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Hello everyone, I also wanted to share with you my result at the last NBSK contest. Last year, at my first participation, I received the “Kasaku” (佳作) award and it was a great honor for me, as well as seeing my work exhibited first at the Tetsu Museum in Sakaki machi (Nagano) and then at the Meiji Jingu in Tokyo. The results were published in last days, and I can proudly say that I have confirmed the Kasaku award for the second consecutive year, in a context where the level is extremely high and the pursuit of perfection is constant. This year, I decided to raise the bar with a more elaborate work and a more challenging execution technique: from the choice of an “archaic” hitatsura hamon, complex and highly dynamic, to the realization process itself, which led me to a nearly three-dimensional result. I worked in multiple layers, with different dilutions, using brushes and a shodō ink stick, following the teachings I received during my last trip to Japan and after countless hours of experimentation to find a balance that satisfied me. It was a process with no margin for correction. There are some imperfections but that's okay, we have to know how to accept them. It was a long process—a true pursuit of perfection—almost a form of active meditation in which time seems to lose its meaning. The choice of the kakemono (made in Japan), too, was not accidental: on the shirasaya there is an old label bearing the name of the blade, “Amanokawa” — the Milky Way — likely inspired by the long sunagashi and the brilliant nie that characterize it. For this reason, we chose a display that would evoke, even if only from afar, a starry sky. Below I leave you some photos, and thank you for your attention.

Alexander I also did a four volume book series on the A.H.Church collection - the unpublished Koop catalogue in book form with the addition of both views of the guard, which unfortunately the museum's online resource does not have.

That Mōgusa tachi at Eirakudo is indeed interesting item. I am not sure if it is indeed from Heian period, I would personally be more comfortable with more conservative Kamakura period estimate. This does indeed show the bit "rough" northern style quite well. However I think I am seeing hamon dropping off from the blade at several places, or at least getting extremely on the edge. Even though I am big fan of the school I am not digging the price. I think this has been my all time favorite of Eirakudo Mōgusa swords (funny enough I have seen 3 tachi and 1 katana sold by them that were attributed to this rare school) https://web.archive.org/web/20240624062731/https://eirakudo.shop/token/tachikatana/detail/644744 As for the big Hōju blade, I am not sure if I understand it well enough. It is either ō-suriage ōdachi as the description says or it could be later very large katana close to original size. It is unfortunate to admit that just by looking at the pictures I cannot say if it is indeed ō-suriage ōdachi or an ubu katana. Maybe I could give better opinion if I saw the sword in hand, maybe I wouldn't still be any wiser. From the pictures I cannot say if the hamon continues onto nakago or if it terminates around the machi. NBTHK has attributed this to kōdai Hōju and by that they mean later Muromachi Hōju. This type of sugata occasionally appeared during late Muromachi to Keichō. You can see signed sword that is shorter but has quite similarish sugata by the same seller here: https://www.samurai-nippon.net/SHOP/P-993.html It is an interesting item for sure. With large items like this one I think seeing them live even behind museum glass is important to get the real perspective about the size, as it is indeed a big sword. There are some ōdachi by Hōju school, I have seen the Hōju ōdachi at Musashi Mitake jinja few times, it is a marvellous sword.

Hello, I have this nice Tanto to offer. What makes it unique for me is its thickness and awesome Hamon. It comes with solid silver Habaki, Aikuchi Koshirae (Menuki also solid silver), Shirasaya and NBTHK. Silk white sword bag also included. Nagasa: 21,8cm Total: 40cm Blade weight: 183g Sori: 0 cm This blade is attributed to Ashu Sukeyoshi (阿洲祐芳) by NBTHK. Ashu is another name for Awa province (Today’s Tokushima prefecture). Sukeyoshi was active during the end of the Edo period- early Meiji era (Late 19th century-early 20th century). He first signed Sukeyoshi as his maker’s name and changed it to Sukeyoshi. We assume Yoshikawa Rokuro was his birth name. He was born in Awa province, and he learned sword-forging techniques from Bizen Osafune Sukenaga (備前長船祐永), one of the most famous swordsmiths at the end of the Edo period. After finishing the apprenticeship, Sukeyoshi returned to Awa province and served Hachisuka clan, the head of the entire Awa province. It is said that he forged a sword for Kondo Isami, a famous figure who belonged to Shinsengumi, a military unit formed as guards or Shogun at the end of the Edo period. Considering this fact, we believe the craftsmanship of Sukeyoshi was highly appreciated among Samurai at the end of the Edo period. Asking price 2500$ + shipment. Located in Poland/EU.

