Mr. Kenji Mishina

Mr. Mishina, Master Sword Polisher, was born in a small town in Fukushima. His ancestors (as he discovered in a book his grandfather was reading to research into the family lineage) had been swordsmiths to the feudal lord Uesugi Kagekatsu, but the family business had to be suspended as the Uesugis were on the losing side at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1603 and were relocated to Yamagata. His own ancestor could not go with his lord, and started farming in Fukushima. Following his grandfather, Mr. Mishina trained as a sword polisher under Kokan Nagayama, now a National Living Treasure. After five years of training he became a chief instructor and was authorized by the Bunka-cho to polish swords designated as National Treasures. When he was 35 he moved to England, where he started a workshop for polishing swords belonging to British and also European collectors.Two years later he came to have a workshop in the British Museum, where he polished some of their collection. Since returning to Japan in 1992 he has concentrated on making information on Japanese swords available internationally in English. Two of the books he has translated, The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords and A New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths, have been published by Kodansha International.

Lectures available: 2002-09