Katana News — 2026-11-01: Temple Sword Exhibition, Tokyo Fair Preview, and a Seller Question
A temple exhibition of more than 170 historic swords, a Tokyo fair preview led by an Important Sword tanto, Halloween pumpkin cuts, and a fresh seller-reliability question lead today's katana news.
1. Temple Exhibition Shows More Than 170 Swords, From Heian to Showa
A "Sword Textbook Exhibition: A Visual Guide" at Kurikara Fudoji Temple in Tsubata Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, displays more than 170 swords ranging from the Heian period to the Showa period, with highlights including the Ookurikara Hiromitsu, passed down through the Date family, and the Hachisuka Kotetsu, popular through anime and games. The exhibition runs from October 30 to November 4, 2026, and includes a hands-on experience area alongside the displays.
Source: YouTube news video — YouTube
2. Dai Token Ichi Preview Leads With an Important Sword Tanto
Gallery youyou has announced its participation in the 2026 Dai Token Ichi (Grand Sword Fair) on November 21–22, 2026, at the Tokyo Bijutsu Club, with booth 3 on the third floor. Its catalogue preview leads with a Juyo Token (Important Sword) sunobi tanto by Nanki Shigekuni, an early Shinto-period smith, in a brown-lacquered tsuka and aizame-zaya aikuchi mounting, alongside Important Sword fittings by Hirata Hikozo and Nishigaki Kanshiro and historic sword racks from the Nanbu and Date families.
Source: Gallery youyou — Web
From the shop:
3. Mini Katana Closes Swordtober by Slicing Pumpkins With Demon Slayer Blades
A Halloween reel posted October 31 shows a creator in rotating Demon Slayer costumes — Obanai Iguro, Kyojuro Rengoku, Giyu Tomioka, and Tanjiro Kamado — slicing pumpkins in half with the matching mini katana for each character, with dubbed breathing-form dialogue and overlaid fire and water effects. The post marks the day's Swordtober finale and ends with a Mini Katana brand logo; it is a fan costume showcase, not a full-size cutting test.
Source: Spencer Waddell (@simply_samurai) — Instagram
From the shop:
4. RVA Katana Demonstrates an "America Blade" With Bamboo Cuts
A reel posted October 31 shows an RVA Katana presenter demonstrating a katana he calls the "America Blade," with a blue saya, gold cord, eagle design, red-wrapped handle, and a "76 with 13 stars" motif, presented as a commemorative piece for the 250th anniversary of United States independence. The clip moves from handling the sheathed and drawn blade to several successful cuts through a bundled bamboo target on a cutting stand. The reel drew 110 likes; no price was stated in the reel information seen.
Source: RVA Katana (@rvakatana) — Instagram
5. Tameshigiri Reel Shows a Straw-Post Cut in Daylight
A reel posted October 30 shows a practitioner in a white keikogi top and black hakama, barefoot on a mat outdoors, drawing a katana and cutting a straw-wrapped post with a powerful downward cut before returning to a ready stance. The reel drew 180 likes on Facebook. It is a disciplined training demonstration rather than a product review, and no maker, steel specification, or price is identified in the reel information seen.
Source: onkittenbb — Facebook
From the shop:
6. Maker Shows Off a New Tsukamaki Wrap
A post dated October 31 shows a katana fitted with a new tsukamaki (handle wrap) and displayed on a wall rack, drawing 13 upvotes and no comments in the morning scan snapshot. It is a fittings-restoration showcase: the interest lies in the fresh wrap itself rather than the blade, and no maker, steel, or price is stated.
Source: u/KGS_Inc — Reddit
7. Owner Asks How to Free a Katana Stuck in Its Saya
A post dated October 31 describes a katana left untouched for a long time that will no longer draw from its saya, with the owner suspecting the wood has shrunk and gripped the blade and asking for a way to free it without damaging the scabbard. The thread drew 8 upvotes and 3 comments in the morning scan snapshot. It is a beginner care question of the kind that usually draws cautious, step-by-step handling advice.
Source: u/AANHPIX — Reddit
8. Shop Blade Without NBTHK Papers Prompts a Fake-or-Real Question
A post dated October 31 shows photos of a blade seen in a store that comes without NBTHK papers, with the poster asking other members to judge whether it is genuine or a replica. The thread drew 4 upvotes and 3 comments in the morning scan snapshot. It is an authentication question, not a verdict: the absence of papers alone does not settle whether a blade is genuine.
Source: u/M1GUY45 — Reddit
9. Member Asks Experts to Identify a Set of Armor
A post dated October 31 shows photos of a set of armor and asks the community's experts for information about it, drawing 9 upvotes and 2 comments in the morning scan snapshot. The thread is about Japanese armor rather than a katana itself, but it sits in the same identification tradition as the blade threads: photos first, expert reading second.
Source: u/Last-Injury-8555 — Reddit
10. New Thread Asks How Reliable HanBon Forge Is After a Wrong Model
A thread posted just after midnight on November 1 asks how reliable HanBon Forge is, with the poster describing an order in which the wrong sword model was sent and saying a request for photos then went unanswered. The thread drew 2 upvotes and 3 comments in the morning scan snapshot. This item reports only what the poster described; it is an open buyer-experience question, not a verified finding about the seller.
Source: u/GloomyAge4865 — Reddit
More Hot Topics Today
Antique-store sword identification draws the most r/SWORDS replies — A member who found a sword at an antique store in Charleston posted photos asking for information, drawing 193 upvotes and 33 comments in the morning scan snapshot, the highest engagement on r/SWORDS in this round. Commenters pointed the piece toward a United States Navy-style dress sword pattern; it is a sword identification thread, not a katana thread.
Source: u/madison_c7 — Reddit
Swordtuber Halloween rewind revisits Skallagrim's horror-movie weapons — A post shared a two-part Swordtuber Halloween rewind of Skallagrim's top 10 horror-movie weapons, drawing no upvotes and 2 comments in the morning scan snapshot. It is a post-Halloween viewing roundup rather than a new sword release.
Source: u/Questioning-Warrior — Reddit
Swordis custom builder updated October 26 — Swordis's custom katana builder was recently updated, with its ShadowDancer Lite custom line priced at 280–800 USD and a 3–8 week build time, and its ShadowDancer Pro custom line at 580–5,800 USD with a 2–7 month build time, including a tamahagane (jewel steel) option on the Pro line. These are builder price bands for made-to-order pieces, not ready-stock prices.
Source: Swordis — Web
Bizen Osafune gallery talks take place today — The Bizen Osafune Sword Museum's 19th Omamori Katana Exhibition, running October 3 to November 23, 2026, holds gallery talks with exhibiting smiths today, November 1, at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., with no advance reservation required, though the exhibition ticket (1,000 yen for adults) still applies.
Source: Travel and Tour World — Web
Onimusha streams keep the game's katana in view — Multiple streamers posted live playthroughs and saved streams of Onimusha: Way of the Sword on October 28–29, a heat signal for the game's katana combat rather than a new product announcement, and no price is attached to the streams themselves.
Source: YouTube video — YouTube
CoolKatana Demon Slayer steel replicas as an in-sale price reference — Hand-forged T10 clay-tempered Demon Slayer replicas listed in sale include a Muichiro Tokito model at 268.00 USD and a Rengoku Kyojuro model in 1095 clay-tempered steel at 418.00 USD, both full tang and described as test-cutting capable. A Giyu Tomioka listing showed conflicting prices on its page (359.00 USD against a struck-through 329.00 USD), so that figure should be checked on the product page before quoting.
Source: CoolKatana — Web
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