yourself fined or imprisoned. Just don't be stupid.
Interesting thread. Two years ago in Kyoto , members of our tour group were visiting with some guests (locals) that included a local food newspaper or magazine publisher in our hotel lobby. He showed up wearing a kimono or yukata that included a sword. He posed for pictures and gave demonstrations of how he unsheaths his sword. I have this on video and funniest thing about it was some Japanese ladies not connected with our group were in the lobby and watching him from the background and had the most hilarious expressions. If you want, I'll make a screen capture of this scene and post it.
As regards wearing a hakama around the streets, you are perfectly free to do so.
As regards wearing/carrying/transporting a sword, you are not perfectly free to do so. That goes for live blades (sharp) and even the wooden practice swords.
Notice I didn't say you can't transport them. I said you're not perfectly free to do so. As long as you have them encased and are either going to or coming from practice sessions, you're fine. If you're carrying one around just because you like to carry one around, you're open to trouble with the police.
They can stop and arrest you for carrying around a weapon or anything that could be used as a weapon....and they get to decide what can be used for a weapon, and it is not open to debate.
I once knew a paranoid idiot (American) who carried around a 警棒 (keibou, the collapsible police baton) in the crack of his butt. I went to my local police station and consulted with the police there about the legality of doing that. They told me he could be arrested for carrying a weapon. As a more extreme example, the policeman told me if they stopped a car, found a baseball bat in the trunk, and the driver of the car was not on the way to or coming home from a game or practice then they could arrest him for having a weapon (the baseball bat).
If you're just carrying a practice sword, whether wood or metal, in a carrying case to and from practice nobody is going to say a word to you. If you have it outside a case and are just wandering the streets and shopping malls with it, somebody is very likely to call the police. You being a foreigner and a girl, nothing serious is likely to happen to you, but it will cause a lot of embarassment and aggravation for whoever has to come down to the police station and straighten things out.
This one became a real good thread, especially after Dark Gami's long post.
Me too, very much interested in swordsmanship and having a Katana. If carrying katana is not allowed, then there is nothing else to do, I will have to hide a wakizashi or kodachi under my cloth. If there is a problem, then there is also a solution.
I am planning to join a Kendo course as soon as I graduate. And start training to realize my dream...
All owners of Sword residing within Japan, Sword = a Katana / Wakazashi/ Tanto ... "Nihonto Sword BLADE" are legaly required to have the BLADE registered. The Sword registration Card is retained by the owner, and is issued by their local law enforcement agency. The registration Card must be available when transporting the sword. The registration card is for that specific blade, should it be sold the new owner will be required to retain the card. The registration card is only surendered /destroyed when the sword is exported from Japan.
In addition, World War 2 factory made blades "WWII Showa" can not be legaly owned in Japan.
This one became a real good thread, especially after Dark Gami's long post.
Me too, very much interested in swordsmanship and having a Katana. If carrying katana is not allowed, then there is nothing else to do, I will have to hide a wakizashi or kodachi under my cloth. If there is a problem, then there is also a solution.
First they have to get to Japan, it seems many plan to go but few make it. Wish I could afford to send them all, it would make Japan a more interesting place.
What is the facination with carrying weapons around???? If you have lived in Japan for more then 3 days I'm sure you will notice that it is completly unnecesasary. For those of you who need to cary a weapon to feel good about yourself. Japan is not the place for you.
One of the main reasons I live in Japan is because it is so safe. Safe for my family, and for my son.
New years just passed and the craziest event I heard, or saw, was a single fire cracker down the street. I talked to a friend this morning from the U.S. and he said people were shooting guns off all night. It made be remeber how happy I am to live where I live.
And whoever said Iaido is about cutting shouldn't be studying Iaido becasue Iaido is about the body, movments, and motion. Cutting is just the resault. And I am postivie you will NEVER get to the stage in Iaido when you will be permitted to use an actual sowrd.
Happy New Years everyone!
I'm off to see the wizard! The craziest wizard of this thread.....
Is all of this discussion moot since the original poster isn't even living in Japan?
The original poster's profile mentions no previous visits to Japan, and the original poster hasn't said anything about going to Japan accept to air their grievances that you can't walk around looking like a character out of a Sonny Chiba daytime drama.
