Leaderboard

And finally, Jacques, (as I really do not need to adduce any more evidence beyond the Taikan, the Facts & Fundamentals and this), here is an extract, together with the English translation put together for your convenience, of the Fujishiro Koto volume. And a master polisher such as Fujishiro will know what he is talking about…. So, please let us put this to bed and move on with life.

Some parts may be 海部郡 …… 町 – Ama-gun, ---cho, 和(unsure)田貞太郎 …… - Wada Teitaro/Sadataro ------- …………

There are two kanji on the mune machi, but I am unable to read them: To go back to the sarute, although it doesn't look Japanese to me, I must say that, judging from its patina, it could have been on there for the last eighty years or so. The blade itself is in need of a polish: I think someone must have tried to sharpen it as if it were a bucher's knife and I see no hada at all, not to mention the hamon, which seems to have been obscured by the sharpening work. That said, I find this blade quite appealing: it feels really heavy in hand and quite sturdy as well. So now I am contemplating having it repolished, although I know it will cost me an arm and a leg and more than double the overall cost of this gunto. The tsuka cover is now back on.

You are totally wrong and making such comments based on guesswork when someone is enquiring about the nie structure is both unnecessary and unhelpful. This is a beautiful blade in excellent condition and with a high quality polish.

As stated above, the list of Jutetsu was simply a device to help you in kantei, to help you remember the better known smiths with similar attributes. Consider the difficulty of a craftsman moving all his tools to Kamakura across a wartorn country for a short apprenticeship? Consider the smiths of a generation before who moved to Kamakura, they moved and they stayed. The theory I always like was that smiths were influenced by Masamune's work not by the man himself. The armies of the Ashikaga travelled all over Japan carrying their Soshu swords with them. If they needed some polish or repair there was an opportunity for the local smiths to see and absorb the Soshu style. Ashikaga went all the way to Kyushu where he spent some time and this would account even for the influence on Sa. It wasnt like the Edo period when you could take a year off and go study with some distant teacher... -t

I think the fact that main core Sōshū works lack signed & dated work. from Yukimitsu, Masamune & Sadamune there are extremely few dated items and it makes researching quite difficult. Then For Hiromitsu, Akihiro and onwards you will find lots of signed & dated swords. I feel when making statements like in the link that "there are dated works by Gō Yoshihiro before studying with Masamune" it would be extremely important to give a source of that information or provide a reference item. I have all of these following items featured in my references. Shintōgo Kunimitsu 10 dated works 1294 - 1324 Shintōgo Kunihiro 2 dated works 1318 & 1324 Yukimitsu 1 dated work 1322 Masamune 1 dated work 1328 Sadamune 2 dated works 1335 & 1361 Norishige 6 dated works 1314 - 1328 And for the sake of this discussion 2 Senju'in Yoshihiro smiths that I have data for Yoshihiro (義弘) 2 dated works 1353 & 1358 Yoshihiro (吉広) 1 dated work 1343 One difficult thing when we are discussing lesser known smiths in English, that there can be several Japanese characters that read out same way in English. I checked my sword books for various Senju'in Yoshihiro smiths Yoshihiro (義弘) there are supposedly 2 smiths working c. 1350 , 1400 Yoshihiro (吉広) 1 smith c. 1345 Yoshihiro (吉弘) 1 smith c. 1350 Yoshihiro (義広) 5 smiths working c. 1230 , 1275 , 1335, 1345, 1469 However I believe when NBTHK etc. speak of Senju'in Yoshihiro (義弘) they would refer to c. 1350 working smith. I don't think I have any of the other Senju'in Yoshihiro smiths being referenced anywhere excluding the 1 (1343) dated work from the other smith.

From the printed form and the handwriting, the Kantei is Chinese. That does not mean it is automatically bad, but you need to do some more research.

Part I It is always good to see a civilized discussion. With opinions based on facts. This one here seems to be a little bit too theoretically. That´s why you can see now some of the discussed points. From "Jigane & Jihada", sword Nr. 31 Rai Kunimitsu, juyo token with Rai hada, end of Kamakura and Nr. 32 Ko-Aoe Koretomo with sumi-hada. mid Kamakura, Tokubetso Juyo. Uwe G.

UPDATE: Didn´t expected to make an update so soon but it seems that koshirae is almost done, some touch ups and sageo is still missing, but yes for anyone interested, quality of the completed koshirae is just astonishing. Adding detailed picture of the saya and overall picture. ENJOY

Thank you so much ! I hope to find the owner of this tsuba to associate the box to it !

