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On the one hand: yes, show it to people and you can probably submit it for papers as is. I have some doubts its a proper Enju signature. Not nearly enough to call it gimei, but enough to scratch my head. Especially since there were other Kuniyoshi smiths (including as strange as it sounds non-meikan ones) and it needs to be investigated a bit more. Sugata-wise its either early Muromachi or mid-late Kamakura. In any case it looks like a solid piece. Seeing boshi in detail + maybe some work if hamon/hada are visible would be helpful.

You might have struck gold. The smith is Enju Kuniyoshi, active beginning of the Nambokucho period, Jo-Jo Saku, 750 Toko Taikan 2E. Kuniyoshi is the son of Kunimura, the founder of the Enju school. Enju Kuniyoshi has various highly rated blades, including 3 Tokubetsu Juyo. Good signs: - Old patina, eroded, smoothed edges - Shape consistent with the purported maker - Hamon consistent (suguha) - Ubu, shape of the nakago is historically consistent - Kuni character within acceptable variations - Yoshi character misses a stroke, which is a good sign since he has known signatures missing this specific stroke. Conclusion: 1. Post more pictures so we can have a closer look. 2. If it keeps checking out from the new photo, send to Japan (Get in touch with Ted Tenold, he's fantastic) for NBHTK assessment and Sayagaki from Tanobe Sensei 3. Get a new polish by a top Japanese mukansa polisher (Fujishiro, Saito or Abe) If it all checks out (and this is a big if. There is always a risk of hagire or other grave issues) - then it has a good shot at Juyo+ It's nice to see a promising find on NMB. Well done.

Utsushi of Toyoaki of Choshu plume tree. Recycled kanno blade.

Here's a Mito school fuchi kashira set with Tsukushi 土筆 (horsetail’s stobilus) design. Depicted are horsetail branches (Tokusa, 木賊) and the eatable spore stems.

The paper is from the "Kantei Club" dated 1986 (I think). The paper was issued to Kajiwara Kōtōken, who himself was a well-known sword scholar and practitioner of martial arts. The Kantei Club issued papers from the late 80s to early 90s. The scabbard has a separate paper from the NBTHK, certifying the scabbard as "Hozon" (worthy of preservation).

The paper is a certificate of authentication by Inami Hakusui, who was the owner of a sword shop in Tokyo, and (as the paper indicates) chairman of the "Hakusui Sword Research Society of Japan". His grandson still operates the shop. Inami Hakusui's papers are well known, as he produced a lot of papers for GIs and other people visiting Japan after the war. Consider it a nice souvenir. The paper indicates the sword was made by the swordsmith "Kanezane", sometime in the late 1400s. It doesn't mention anything about gold-plating, and I don't think 8k gold-plating would add any value to any of the fittings. Most of the value will be in the sword, and its hard to say what the value of yours would be.

@Bruce Pennington @Mark C @Kiipu I found this quite interesting on follow up of Shimada Yoshisuke (島田義助) and Yoshioka Yoshichika (吉岡 吉近) both registered Seki swordsmiths but not in the 1942 Kurihara banzuke lists. The unusual "Warrior"/ horse head stamp is on fairly well made gunto (shingunto and kaigunto) signed but not dated, and no other stamps. The work on the blades and koshirae suggests earlier war (e.g. 1942). Close look at Mark's shows tsuba and seppa have the logo stamp of Nakano Shoten a shop/workshop in Tokyo that sold koshirae but also sold/made medals, badges & uniforms. Logo below from Chris Bowen in Bruce's stamp study. So possibly they supplied blades to the shop.

Thanks for posting this Erik I hadn't seen this item before. Other above me will know lot more than me about fine details. Unfortunately for me the blade is very uninspiring in size & shape, as well as in condition. I think the only reason for the price is that it has the den Norishige attribution. Give it something like Kodai Hōju or generic Uda (Muromachi attributions), and it would be 3,000-4,000$. I know financially this would be an opportunity for many to get a Norishige attributed blade, as they tend to go for very high prices as mentioned above. However I would personally aim for better quality & condition item for much lesser smith for that amount of money, as I would see it as much more enjoyable option.