It is logical that no sane person would go out for a walk wearing the practice outfit - that would be ridiculous and even dangerous if you encounter by accident some students from a rival dojo or something and also an insult to your teacher.
Because its a traditional wear of just one small country and that wearing of said item of clothing is ussually restricted culturally to weddings, martial arts practice and stuff, not as casual wear?.
Your of course to wear what you wish as long as it isnt blatantly offensive or considored breaking exposure laws of whatever country.
About why I'd like to swing the sword in my own back yard - because if you simply limit yourself to just the 2 or 3 hours of one or two days of the week when you are at the dojo without practicing in other days as well on your own, then you are most likely to forget a part of the things that you were taught and also if you only limit yourself to the dojo time, then you will never become a pro.
No argument, but you have to convince your neighbours, people have had armed response units breaking down their front door and storming their house because some nosey neighbour saw a kid playing with a toy gun in their room that looked real.
The key word here is: Responsibly.
Always remember that word before, durring, and after any martial arts activity.
I guess I'll have to buy my katana from Japan, but I have to go buy it in person so that I can tell if it has what it takes.
Western Japanese fencing clubs get Katanas somehow, going to Japan will be hard, since first you have to convince a Sword maker/seller to sell to you, which will be practice grade weapons you could buy from home, and also, if you think you can fill all the paper-work and demands required for you to export it back home, then good luck to you.
I get the impression your not an actual proper bonafide practitioner, I apologise if that is an erenous conclusion, but its one I firmly hold at this time.
In my country walknig around with a blade more then 4 centimetres is considored illegal, along with a nice long list of other "offensive weapons".
My swiss army knife is longer then 4cm and I can ussually get away even if I was caught because its obviously not there for any criminally motivated means, but carrying something like a big honking sword wont get you off at all, if your caught, your nicked, booked, and sent to court to face your charges, and you better hope the judge is in a good mood to accept your claims of innocence.
Normally I'de say go right ahead, break the law, be a bit stupid and get yourself sent to jail, or worse, shot, but when one idiot does something like this, they ruin it for the hundreds or thousands of responsible weapon owners.
I'm into something called Airsoft, and kids have baught replica weapons, that look real, but otherwise are harmless pellet guns.
Normal airsofters use them on private, fully insured land and only take them out on said land.
When one kid gets the cops called on him/her for recklessly waving it about in public, the whole hobby takes a grilling from the press, and some politicians.
If you have any respect whatsoever for other fencing practioners, you'll do us a favour and keep your sword(s) indoors, and safely concealed in appropriate baggage when taking it to the "Dojo".
and the original poster hasn't said anything about going to Japan accept to air their grievances that you can't walk around looking like a character out of a Sonny Chiba daytime drama.
I assumed they had got their crazy ideas from an Anime like Samurai X (I know that other name, thanks, just in case any otaku wanted to set me straight).
Mike Cash: Finally somebody who put things clearly. Thank you!
hkBattousai: Thanks for appreciating my thread. Take it easy with what you hide under your cloth.
Katanagari: Thanks, that information was very useful. I'll probably have to get one of those licenses after I'll buy my katana and keep it with me when I'll take my sword to practice. And what is it with those blades that cannot be legally owned in Japan? I haven't heard about those. Why can't they be legally owned?
Uncle Frank: Yes, it may take me quite a while until I'll manage to gather the money I need, but I'll definitely get to Japan
Sparky: I don't know why, but every time somebody mentions the issue of safety in Japan it always makes me think of the earthquakes and those filmings you get to see on the news with parts of buildings falling. To be honest I'm happy to hear that, if we leave out the natural disasters, Japan is a very safe place. As for my practice, I was allowed quite some time ago to use a real sword, but I haven't found one that would please me yet and I stopped my practice because I need to take Japanese lessons instead.
sabro: I don't know if it is legal or not, I think it's not, but many people do it. Here it's very common to hear on the news that the police found a bunch of people with a truck full of guns, knives and swords. Mostly that kind of news is related to gypsies, but unfortunately lately people of a more reduced condition got involved in such problems as well. I personally wouldn't carry around stuff like that to use it on other people.
nurizeko: Sorry, that idea with the people from a rival martial arts school must have come from all those old Chinese movies that I've watched. Gomen. On a different note, I think I'd rather buy my katana from Japan. I've always thought of buying 2 katanas – one for practice that I would use at the dojo and another one as a collection piece to keep at my place. I know that the ones for collection can be very expensive since they are antiques and I've also heard that a katana that was used in the past to actually kill someone is twice as expensive as one that was never used to kill.
hkBattousai: Thanks for appreciating my thread. Take it easy with what you hide under your cloth.