Hello guys and gals, I have a very nice Koto era mumei nihonto, attibuted to Takada Sadamori of Bungo provice (c. 1550-1570), with NBTHK Hozon origami. This is the second time I list it here, cause last time when I needed some serious cash I was able to raise it without selling the nihonto, and was able to keep it for some more time. It is a well-preserved suriage blade in wonderful polish. Expectedly, it has some kizu, but nothing fatal. Given its age and presumptive usage, I believe the blade to be in great condition. It comes with shirasaya and koshirae. The koshirae is newer, probably late Edo era, done in Tensho style. I guess the shirasaya is older than the koshirae, but could not know for certain. Everything is in great condition as well. Besides the NBTHK Hozon origami, sword's provenance is backed up by the reputation of the person who initially brought it to Europe straight from Japan back in 2001. His name is Roy Echtermeijer, owner of an antique shop in The Netherlands. He is a respected Japanese antique's dealer. Probably most Europeans who are into collecting genuine Japanese swords can vouch for his business and his company Gero Trading. I bought my Koto era Takada Sadamori from him in early 2021 and cared for it as good as I could ever since. Sword's current condition is more or less exactly the same how I received it from Mr. Echtermeijer. For me, this nihonto is a treasure. This is the most beautiful blade I've had the chance to hold in hand and inspect in person, althought I admit I don't have wide access to nihonto. I've held my fair share of Japanese swords, but my experience in appraising the aesthetics of a Japanese blade is certainly not as high as other forum members might have. Still, you should be able to tell from the pictures that my high praise isn't without merit. The utsuri is what strikes me more than anything else in the blade's appearance. One may ask - why you'd sell this treasure? Well, because I need money. I have some upcoming expenses that need to be covered rather quickly and this is a very expensive (for me) sword I simply could not justify to keep regarding the circumstances. I could not force myself to even dry handle this nihonto, let alone use it on purpose. I believe it to be too valuable as a historical artifact for me to somehow risk damaging it. The sword just shines on its wall-mounted katanakake for more than two years. Of course, cared for regularly and receiving well-deserved admiration. Here are the blade specs: Zukuri: Shinogi-Zukuri, ko-kissaki Nagasa: 69.9 cm (27.5") Motohaba: 3 cm (1.18") Motokasane: 0.64 см (0.25") Sori: 1.95 cm (0.77") torizori Hamon: gunome-midare with utsuri Jihada: itame with ji-nie Link to detailed pictures: ibb.co/Y23MNq2 ibb.co/smkm9nz ibb.co/k00C9NH ibb.co/RC4nwKz ibb.co/74pPW9H ibb.co/7GSZFRL ibb.co/G9jYzdB ibb.co/tJZtmvr ibb.co/6n3QWGb ibb.co/f8nM22s ibb.co/BV64xZY ibb.co/z5yr546 ibb.co/j3CGpn7 ibb.co/SmTXBpT ibb.co/jRLRjdF ibb.co/s6HGHvb ibb.co/q0ctS5N ibb.co/wY41Zqd ibb.co/JFC5bSX ibb.co/t2DyjQR ibb.co/3S0HmDX ibb.co/WBLMfsb ibb.co/mGnJmSs ibb.co/5YscJpZ ibb.co/MSC7bz3 ibb.co/wRJG9bT ibb.co/mGTFTTy ibb.co/5xMyqfb ibb.co/g9vFTbm ibb.co/qdH7D2T ibb.co/C59fqgf ibb.co/ZM0H8fX ibb.co/wNT2V28 ibb.co/2YF25sK ibb.co/18gPWsX Looking to get 6600 Euro. I'll suffer from selling it, especially for this sum, but it is what it is. The sword is located inside EU and I'll prefer to ship it inside EU. Shipping within EU is included in the asking price. For outside EU, buyer pays the difference in shipping and any applicable taxes and duties, plus bears the full responsibility of the deal on his part. The sword will travel in a padded rifle case, covered with bubblewrap. Koshirae with blade and shirasaya with tsunagi will be placed inside their respective sword bags, accompanied by its Hozon origami. As much as I enjoy owning such a nihonto, my situation and out-of-swords expenses really force me to part with it. I am also open for reasonable offers and might be willing to take cash + trade as long as at least half of my asking price is in cash. In the upcoming weeks will be a good time for me to raise funds. When the time passes, I may return the original asking price or remove this listing altogether, as I did the last time. Money is not everything for me, but it is needed though... If you are interested, shoot me a PM. As for the offers, the worst is I say no. Thanks for your time! For clarity I am also sharing the original pictures provided to me by Mr. Echtermeijer. First to further prove this is the same sword, second to offer a better study of it. My pictures simply do not do justice to this blade. It is so gorgeous! Usually most of the beauty could be seen only in person. But whoever made these pictures for Gero Trading definitely knows his trade, for he was able to capture a lot of it. Detailed description of sword's condition, provenance and history could be found in one of the images. I simply don't possess the knowledge to add anything further to it. Link to original pictures, provided to me by Mr. Echtermeijer: ibb.co/MSp7TpN ibb.co/28jn6n1 ibb.co/jD11dC6 ibb.co/x53jqpR ibb.co/6n1Y5Gy ibb.co/qp2JJ0H ibb.co/JpKkNQJ ibb.co/dPqsLnJ ibb.co/2jB3fpJ ibb.co/0CmYTrY ibb.co/7zM26vL ibb.co/kQJMrZD ibb.co/tCVkCH1 ibb.co/St37ZVp ibb.co/XLX89Fy ibb.co/QJjGXgk ibb.co/XYyzvSQ ibb.co/nLBv5Gm ibb.co/dJqPJ61 ibb.co/r6TGnST ibb.co/8xnn641 ibb.co/x2HBfgB ibb.co/vjck5KN ibb.co/68J5bFm ibb.co/Q6pt0JV ibb.co/NtPv2C4 ibb.co/zb6YbVn ibb.co/GPrdzN1 ibb.co/qMrkxkq ibb.co/rb6MvjF ibb.co/GFPHbGR Thanks everyone for your attention!

