Shin·ken(真剣 ( しんけん ),Shin·ken? lit. "real sword"), is a newly forged Japanesesword, usually for high level iaido and/or tameshigiri (cutting) practice. As opposed to an iaito (a regular metal sword for iaido practice), a shinken has a sharp edge and is hand-made by one of approximately 250 Japanese swordsmiths active at the moment, most of them members of the Japanese Swordsmith Association, but also a few amateurs who work outside the organization. Those swordsmiths are limited by law to producing no more than twenty-four swords a year each, causing many swordsmiths to make cheaper alloy iaito as well. This limit, along with highly specialised skills and the need for a great deal of manual labour, accounts for the high price that a shinken can fetch - starting from about 4,000 United States Dollars for the blade alone, and going many times higher for genuine Mukansa or Ningen Kokuho blades. Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Respect shown to the sword (To·ne·rei) before and after practice. ... An iaito (å±…åˆåˆ€, iaitÅ) is a Japanese sword used for studying the art of iaido. ... A swordsmith is a smith or blacksmith whose expertise is working on swords. ... An iaito (å±…åˆåˆ€, iaitÅ) is a Japanese sword used for studying the art of iaido. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Living National Treasure is a title awarded in countries including Japan and Australia. ...
Nihonto 日本刀 The Japanese sword has been internationally known for its sharpness and beauty since feudal times. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... An Edo-era daisho on its stand. ... Respect shown to the sword (To·ne·rei) before and after practice. ... An iaito (å±…åˆåˆ€, iaitÅ) is a Japanese sword used for studying the art of iaido. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...
They are made for practical use, not as Kazu-uichi-mono for the civil wars in Japan, or as in the 2nd World War to boost the sense of Bushido in the Army and Naval Officer corps, but nevertheless for practical use in the Dojo.
Therefore, the basis for comparison between modern Shinken and Nihon-to Bijutsu (whether modern or old) is seldom valid.
You have bought your Shinken, not for its artistic merits such as Hamon, Jihada, Nie etc., but for other considerations entirely such as balance, weight, length etc., which will not necessarily be appreciated by most collectors.
It is my understanding that a shinken purchase is something one starts to consider after having attained 5th dan, or thereabouts.
One line of MJER expects you to be able to handle a shinken at 4th dan, use it for tests and embu, whether or not you train with it regularly.
The second dojo I trained at, I showed up with a shinken, sensei checked it, I trained with it, no questions asked (I was introduced/recommended by a fairly senior person in the style.) About 1/2 of the students routinely used live blades for forms.
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