Cherry Blossom Tsuba Wins Bronze at NBSK

I am pleased and honored to announce that my cherry blossom tsuba has won a bronze award (1st seat) at the 13th NBSK Craftsmen's Competition in Japan! It will be part of a traveling exhibition, on display now until the end of August at the Tetsu (Iron) Museum in Sakaki, Nagano Prefecture, then moving to the Sano Art museum in Mishima, Sizuoka Prefecture October to mid-December. (Both locations are about 2 hours from Tokyo, for those who might be visiting.)
There will be a catalog produced, with photos of all the award winners' pieces - all in Japanese, but of interest for the photos. I'll update when I know when/how to get a copy. I wish I could have gone to the opening, and I'm so curious to see the other works! As far as I know I am the only one participating from outside Japan. There is one other Westerner, Jeff Broderick, but it looks like he lives in Tokyo. Here also is a link to the NBSK official results page in English, and the home page of NBSK (paste the link into google translate for English).
I am indebted to my teacher Ford Hallam, for encouraging me to enter, and his teacher Koshiro Izumi, who was so kind to receive my tsuba and carry it to the museum for judging. Thank you!
Read more about the making of the cherry blossom tsuba here.