Hi all, I would like to display my small collection of nihonto in a showcase at my home. I did a serious Ikea hack using two large Bestå units to build the ~0.5 m3 case itself, and bought a high quality sliding door system and a nice lighting system using a rail and small LED spots. The photo shows the case as I have it currently, although the interior is entirely temporary and will need quite a bit of work. I would love to hear your well informed advice on the next steps. First off, I would really prefer to show the swords without their saya, which will require a lot of planning and good care of the climate inside the case. Swords that I've seen so far in (western) museums seem to be displayed without oil, from a display perspective that would be my preference. That would at the very least add more requirements to climate control. Specifically, my questions are these: Do museums actually display their nihonto without oil? If so, what are the climate control requirements (aside from RH 45-50%) and maintenance procedures? The interior of the case is made of multiplex that has been stained and then dried/aired for a long period of time. Based on these materials, can I expect any issues with corrosion if there will be a low air-circulation situation? Does anyone have construction drawings or something similar to make sword stands? I intend to use cloth to cover them, unless someone convinces me to use perspex or some other funky material . If using cloth to cover the stands, would white be a better color or should I use a dark color? I've seen both and most museums seem to go with white. I would be really grateful for any advice on these points. Of course, if anyone is interested, I would be more than happy to post details on the construction of the display case so far. Cheers, Mark

There's a listing for an interesting shaped naginata with a tempered upper edge...a moroha naginata? Has anyone seen anything like this before? https://www.jauce.com/auction/k1153310910

I think Ron's question is about the depiction of what we call a "rain dragon." All the illustrations in the Sesko article show the kurikara with a "normal" dragon.

Thank you for your reply. That is also one of the reasons why I´m here to find out if it´s real or not. The "certificate" seems to be not real at all. After I check with google translator from Chinese to English. I hope the Nihonto is real.

As has been said before, it’s us westerners that have the problem with delaminations/ shintetsu. The Japanese focus on the hamon.

Part II

I use Heibei Okamura choji oil - they've been making it for centuries, so seems like a safe bet!

Hi Martin, you probably know of this. While researching for something else I came across a reference to the collection of " The Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria" It mentioned that 17 tsuba with a link to him were to be auctioned off on Monday 10th December 1923 in the Kielmannseggsaale. This would seem to suggest that the nobility had the interest, resources and opportunity to acquire some good pieces. Source. Japanese Sword Guards In The Collection Of Georg Oeder Of Dusseldorf.

Good Evening Recently purchased a very cheap blade and was wondering if some of the forum members would take a guess what it may be. The pictures are from the seller and not super detailed. Mumei: 71 cm . Mokume ? Again, a very cheap blade with no papers so I have zero expectations. Just curiosity.

昭和廿年仲春日　A day in mid-spring 1945. ？　豫州北條住博正作　Yoshū Hōjō-jū Hiromasa saku [? Possible "Star" stamp peened out.] Note the variant form of 住 used.

The sword is finally in hand after USPS misplaced it for 5 days. I cannot see the outline of the stamp -- it was thoroughly removed.

Great work Martin! I like the koshirae very much and agree with Curran's feelings about the tsuka wrap.

Matt kindly sent us this photo of that serial number, for the record. The katakana is partially struck, but it should be SE 2431 of 1944 Spring.

Being more specific in regards to what you want will help. Your request is very vague. They are not that hard to find, I have many that meet your general criteria. Specifics such as any absolute requests for Katana only, or are wakizashi & tanto ok? Is Koshirae a must or is shirasaya ok? Are papers an absolute? Any absolute preferences on who issued the certificate, NBTHK, NTHK, NTHK-NPO, Kajihara, etc.?