Here are the numbers for 2023 / 69 Juyo Shina: Blades submitted: 828 Blades that passed: 56

家信 - Ienobu

Post more of boshi and closeups of jigane and hamon please. It has promise of a very good smith of a good school

It's all steel/iron from a kanna blade. My work, very possibly my 2nd or 3rd after class with Patrick Hastings.

Seki Showato. Plenty of unsigned WW2 swords out there. I have zero suspicion it's Chinese. Never seen a fake WW2 sword with polishers burnishing. One machi is chipped, not uncommon. Hamon is textbook oil quenched Showato. But genuine, put into other fittings later.

Enjoying this thread a lot, some wonderiful pieces on show. Two more from me: Akasaka Musashino sukashi tsuba showing pampas grass with dew drops and another with a Yatsuhashi and Iris design in sukashi.

Armour is a personal representation of their owners, it involved the skill of multiple craftsman and is a synergy of function and style. It is an interesting field of study because it is not as well researched and is relatively inexpensive and under valued in the great scheme of things.

Greetings to all the big brains swords get sold and bought and resold so I am wondering if anyone has come across this tachi before or had it in hand. I bought it a week ago and don’t have it yet ( should next week ). It came from an American collection , the owner passed away. It is signed tachimei Kuniyoshi, unknown school. Needs a polish. Nagasa 27 inches. That’s about all I know so far. cheers francis

Hi everyone, This will be my last print order for flashcards for now. If anyone was thinking about getting these, please message or email me directly to place an order. https://swordsofjapa...supplies/flashcards/ Mei (names) - the more commonly seen kanji used in swordsmith's mei, including examples of mei containing that the featured kanji - 152 cards Kuni (provinces) - the reading of the Japanese province names, with information about the provinces and some reference information on related schools and representative smiths - 90 cards Nengo (time periods) - the kanji for time periods from the late Heian period to the present, with reference information on each time period - 144 cards My hope with these is that everyone who uses the cards can have a better understanding of the fundamentals of reading Japanese sword inscriptions and kanteisho, and this will unlock access to Japanese language sword references. These cards are now available for $25 each plus shipping and $75 plus shipping for the complete set. Please email me at raymondsinger@gmail.com if you would like to order a set. Best regards, Ray

It's certainly something to keep an eye out for. I don't currently see any other gunto of these two with the Nakano fittings, although many who post about a mei don't show the fittings. So, there are possibly more out there, but just not shown. I know in the case of the AOI Art Yoshisuke, the kaigunto fittings only have an "ichi" stamp on them (no sakura, just the Japanese "1"). Something about the Warrior stamp I've been thinking - As with all hotstamps (kokuin), I have found that smiths who use a kokuin, never use them all the time. There are some smiths that seem to use them slightly more frequently and some (one recently found) that has only one time used a kokuin (to our observations, at least). So, it is a mytery to me why smiths used them sometimes but not others. This may be the case for these Warrior stamps. In comparison, the smiths that adopted a kakihan (inscribed kao) they almost always used them, not always, but almost.

Large sized Kuniyoshi (国吉) signature would indeed be pointing towards Enju Kuniyoshi. The signature placement is also good sign in my books. It seems to be relatively short one if the listings 68,6 cm is correct. So far I have only found 11 signed tachi by Enju Kuniyoshi and only 3 of them are ubu. 79,1 cm one of Kasuga Taisha 78,0 cm one that passed Jūyō 15 76,1 cm one of Ise Jingū Will be interesting to see more of the sword, and even if some big issues arise it would still be very important reference item if genuine.

