略歴 About
Who we are
Twelve years ago I came across a rare Gassan tachi. That blade — and the long hours that went into really studying it — became the start of a lifelong interest in Japanese swords. Today Japanese Blades UK runs from London, sourcing antique nihonto for collectors who care about the same things: the craft, the lineages, the surviving traces of the smiths and the schools they served.
The work is about preservation and study — making sure pieces with a real story end up in collections where that story will be respected and continued. The Gassan school remains a particular interest, and the ayasugi grain that defines their work still rewards close inspection however many examples we’ve handled.
What we do
Beyond the inventory listed on the site, we run a working dealer practice for collectors — consignment and outright purchase, acquisitions and sourcing on commission, mei translation, and polishing & shinsa coordination through our trusted contacts in Japan. The full breakdown is on the services page, and any enquiry — even one without an immediate buy or sell — is welcome through the contact page.
Credentials & affiliations
Member of the To-Ken Society of Great Britain. Beyond the pieces listed here, we maintain a substantial personal collection — what we offer for sale is informed by what we’ve spent years actively studying ourselves.
For polishing and shinsa we work with a small team of trusted contacts in Japan. Pieces that need restoration or formal authentication go through people we know personally, by name.
Network
We maintain a network of trusted contacts across the UK, USA, and Japan — collectors, dealers, and specialists who pass pieces between hands long before they reach a public catalogue. If you’re looking for something specific that isn’t listed here, tell us what you’re hunting — many of the best pieces never appear on a public listing.
Writing & reference
We maintain a working reference set for collectors on this site: a glossary of nihonto terminology, schools and smiths pages covering the major traditions and the wartime RJT programme, and a monthly journal with articles on identification, attribution, and the realities of the trade.
Follow us on Twitter.