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I was told there was an issue but by the time I logged in, all was working fine. The whole of SA has had some serious internet disruptions the past few days. Apparently massive DDOS attacks launched against all the ISP's, and most have had some serious problems, so I'm guessing that was part of it. No-one knows why or by whom, but it's a large one, and taken down most of the providers for a bit. I expect there may be some lingering issues over the next few days.

I was talking to Ray Singer about this yesterday. The problem here, as we discussed, is the connection with the Tokugawa. That association is such that few are going to ever say it is a fake, even to this day. Cultural respect, etc. But the fact that sword has no official status -- not Kokuho,Jubi, JuBun or any flavor of Juyo -- is telling. So it appears to be exactly as labeled: a sword signed Sadamune that was owned by powerful member of the Tokugawa family. No more. No less.

Sa blades attributed to specific smiths tend to be highly valued blades. They are considered a big step above the more numerous Sue-Sa and O-Sa Ichimon attributions, and thus are prized. Yoshisada has to his credit 56 recorded blades, including two Jubis, four TokuJus and 42 Juyos. Not too shabby by any standard. That said, top tier work like this is not that common and the setsumei is certainly very positive about the attribution and the quality of the blade. For me, a Sa School lover, I think the price isn't unreasonable at all especially with the current exchange rate for a Juyo work from a good session and great setsumei. And comparing the quality to other Soshu-adjacent schools and smiths, I think they represent probably some the best value in Nanbokucho Soshu works. The value of Sa blades within the Soshu pantheon was something that even Darcy commented on. And while Yoshisada's works are not as well-regarded as some of the other inner Samonji circle such as Yukihiro (my favorite) and Yoshisada's older brother, Yasuyoshi, his work is considered closer to his father's (Samonji) work style than is Yasuyoshi. (Kunihiro mentioned above was also good but was later and not necessarily among O-Sa's inner circle of children and early students.) Yes, there are lots of options at this price range, but if you are looking for a Juyo blade with excellent Soshu pedigree and supreme clarity of the steel and such a wide bright habuchi, I am not sure you are going to find much better at this price. Just my humble opinion. (And FTR, the only reason I didn't jump on it is these days I only collect tanto. My safe and closet are grateful!)

Brian, Just wondering what happened yesterday afternoon (USA Mountain Time). Tried a couple times, "Server Not Found" message kept popping up.

Thank you very much for your comment and for taking the time to share your knowledge. I’m still quite new to Japanese swords, and I honestly lack the historical background regarding different blade types, forging methods, and swordsmith traditions. Because of that, your explanation was personally very helpful to me and gave me perspectives I probably wouldn’t have considered on my own. I really appreciate experienced collectors sharing their knowledge with beginners like me. Thanks again for your helpful comment — I learned a lot from it. Interestingly, I also had an offer for a Tantō by Masamine, but in the end I decided not to proceed with it at around 3.4 million yen. As a beginner, these decisions are quite difficult for me, which makes advice and insight from experienced collectors even more valuable.

於津國生玉剣竜子貞晴造之 – At Tsu no kuni (= Settsu province) Ikutama, Kenryushi Sadaharu made this. 慶應四歳辰八月日 – Keio 4th year Tatsu (1868), 8th month

Mark, the sword has a mei of Kenryushi Sadaharu. You can see the entry below from Markus Sesko: SADAHARU (貞晴), Keiō (慶応, 1865-1868), Settsu – “Naniwa-jū Mizuguchi Kenryūshi Sadaharu saku” (浪華住 水口剣龍子貞晴作), “Settsu Ikutama ni oite Kenryūshi Sadaharu kore o tsukuru” (於摂津生玉剣龍子 貞晴造之), “Naniwa-jū Kenryūshi Sadaharu saku” (浪花住剣龍子貞晴作), student of Gassan Sadayoshi (月山貞吉), his gō were Kenryūshi (剣龍子) and Kensaishi (剣斎子), we know blades from the Keiō to the Meiji era (明治, 1868-1912), mostly a magnificent sugata with a wide mihaba and an ō-kissaki, dense ko-itame or masame which tends to muji, suguha-hotsure, notare, gunome, he works in the style of his master Sadayoshi, he also added a koku´in seal in the form of the character “chū” (忠・忠) , chū-saku

Mine arrive today - thanks

Ray and Moriyama - big thanks!! Must be a mental block, i know Sadaharu, had a sword by him before. I think with the damage my eye thought it saw Kiyo instread of Haru and then i got stuck on thet. I thought it looked Gassan school. Makes sense now, thanks again

Haynes lists a Meiju as a student of Araki Tomei (H09800) working about 1865-75 and that there is a relationship, or the same person as Inoue Akiyoshi (H00089) The kanji are the same. I have a tsuba signed Akiyoshi which was an early name used by Kiyotoshi (H03368.0, 1804-1876). Not sure if its the same guy. An entry in ‘The Early Famed Works of the Kyoto Smiths (Kyomono no Ko-Meisaku)’, tanslated by Gordon Robson lists a tsuba by Akiyoshi with a shakudo ground. The text states that ‘Akiyoshi is among the skilled kinko of the Aizu during the late Edo priod’ ‘There must be some connection with Kawano Haruaki, and because of his signature and kao, we can agree to such a conjecture.’ There appears to be a similarity between the kao on this tsuba and examples attributed to Kono Haruaki, so it looks like the artisan of this tsuba is probably the one referred to. Akiyoshi seems to have worked around the mid 19thC and changed his name several times Not sure if this helps, or just muddies the picture further. Best regards, John

Hi Ken, Mark beat me to it as I was typing. The signature appears to be: "Hi-Shu Ju Tada-Yuki". (the second kanji is poorly written, but I can't imagine any thing but Shu.) Hishu can refer to either Hizen or Higo province. There were a few Tadayuki from Hizen/Higo that worked in the mid to late 1600. Would need an overall photo and more detail to give you more than that. Tom

i see Hi Shu Ju Tadayuki