question for (Japanese) swordsmen

Recently I did my first live cutting exercise (katana). My shihan gave me a piece of the nihondake (spelling?) as a souvenier. How are these preserved long term? I'd like to keep it indefinitely. It's rather neat. Thanks!

 

By nihondake I am guessing you were cutting actual bamboo (maybe green bamboo, to be honest that construction of nihon-take is not one I am familiar with), in which case standard bamboo preservation techniques like soaking in low concentration borax might do the job, not sure how it goes keeping the colour.

 

Yes, it's bamboo-but not green. Thanks.

 

Sorry, I've no idea. I've never really had any desire to save any of the targets that have been cut over the years. If it's bamboo that's already dried (not the best thing for tameshigiri targets by the way) then I imagine you could polyurethane it if you wanted, like any other piece of wood.

 

I would never cut bamboo if it wasn't green.

 

Well, it had thoroughly soaked overnight and had the softness of green bamboo, I imagine. (I confess I've never seen the green stuff in person)

 

Here's a picture of it:

 

That's not bamboo.

 

Okay, my mistake. :/ Pardon me.

 

If Im not mistake thats a rolled up tatami mat. Tatami mats were/are the traditional flooring used in Japanese homes. Its commonly used as targets for shuriken (not sure about sword) because it mimics the 'density' of human flesh. They are classically made of rice straw so its possible thats what you have there.

Anyhow looks like a good cut

 

What form of Iai was the test cutting in?

 

Ok - not nihon take, possibly also not tatami omote - the threads make me think its beach mat (another very common test cutting material prepared the same way by soaking and binding in twine).

Anyway, once it dries out (careful not to let it get mouldy) you can just leave it, only issue is insects wanting to nibble it.

 

Beer Belly is spot on. It is a beach mat - and his advice is correct too.

 

Shinkendo.

 

Thanks. The mat that piece came from was about 4 feet tall, and I got 3 perfect cuts-all wound up looking just about like the one pictured.

 

From that picture, I can't tell if it's beach mat or Mugen Dachi tatami. Very nice for your first time at tameshigiri. I'm sure your instructor already pointed it out, but the slight raggedness on the edges tells me that, while your hasuji is fairly good, you need a bit more tip speed in your cuts.

This may be of interest to you, although it is quite dated by now. It is an article comparing tameshigiri targets that I wrote for Iaido Journal a number of years ago (wow, ten years already!) ... Comparison Chopping

 

I have also heard of soaking it in vinegar in the fridge to keep it from getting smelly and molding and then letting it dry. I'm not sure what that process is as I have never tried it and never had the urge to save any of my pieces. I have saved bamboo pieces and one species shriveled up as it dried and some others just stay the same size.

 

Thank you for your constructive criticism. Unfortunately, the class was too short (and a number of students were up to cut) to discuss the good and bad parts of my cuts in detail.

I like your article, thanks.

 

Cutting is pretty easy. Cutting with the correct technique is as hard as any Budo and takes years of practice. I don't like beach mats. Too many threads. Then again if your not in Japan you can't pop around to the Tatami Ya and grab a few. Tatami is harder when wet but cuts nicely. I have some nice bamboo growing on the land. Now and again I cut some and saw the bottom level to make flower vases.