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Having a Katana in Japan

Emoni: You said: ツ"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.ツ" Act like what? what? I think you totally misunderstood the purpose of this thread. I just wanted to know about the sword registration and license, if I would need that or not when I take my katana to practice or for the collection katana that I would like to have IN MY HOUSE. Plain and simple. It's not like I'd want to go around the streets waving around an expensive antique!
Katanagari: Thank you for the information. That was very useful.
pipokun: I don't know exactly. I think there is small weapons regulation.
Mrjones: ok, I got the picture – if I need supplementary practice I should do that only in my house with all the drapes pulled at the windows.
 
You should try to use the quote features that the forum offers. You can even select multiple responses to quote in your message using the multi-quote button (It has the little quotation marks in it)...

I garuntee you that if you keep posting in this manner where your responses to people are in a gigantic pile with each persons name preceding your response, usually preceded by your own home-made quotations, that gradually people will find sifting through your responses not worth the effort.

Just a tip.
 
Anybody who can bother to learn how to change the text to that awful, barely readable green can certainly be bothered to learn how to quote. Or at least how to double space between paragraphs.
 
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.

Though it may not be common, practice with a live blade (ツ真ナ停?「ツ、shinken) is done, even in Iaido. :samurai:
 
Aloha!
I get the distinct impression that there are not a lot of iaidoka on this thread. My wife & I hold dan ranking in Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu Iaido, so let me spend a few moments & provide some accurate information on Japanese blades.
First, the katana is more a length of weapon, rather than the weapon itself. The long sword, called the daito or tachi, is between 24" & 48" long; the shorter version of these is often mistakenly called katana. The next shorter weapon is the wakizashi or shoto, which is between 12" & 24" in length. The shortest weapon is the tanto, & is shorter than 12". A set of swords with the daito & shoto together is called daisho.
Next, iaido students (iaidoka deshi) usually begin studying using an iaito. The iaito has an unsharpenable blade, usually made of zinc-aluminum or zinc-beryllium alloy. I have carried an iaito in Japan & six other countries with no problem whatsoever -- but I was smart enough to carry it in its protective silk cloth covering inside a sword bag, which is why there were no problems. The sword itself in Japan is highly revered, & if you don't treat it that way, your Sensei will quickly kick your butt out of the dojo, whether or not you practice in Japan.
The bokken, or bokuto, is a wooden weapon that is used in several practice modes. It is the same size & general shape as the iaito, & weighs about the same, but is seldom used except for learning & practicing kendo kata. These kata help deshi, especially kohai (new students), to learn important factors like ma-ai (distance between opponents) & timing of their swings.
The shinken, or "live blade," is also used in iaido for advanced practice as well as for tameshigiri, or practice cutting of tatami omote & bamboo. Your Sensei will likely not allow you to practice with shinken until you have reached dan rank, & maybe not even then, depending on how consistent you are in practice with nukitsuke (the initial draw of the blade) & noto (resheathing the blade after cutting). The shinken blade is razor-sharp, & unless you prefer picking up your body parts, listening to your Sensei is an excellent idea. You must also specifically advise your Sensei any time you bring a shinken into the dojo for obvious safety reasons.
As for wearing gi & hakama on the street, I have some mixed news. Unlike dojos in the U.S., when you don these garments in a Japanese dojo, you are expected to strip naked, indicating your willingness to hide nothing from your Sensei. This is no big thing to the Japanese, of course, with their communal public baths, but many foreign iaidoka prefer to wear their gi & hakama to the dojo, which means wearing them on the street. I never had any negative reaction in Tokyo or Osaka, but was questioned once in Kyoto when I walked by a koban (police kiosk); they were extremely polite when I explained where I was going.
As a long-time sword collector & Japanese Sword Society (JSS) member, I have also learned a tiny bit about collecting Nihontô, which is the correct term for non-practice bladed Japanese weapons. First & foremost, because the sword is revered in Japan, there are most definitely special rules & regulations there that apply to all blades, & especially Nihontô. According to a JSS study, fewer than one Japanese in 100 has ever studied a martial art, & of those less than one in 100 has ever handled Nihontô. So you shouldn't be at all surprised when the man on the street reacts strongly to the sight of a blade.
Starting with the most "precious" weapons, Nihontô holding special origami (papers) issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kai (NBTHK) are the most closely controlled. These blades have been judged from the "rank" of Hozon (Worthy of Preservation) to Tokubetsu Juyo (Extraordinarily Important Work) by this government organization, & can only be imported or exported from or to Japan by licensed specialists called shinsa. An unpapered Nihontô can sell from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, while a Tokubetsu Juyo blade seldom sells for under $100,000. There are many advanced collectors who travel to Japan to try & uncover Nihontô which they export back to the U.S., & then sell to us less-traveled collectors. They require special licensing to export blades.
Iaito & bokken can be easily shipped back & forth to, from, & within Japan, as long as they are carefully labeled as "sports tools." However, it is currently illegal to bring a shinken into Japan, although they can be exported without any special paperwork. Similarly, wearing a blade on the street in Japan is illegal unless you have license to do so as part of a cultural arts group; I'm not aware of any license that is available to an individual, although there may be exceptions. There may be a way for an individual to bring in Nihontô to Japan, but I would play it safe & pay a shinsa to handle that for you. And by Nihontô I include gunto (World War I & II blades) as well as older weapons.
Hope this clarifies a few things.
 
