Sword collector keeping skills sharp

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, May 15, 2007 | by Christine Morente

Harunaka Hoshino sits in his garage and slides his finger along a blade wielded by a masterful Samurai centuries ago.

The 55-year-old Japanese swordsmith silently looks for any nicks and traces of rust. He angles the blade at 45 degrees and rubs it along a wet block of natural stone.

"Oh, it's getting sharp," said the Tokyo-born sword restorer who now calls San Francisco his home. "It can shred the paper. This is ready to go to war."

Hoshino is joking, but he knows the almost 18-inch blade's history. He's appraised it as roughly 400 years old.

Four other blades of varying ages hang on the wall in need of tender loving care and some nurturing words.

"I say, 'You're going to be OK,'" he would say to the sword. "'I'm not going to use you to kill people.'"

Hoshino, who was once a dental technician, is the founder of the San Francisco Japanese Sword Society, housed in the Shorinji-Ryu Renshinkan Karate Dojo on Geneva Avenue. He has dedicated students and clients from the Bay Area who collect Japanese swords for their mystique, construction and quality.

Arthur Hsi, who lives in San Mateo County, has been studying under Hoshino since 2002. Hsi values the Japanese sword as a work of art.

"It's something to appreciate and it's something beautiful I can look at," he said.

Within the first two years as a sword collector, Hsi has amassed about 11 different swords. He's amazed that many of them can be traced to their swordsmith.

"There are certain swordmakers who had a style," Hsi said. "From that style, and the way it's forged, there's a traceability. It's almost a science in itself, but you have to have the education. That's what makes it so special."

Hoshino boasts that he can read 99 percent of the ancient inscriptions at first glance. He can also determine the sword's birth date and birthplace.

Hoshino started studying the weapon and practicing sword- fighting, or Ken-jutsu, at 8 years old and has collected swords for many years. He keeps 750 swords around his modest two-story home and 1,600 in Japan. He said his oldest sword was forged roughly around 1572-75.

The Japanese sword is made of steel and created with fire and water. Today, Japanese swords created in the 14th and 15th centuries are considered to be priceless national treasures.

In the San Francisco dojo, Hoshino makes certain his students are educated. He requires a minimum of 10 months of intense history lessons even before they can buy a sword, so they can recognize the fakes that can be found on eBay. An authentic Japanese sword can be valued at more than a million dollars, Hoshino said.

Ryan Kanazawa of Los Gatos has two swords made in the late 1930s. One was given to him by his father; the other he bought from Hoshino.

Kanazawa knows the value of the swords and sees the ones he owns as a link to his past. During World War II, Kanazawa's family -- which lived in Menlo Park -- was interned in San Bruno and in various camps in Utah. Japanese families were ordered to turn over their swords to the U.S. government. The swords were then destroyed and thrown into an outhouse, Kanazawa said.

"Out of respect to the sword, I had it restored so it wouldn't deteriorate further," he said.

Brian Cagle, of Redwood City, is another student at the sword society. Although he has been training under Hoshino in ken-jutsu for the past 15 years, Cagle has been collecting swords for the last five years.

He has a Katana -- a curved single-edged sword traditionally used by the samurai -- and a Ko-Dachi, a sword smaller than the Katana. Once a month, Cagle rubs clove oil with crushed stone on the blades to clean them.

Like many sword collectors, he believes Japanese swords need to be respected. He adds that the sword makers, or Katana Kaji, set their workshops like a Shinto shrine.

"I think there's a spiritual or religious quality to the blade that would just be foreign to an American," Cagle said. "You wouldn't associate any religious or spirituality to a handgun."

Hoshino knows he will continue the tradition of being the caretaker of the swords for the next 20 years.

"Before I die, I'd like to restore swords as much as I can," he said. "Not a lot of people can do this."

Contact staff writer Christine Morente at (650) 348-4333 or at cmorente@angnewspapers.com.