Senjuin Yoshihiro. Juyo papered https://winners-auct.../productDetail/26999

I have this tsuba for years in my collection and never succeeded to determine precisely what school performed this excellent work in carving. I was hesitating between Shonaï and Hamano schools. What are your views, please? Thank you

I found this image from an old ebay sale "Copper 1800-1849 Asian Antiques" no other information on it sorry - I just thought the style and material were similar. [I think yours is far superior though] This one has a very close ura side design but the Katakiri-bori carving is a totally different technique to the omote view of Bruno's. https://www.proantic...eriod-1808-1912.html

I came across a picture of this beauty! Isn’t this pure art?

A very classical one of mine

My Understanding is there are 2 types of these buttons see examples attached, hope this helps.

She's a keeper Take it to the bank lol

And for @Bugyotsuji…..a lovely matchlock pistol in this sale. https://www.bonhams....t-maroni-collection/

Thanks John, I was going to write Captain Johns, then had my doubts and started to think about Biggles, memory not too good. Thanks Geraint, I would like to see it , Martin's article has opened a door on a fascinating subject. Martin, really looking forward to more on this.

It is an undeniable fact that Rai blades use a multi-layered construction. I posit that this is one of the reason how they outcompeted the Awataguchi school. Simply put, they were able to cut costs of raw material by using a laminated construction. Rai Hada is a distinct discontinuity in the grain of the jihada that appears along the surface following repeated polishing. It is a sign of masterful forging? Not per se, only insofar as it contributes to an attribution to Rai. Now one argue whether this is Shingane (i.e low carbon steel) or medium carbon steel, or a kneaded combination of various materials. I don't find these terminology games to be particularly interesting. And it is confusing to newcomers. Personally I prefer being agnostic on what it is, and speaking simply of core steel, meaning the steel used for the core that shows through the jihada following polishes. Often Shingane is associated with low quality steel. This is not necessarily the case. There is an enormous variation in the quality of core material across periods, schools and smith. And it is also an undeniable that all else being equal, a Rai blade showing intact jihada is preferable to one showing patches of Rai Hada.

Yes, in a better Mino nie can concentrate towards the upper portion of the hamon in a pleasant rather than ugly-clustered formation. Very nice. I do have high hopes for the blades with these photos in terms of being an upper class of Kanemoto lineage. Also top level polish because these things are hard to accent and often hadori obscures the finer activities in the habuchi area. Nioiguchi does not seem to be too consistent which detracts from the beauty.

Pic 2

Thanks, both of you. The best part is the story how I got to even get them. Almost 2 years ago i visited Japan with my girlfriend, now wife, and visited a sword dealer. He prepared some pieces to look at to choose as my first katana, i wanted to buy a sword just in shirasaya. And at the very end he also showed us some fittings and my wife goes "ooooo this is pretty can we get it and build the rest of the koshirae" And so we went from me wanting just a sword to having full koshirae built for our sword and along the way, since my wife was overseeing the fittings we want for the koshirae i stated that I want some tsuba and here we are 😁 And we already have new tsuka wrapped with gorgeous sakura theme, unfortunately we were not able to get a nice sakura tsuba for it in over a year of seraching but the one we have fits nicely.

does not look like a Seki stamp...

First thing is: Oil on a sword blade will never be applied so thickly that it is visible to the human eye. A very thin layer is applied in case the environment requires to do so. This oil is then removed with clean paper (or microfiber textile) so only very tiny amounts are left in the microscopic crevisses of the HADA. Second: In Japan, naked blades are not displayed in private homes. Even in KOSHIRAE it is seen as inappropriate and pretentious.

Same oil I use. If you can see droplets on the blade or the rainbow sheen you're using too much.

I use this Tsubaki oil: https://www.amazon.c...ps%2C137&sr=8-1&th=1

Fujishiro's sword oil.

Getting good quality Choji oil, is hard to find. Most choji oils on the market are scented mineral oil. I go with Tsubaki.

Kurobara Tsubaki or a good Choji oil. While Kurobara is perhaps the better oil in many ways, the smell of Choji is an integral part of Nihonto in my estimation.

This area appears to have some activity along the hamon, which would not be typical if it were a showa-to. John C.

Lovely example Dirk, so what with your 1st master, Currans 2nd master I better add a 3rd master Jingo. happy Christmas to all. michael

My wangata

Piers, There is a great love for these, just not so much in Japan. There are premium shops in San Fran and NYC importing them and selling them. Some people collect the highest one ones depending upon their purpose and little features like whether they have original iron wheels. While not as deep a topic as Nihonto or Netsuke, it certainly has its appreciation. Until we settle down in a major city, wife has restricted me to 2. I also have 3 antique kake. I only have photos of this one, which is dated on the bottom with the shop of manufacture and the date 1753.