I understand and share your fears and sadness, but can't omit that I'm a part of the problem being myself a collector. I own swords and didn't give any instruction about them if something happen to me. I'll think about it but .. how ? who will control and regulate in complicate situations. Contrary to Europe and USA, Japan is probably shy in promoting international laws, and that's now an international matter. By the way I think the problem is not monetary, you can be poor and educated, as rich and not respectful. Add that in world liberal economic market, governements or associations can't regulate price of goods, the market do it. But I think a few things could be done : 1 - Nihonto should be declared of UNESCO intangible cultural Heritage. As to make a recognized difference between nihonto and non traditional or non Japanese katana. 2 - Japan should promote law against counterfaint or false declaration as France did with luxury goods : in that case goods are confiscated at borders. It shouldn't be illegal to trade a chinese katana (some are good for what they intend to be) but illegal to declare it as a nihonto. 3 - All papered sword (by recognized organisations) should be under some sort of copyright law. 4 - All papered sword could be regulated as "historic property", it exist in France as exemple for medieval castle : you can own an "historic property" castle : you own it monetary value, you have enjoyment to live in it, but you can't alterate it and have a responsability in it preservation. Enhancing world recognition would enhance the price in a second time.

Hello, Here is my homemade koshirae display case. I made it myself and made lots of mistakes (glue stains, scratches, littles damages on wood... I was not used with DIY) but I like it. Glass is very thin UV protective polycarbonate to prevent discoloration by day light (same material as hothouse). there is a sake cup with water inside to maintain humidity. Lighting by led ribbon connected in invisible grooves back of the backboard. That costed me less than 400€ and I could have done cheaper (I took thick plain beech for the backboard). Blades are in shirasaya and cotton bag in the white furniture below. It that is made of paulownia, to maintain dryness (pure luck that I had this paulownia chest of drawers before my interest for nihonto). But the drawers are a bit short, I'm thinking to make a katanahako in paulownia like one I saw on Jauce, maybe adding a locking system. Kakejiku are changed according to the season. The bokken is there for it emotionnal value : cheap, twisted and 20 years old but that's my first one.

If you can't see a hamon but you can somewhat see hada when looking at an angle its a bad sign. It was probably a magnificent sword but how much of it can be brought back by fresh polish is a big gamble. It can come out well, it can be that what it is right now is the best it will ever be.

Araki Tomei but probably gimei.

2 more to keep this going Iwata Kaneyasu, Masayuki

From my own collection - the nanako is minute and the design wraps around the nanako mimi - not done in shakudo as one would expect, but shibuichi.

Dear All. A late iron one. All the best.

Hi, can you please tell me the theme of this akasaka school tsuba? I can see either butterfly or dragonfly. What are your views?

Really interesting. I had forgot all about searching the 1942 Kurihara banzuke list I did a quick search on Nakano shoten shop/workshop and found this:

Nice couple of blades. I assume neither have papers which would be odd given they are relatively recent purchases by the deceased owner vs WWII bring backs. The Gunome Hamon is not a recognised Norishige feature from my limited studies and the Mei doesn't convince either. But interesting fittings and low purchase price means its not a disaster if gimei. The Kuniyoshi will be a good one to untangle. Lots of potential there.

Not off topic Sam it’s interesting

@Benjamin that's really cool, I like how the swords appear to be floating in the display case I've ordered from here in the past, the craftsmanship another level, and the price is good. I recommend using Google chrome as it can tra slate the whole website https://www.katanatansu.jp/

Ok good stuff my appreciation for the comments. When I get it next week I will closely inspect it for the dreaded and so often encountered big issues such as hagire ( caught me out a few times already ) , saiha and so on ……😔 I’ll get better pics of the elements as suggested by the members and post them. thank you so far I am always abazed at the experience and ideas this forum brings, people are so knowledgeable and generous

This discussion is like "chess with pigeons".

I really don't have a any concerns at all. I suspect there are still hundreds of thousands or even million+ swords in collections in Japan, enough to sustain the market there for decades. There are also plenty of buyers inside Japan, based on what you see at the DTI etc. It is natural for those in the West to accumulate collectibles. This is no different from any other artworks, and we have not seen this in any other field. I think it's good for the community and the preservation of these items. I have serious doubts Japan will restrict exports in any way. It's more likely that other countries increase regulation and a lot flow back to Japan. Not something I worry about in my lifetime or several generations further on.

It's a scam, don't be fooled.

