NCJSC Member Meetings
WHAT WE DO AT MEETINGS
NCJSC's member meetings include:
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Reports on the status of club activities and upcoming events.
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Presentation/discussion on the monthly theme. Past themes have included schools of swordmaking (Yamashiro, Bizen, etc.) and swords and fittings from particular provinces and periods in Japanese history.
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Show and Tell. Time for attendees to display and discuss items they brought in. These are often recent acquisitions or related to the monthly theme, but can be any Japanese sword-related item of interest. Members and the General Public are welcome to bring in pieces in order to find out more about them.
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Sambon Nyusatsu Kantei - a traditional exercise for learning about Japanese Swords. In this appraisal exercise, a blade is displayed with its signature covered. Participants try to identify the time, location and tradition of manufacture. Feedback is provided for each guess. After the third round of bids, the signature (if present) is revealed and there is a discussion of the key identifying characteristics.
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Occasional Special Guest Lectures. In 2023, our lecturers included Jimmy Hayashi, a traditionally trained Japanese sword polisher, and Dr. Gordon Robson, translator of Japanese books and author of many books and articles on Japanese swords.
Other past year’s guest lecturer’s topics have also included Japanese Tea Ceremony, medieval ship building methods and construction, and castle construction.
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If you have questions about a Japanese sword or related item, bring it to a meeting! Many knowledgeable collectors (and even a few experts) attend our meetings and are happy to help. Meetings are a good place to obtain many opinions with just one visit.
WHEN & WHERE WE MEET
​On the third Sunday of each month, except April and August, we hold general meetings at:
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Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC)
Room B (Upstairs)
1840 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
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Our meetings are open to both members and the general public. We encourage guests to bring in any item they have questions on. Meetings start at 12:30 pm, and generally run until about 3:00 or 3:30 pm.
When possible, meetings are also broadcast through Zoom for remote members only.
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Board meetings start immediately after the general meeting. All NCJSC members are welcome to attend the Board meetings.
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In addition to in-person general meetings, we hold an online kantei meeting for club members only on the Monday following the third Sunday of the month at 5pm, Pacific Time. Please see our Kantei page for more information.
WHERE TO PARK
There are two main parking options available.
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Street Parking
Street parking is free on Sundays in San Francisco. The best spots are on Geary next to the Kabuki Hotel and Kabuki Mall. The second area is on Webster going north from Geary. The local neighborhoods have limited parking. An early arrival is best. (At other times street parking is metered or limited to 2 hours in most non-metered spaces.)
Kabuki Mall / Hotel Parking Garage
This parking garage is accessed from Geary west bound just past Laguna. The entrance is just west of the Peace Plaza area (with the large pagoda), on the right. There are two parking levels and there normally are spaces on the bottom level west end. This garage like most has a low ceiling so tall vans or SUV's are not recommended. The posted height limit is 6 feet 6 inches.
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NOTE: Before you enter your car to exit the garage, you must pay for parking. This can be done at one of the automated machines found in various areas on each floor. You can also walk to the cashiers booth and pay there. The cashiers booth is on the street level at the west end of the garage, just to the left of the garage entrance. You then have about 10 minutes to exit. The exit is automated and you simply insert your paid ticket to open the gate. The ticket will not be returned.