Katanagari: Thanks, that information was very useful. I'll probably have to get one of those licenses after I'll buy my katana and keep it with me when I'll take my sword to practice.
Sparky: I don't know why, but every time somebody mentions the issue of safety in Japan it always makes me think of the earthquakes and those filmings you get to see on the news with parts of buildings falling.
I've also heard that a katana that was used in the past to actually kill someone is twice as expensive as one that was never used to kill.
I think I speak for a great deal of the population of Japan, as well as the intelligent members of JRef when I say, "I hope you are caught, arrested, and quickly deported from the country if you behave like this in Japan. I, and others, want nothing to do with this sort of behavior and this is exactly the type of mindset and behavior that gives many foreigners an initial bad image. The shear amount of stupidity and dangerous behavior proposed on this thread is dumbfounding, but not surprising."
What the hell is WRONG you people?! You want to run around with yard long razors through the streets of Japan dressed up in traditional clothes!? I'm sorry if this isn't the most "sensitive way" to say this, but there is a certain point where you really have to say "Don't act like a freaking lunatic! You don't run around fully armed in any country just for the fun of it, and you don't need full on weapons for practice!"
Jez... someone bring back NEGATIVE rep points please!
Ownership of a Katana sword in Japan: In brief, Swords are to be registered under Japans Firearms and Sword Law (Ju-To-Ho), the license/registration (Torokusho) paper, is for the sword blade only and should accompany the sword when transporting in Japan. It is probably best to further identify the term Katana as in the legal and sword collectors world... as follows:
Sword blades that would require " legal registration" in Japan are for only traditionaly forged blades (Nihon-to or Nippon-to) - Blades made from Ta-ma-Ha-ga-ne, Iron fron iron sand and carbon from charcoal and hand forged-folded/water tempered. These can be old blades, such as Koto pre 1596, Shinto , Shi-shinto, Gendai-to and new blades made today by licensed smiths. (live or sharpened blades - traditionaly made).
Iaito blades used for Iaido, are for the most part, not live- or sharpened "Blunt" these swords are not traditional Nihonto and do not have to be registered, many school students in Japan can be seen carying their Iaito swords on the local trains to school weekly. Usally kept in leather/fabric case - similar to a pool-cue case.
The Showa area sword blades, noted in my previous note, referes to Gunto or Military swords, which for the most part were mass produced - machine made and sharpened blades, now considered war relics - many are seen at Flea markets out-side of Japan, most brought home from post occupied Japan, by servicemen. I understand that these blades can not be owned and will not be legaly registered if found in Japan. If they are found they are to be turned in for destruction. Many of these Gunto blades are now becoming collectors items, and can have a high $$$ value. (They can not be exported from Japan or Imported into Japan for ownership or restoration.)
I carried a Swiss Army Knife for about 30 years until I lost it a few months ago. I carry a small serrated folding knife with a locking blade that is a bit under 3" (7.5 cm). Because it locks, I have to wear it with a clip showing. My law enforcement friends nagged me about it because if it is concealed, I am breaking the law. I would never use these as a weapon. A nearby stick or chair would be much better.
There is also a problem going to and from Kobudo class, especially with nunchaku- posession of which is a crime in California. Again, carrying a sword would be rather useless out here-- If you even pulled it out to defend yourself you would be going away for a very long time.
"back yard cause if the neighbors see you, they'll put the police on you????????? And you can't even wear your costume on the way to practice!? But what if one day I simply feel like going out wearing a hakama!?"
what bachyard...even front garden is rare..only the rich of the rich have bacikyard in japan.
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yea i mean i can undetand you wanting to own a Katana there very beautiful swords ot wanting to learn to fight with them for a hobbie o dressing up for cosplay and perhaps taking your real sword to show off at a convetion 
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