The Miura Hanshi mosaic portrait

2 weeks ago we had our KNBK Winter Gasshuku. I drove from Alabama to Pennsylvania, 16 hours, mostly under  heavy rain...

Riding with me in the car was our Miura Hanshi Mosaic, a piece I was able to build thanks to generous contributions of people who backed my Kickstarter campaign. Contributions came from a number of Countries, mainly USA and France, and Martial Artists, mostly KNBK Iaijutsu and Yoshukai Karate students.

This mosaic is an interpretation of a picture of Miura Hanshi practicing Tameshigiri on a rolled sheet of paper. Miura Hanshi was well know for his quasi supernatural ability to cut. This picture was his preferred one of himself and was displayed at the entrance of his dojo in Osaka.

The Miura Hanshi mosaic was presented to Carl Long Hanshi, head instructor of the KNBK, an organization dedicated to the transmission of several traditional Japanese Martial Arts. 

Miura Hanshi, 10th Dan, was the 20th generation grandmaster of Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. The presentation occurred in front of 60 Martial Artists gathered to train together in the Arts he  dedicated his life to transmit to us. 

The Miura Hanshi mosaic was built following the reverse method. It is made of 3 different black granites, ceramic and glass tiles. Its dimensions are 24 x 30" (60 x 75 cm).

Beside my great interest in studying and teaching Zen and Martial Arts,  
I am also a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. 

You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

A few times each year, I take on commission work.

If you are interested by a custom mosaic

portrait or an other decorative piece 
for your Dojo or Home, 

please contact me

by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com

or 

by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

 

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of mosaics in general and on my other projects.

Hello everyone, 

Here is the update on the Miura Hanshi Mosaic. As per this Monday morning, April 24, 2015, the project has collected a total of $1,436.00 of a total goal of $5,500.00. Pledges have been coming mostly from United States and France.

For those of you who did not read my last post, here is what it is all about : 


I launched last week a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to realize a mosaic portrait of Sword Master Takeyuki Hidefusa Miura, Hanshi. Miura Hanshi left this world in 2012. He was the 20th Grand Master of Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu, the style of Sword I practice, and I would like to realize this mosaic as a tribute to his life of dedication to the transmission of this Art. 

The mosaic model.

The portrait I want to make of Miura Hanshi will be of him practicing "Tameshigiri": the actual cutting of targets with a real katana. Miura Hanshi was well know for his almost supernatural ability to cut rolls of papers with his sword.

Without men like Miura Hanshi, invaluable arts would be lost to humanity, and I want to realize this mosaic as a tribute to his life and dedication to transmit to us the Art and Spirit of generations of Samurais before him.  When this mosaic is complete, I will donate it to the Headquarters of the KNBK – the organization that carries on Miura Hanshi's teachings.

Here is the link to the project : The Miura Hanshi Mosaic Portrait.

Miura Hanshi cutting rolled paper

If you are not familiar with Kickstarter, this is how it works : 

There is a period of 30 days to raise the money (5,500.00). If you think the project is worthy and want to back it, please pledge some money. This is very easily done on the front page of project's Kickstarter website. You get rewards depending on the amount you pledge. This is also well described on the project's Kickstarter website.

 

When you pledge, the money is kept by Kickstarter in a special account. 

At the end of the 30 days (September 15, 2015) if the total amount has been pledged Kickstarter sends me the money and I get to work. If the total amount is not raised, you get fully reimbursed. 

I hope you find this project a valuable one and that you will participate to the cause. 

An other way to help would be to share this post to your facebook page and/or Twitter account, or any other social network you use. 

If you have any questions, please ask them, preferably through the Kickstarter site, so everybody can read them, and my answers.

Thank you

When I do not practice Karate, Iaijutsu or other Martial Arts, I am also a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see my own mosaics on my site at mosaicblues. 

If you are interested by my mosaic work or would like to drop me a line 

please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com  

or by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

 

   You can also

(and I recommend it !)

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

Raising Money / Mosaic Portait of Miura Hanshi

Some of you may know I am also a Mosaic Artist. 

I have just launched my first fundraising Kickstarter campaign to realize a mosaic portrait of Miura Takeyuki Hidefusa, Hanshi, 20th grandmaster of Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu (MJER) Iai Jutsu. 

This is the style of Japanese Swordsmanship I practice and teach. 

Here is the Link to the MIURA Mosaic Project.

If you are not familar with Kickstarter, this is how it works : 

There is a period of 30 days to raise the funds (US $ 5,500.00). If you want to back the project, you pledge money. Depending on the amount you pledge, you get rewards after completion of the project. These rewards are described in details on the project's Kickstarter website. 

When you pledge, your money is kept by Kickstarter on a special account.  At the end of the 30 days (September 15, 2015) if the total amount of money was pledged, Kickstarter sends it to me and I get to work. If the total amount was not pledged, you get a full refund of your money. 

I hope you find this is a valuable tribute to the memory of Miura Hanshi and will participate to the cause. 

If I can, with your support complete this project, I plan to later realize mosaic portraits of other Martial Arts Masters, beginning with Shimabukuro Hanshi.

Please ask me all the questions you want, preferably 

through the Kickstarter site, so everybody can read 

them, and my answers.

This project is a way for me to pay tribute to a great man. I never could meet Miura Hanshi, but many of my friends and instructors did. Without him, I would probably not be practicing Iaijutsu today.

 

 

When I do not practice Zen or Martial Arts, I am also a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see my own mosaics on my site at mosaicblues. 

 

If you are interested by my work in mosaics or would like to drop me a line please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

 

  You can also

(and I recommend it !)

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

Masayuki Shimabukuro Hanshi (1948 - 2012)

It is with great sadness that I learned that Masayuki Shimabukuro Hanshi passed last Saturday September 8. 

Masayuki Hidenobu Shimabukuro Hanshi was born in March 1948 in Osaka, Japan and began his sword training in 1975 under the direct supervision of Miura Takeyuki Hidefusa, Hanshi, 20th generation Grand'Master of Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu.

As International Chairman of the Nippon Kobudo Jikishin-kai under Miura Hanshi, and for the Iai-do and Batto-do divisions of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai,Shimabukuro Sensei was in charge of the dissemination of authentic Eishin-ryu Samurai swordsmanship outside of Japan.

Masayuki Shimabukuro Hanshi was ranked 8th dan in Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu Iaijutsu, 8th dan Shito-ryu Karate-do, 7th dan in Shindo Muso-Ryu Jojutsu and he held the title of Hanshi - the highest title one can achieve in the Traditional Japanese Martial Arts - in both Iaido and Karate-do.

Demonstration Venezuela 2007

Not all Masters are nice. Shimabukuro Hanshi was a wonderful person. I only met him in 3 occasions, and - beside his technical expertise - I was deeply impressed by his human qualities : kindness, humility and patience. He was also a good cook !

All of us his students will deeply miss him. 

The best way to now honor his memory is to train hard, improve our practice and polish our spirits to continue the transmission of the Art he was teaching us. 

With deepest bows...