Prices for Norishige are all over the place. I've seen them as high as 350k Euro for a TJ all the way down to 15mil yen for a fairly uninspired Juyo example with later bohi, to 8.5mil yen for what I consider to be from his best period/style with Norishige Mei, relocated and embedded in the nakago, but unfortunately it's o-suriage to a short 44cm wakizashi and finally a TH katana for 6.5mil yen. The paper for this item is Den Norishige so they are uncertain. I've seen much, much better examples of Den Norishige offered for less than 4mil yen, with Juyo Shinsa pass. The retailer knows exactly what they have and its potential, to offer it at that bargain basement price. They also say to contact for pics of the kizu so there is undisclosed condition problems not shown in the published photos. Norishige would be a great name to own and even though I am actively looking for one to add to my collection, I personally would pass on this example. Another polish and it might be game over.

Lots of condition issues on that one but that’s all factored in the price. If you can live with the ware, if this gets repolished to brighten up the condition a bit (as the current polish is old) you will have a big name in koshirae and with Hozon paper. Not a bad place at all. For a top-condition nice-quality Norishige at TH you are looking at 5-6m yen+ minimum if you are lucky.

Guy, over at this Wehrmacht-wards thread, did a great translation of the Ohmura page on Murata Tsuneyoshi. There were 2 things I learned that I had never caught before: "Baron Murata Tsuneyoshi, a major general in the army, was an expert marksman. He developed the famous "Murata gun." Afterwards, he wanted to improve military swords, so he made a prototype military sword out of saber steel (sword steel from Solingen, Germany) in stock at the Tokyo Artillery Arsenal. Because it cut very well, under the guidance of Miyamoto Kanenori and Yokoyama Sukekane, he cut the Swedish steel and Japanese steel into strips in a ratio of 6:4, melted them at 1,500℃, and forged them into a round shape and hardened in oil to complete the blade. In October 1891, during a blade test at the arsenal, he used two blades to successfully cut a pig's skull. Since there was no abnormality in either blade, they were adopted as military swords based on this result. Because it was inexpensive and easy for even junior officers to obtain, it was widely used in the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, and it was proven to be a practical military sword that was resistant to rust and had a good cutting ability. Manufactured at the Tokyo Army Artillery Arsenal. The inscription read "Shoju Kanemasa" and underneath it he wrote the four characters for Murata Tsuneyoshi in seal, creating a seal that combines the two characters. The year and manufacturing number are stamped on the back. In addition, swords that he forged himself were inscribed with the inscriptions "Kanemasa" and "Murata Tsuneyoshi." As it did not have a blade pattern, it did not receive any recognition in the sword world.(For more information, see "The Spirit of the Sword" by Murata Tsuneyoshi) I had always wondered why the only smith we see on Murata-to (not zoheito) is Kanemasa. That's because Kanemasa was Murata's swordmith name! Also, the stamped numbers were his "manufacturing numbers"! I don't think I've ever seen one with "four characters for Murata Tsuneyoshi in seal, creating a seal that combines the two characters." Very interesting!

Sakura clusters

Another Peony . The tsuba is tanto size so is enlarged and a little blurry. Ian Brooks

I always thought that Choshu is underrated as a tsuba school - they have some magnificent work.

Here's one from my collection, lilys from the Choshu school.

This is one of the best threads in a while.... here is another of my favourites

Another I'm quite fond of

Thanks for posting this Piers, that was unknown ōdachi to me. Unfortunately it is of quite late make but really intresting none the less. While numerical measurement of sori can give a good basic idea, there are factors that affect the feeling of sori despite numbers stating factual info. The placement of sori on the blade, nakago-sori etc. factors can affect the perceived curvature even though actual numbers would disagree on that. You can have two swords of identical length and measureable sori but when placed side by side they can seem very different due to other affecting factors.

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.

some closeups from my Masatsugu, hope you like it

Folks, To me Masatsugu from Saga Prefecture is a WW2 tosho of interest and I have done a compilation for him. Brian has put it in Downloads. If you are interested in him have a look, and please let me know if errors. Also if you have examples or more info be great if you could post it. I can always do an addition. Mal