Hilarious!

I heard that if you want to get yourself a katana in Japan you must have some kind of license and the number of those licenses is controlled by the government. And a thing which I don't enjoy too much, I hear that in Japan the people are not allowed to wear a sword katana style (with the side of the sharp part of the blade upwards). Is all this true?
This is one of the funniest things I have ever read leading, I suppose inevitably, to one of the funniest discussions I have every observed. Thank you so much Dark Gami! 👍

Is there any more like this?
 
I much angry about informations in this topic. Some peoples have interest in Japan things like cosplay or Kurosawa movie and try Japan things like use sword. Sword use is for attack enemies only by person of much training like ninja or samurai. Sword use is not for wearing to go to the 7-11 to buy Pepsi. In future please less of training of sword and more of training of brain please.
 
I can't believe no one has banned you (and your other account, Fluwten McGunch) yet.
 
While I have a strong sense of humor, and often post sarcasm on this board, I'm very careful to not cross the line where I'm directly offending an entire ethnicity. (Ok, maybe if you consider anime freaks an ethnic group...)

I don't think banning is deserved, but someone needs a bit of a talking to. Although, maybe I'm just in a bad mood since I'm sick now.
 
Back in ert day you were flogged, 10 lashes, then hung before being banned overboard.

Ert forums on tinternet are too lenient these days, aaaah! back in ert day!.

😊

(I'm aware of the obviously "spelling errors", they are infact my attempt to write an english dialect/accent in text, bear with it.)
 
Awww... at least warn the guy or something. Whie he did cross the line, I have to admit to giggling at a few things in them.
 
I agree with Ninja Shinichi
Katana are for tourists... I remember to Narita, I saw a french tourist... with a Katana
 
That was a bit harsh...any particular reason?
Awww... at least warn the guy or something. Whie he did cross the line, I have to admit to giggling at a few things in them.

I checked Fluwten McGunch's web site a few minutes ago, and I don't think they were the same person but close friends.
You should have at least warned them.
I liked that guy...:( He was speaking so nicely.👍
 
comments for gami,

dear dark gami, having quickly browsing this topic, i've got one question and a suggestion for you. do people in Rumania have something like martial weapons? the reason why i'm asking this is my frined actually export katana from Japan. They will assist you if you seriously want to have your own katana. you have to check the right information about your customs and such beforehad, though. here they provide the necessary information:
oohjapan.com/category/sword/notes.htm

i haven't posted enough to add this URL above, but please try it out yourself.

i've heard that many people in europian countries are interested in marcial art. there seem to be lots of karate school.
 
Samurai superhero saves cops
He's a mysterious crusader who suddenly appears from nowhere, he helps the police catch criminals, then disappears into the night.
Samurai superhero saves cops
If the hero did the same thing in Japan, the stupid cop would arrest both parties unless he uses his bamboo sord on his way to Kendo club.
 
Unlike dojos in the U.S., when you don these garments in a Japanese dojo, you are expected to strip naked, indicating your willingness to hide nothing from your Sensei.

First time I've heard that one, I usually wear underwear... But a few foreigners I know are not even comfortable with changing clothes in-front of others and would get changed in the toilet block or somewhere out of sight.
 
First time I've heard that one, I usually wear underwear... But a few foreigners I know are not even comfortable with changing clothes in-front of others and would get changed in the toilet block or somewhere out of sight.

I have trained in three dojo in Japan, and in none of them was stripping naked in front of the teacher (or anyone else) ever done at all, let alone being a matter of policy.
 
Seriously, I really can't figure out how to make those quotes. :( I hope this green is better for reading though.


M.K.: Of course people here can have martial weapons. Thanks for the offer, but I'd like to be able to see and hold the katana in real life before buying it.


I thought that part about striping naked in front of the sensei was odd too, I just felt kinda strange asking about it. 😌 😌 😌
 
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