Congrats, Manuel. Both you and Francesco are rocking it! Well done to the strong Italian community too, which has fostered such strong interest and talent development. Very well done and wish you more successes in the future!

Well done, Francesco! Sincere congratulations.

As a historic enthusiast I might say who cares about the condition as it is such a rare signed tachi Well that is of course slight exaggeration but I do think to me this is far more interesting than lot of the fine mumei Jūyō blades. I have so far found 11 other signed Yoshimochi swords, and here are few of them Jūyō Bunkazai owned by temple Tokubetsu Jūyō owned by Tōken Nagoya Museum Tokugawa donated tachi owned by Ise Jingū Jūyō Bijutsuhin in private collection Jūyō Bijutsuhin in Sano Art Museum Jūyō Bijutsuhin in Tokugawa Art Museum I have only seen 1 signed Yoshimochi tachi with Tokubetsu Hozon sold online. It was very short blade but in better condition. Still I think I might prefer this longer tachi in weaker condition over it. I must say I am totally out of clue when it comes to valuing items like these, as I could see this selling way more than it is currently listed.

Congratulations Francesco, that is awesome. I feel this wonderful execution also shows your good eye for fine details

With the passing of Yoshikawa-sensei (NTHK) and Miyano-sensei (NTHK-NPO) and Tanobe-sensei not officially a part of NBTHK Shinsa (I could be 100% wrong about that, and if so, I humbly apologize), although he still does sayagaki attributions…. who are the current notable people in the Shinsa/kanei world whether in the above mentioned organizations or other? Just wondering who the current and upcoming crop of leaders in the field are?

I have done something similar with my Japanese coin collection last year. I used an app on my iPhone that IDs the Japanese coin and gives me an idea of the appoxiamate grade and value. I submit the top value gold and silver coin regarded by the app using AI from the Edo Period and both passed and came back with a high grade from the PCGS and they were also able to narrow it down to the specific Era in the Edo Period when the coins were minted by the Tokugawa government via the Goto family. I think international Japanese sword collecting in general could learn a thing or two from the international coin collecting hobby.

Nice control over the hamon there.

Bon travail Manuel

Just two days to go. Do we have more bids/bidders?

Hello, Which school for this Tsuba ? It looks like Ko kinko style but ... Any opinion welcome Thanks Sebastien

All lovely examples of Kinkō workmanship.

Greetings folks. I am a newbie to nihonto and have a katana in shin gunto mounts. The blade is mumei, has some rust, and seems to me to possibly have an itame hada. On the nakago, there are file marks that seem to be katte-sagari. Where the blade meets the habaki, the blade is sharpened, so I doubt it is gendaito. It needs a polish badly but don't know if this blade is worth the cost. What can you tell me about this katana? Thank you in advance. Jose

That's a great info in my researches. Thank you very much Nikolas

Thanks for the additions. Please take a moment and have a look at my page. You will already finde some essays: would love to hear your feedback Behrens: https://tosogu.eu/w-l-behrens-the-taste-for-the-archaic/ Church: https://tosogu.eu/sir-arthur-herbert-church-the-chemists-eye/ Joly: https://tosogu.eu/henri-l-joly-the-man-behind-the-catalogues/ Baur: https://tosogu.eu/alfred-baur-the-collection-that-became-a-museum/ Vever: https://tosogu.eu/henri-vever-the-art-of-seeing-twice/ Krohn: https://tosogu.eu/pietro-krohn-the-Japanese-argument-for-danish-design/ Halberstadt: https://tosogu.eu/hugo-halberstadt-the-collection-he-could-not-keep/ And the German collectors of course: Oeder, Jacoby, Brinkmann, Fahrenhorst, Tikotin...

Sometimes I find the more poetic descriptions of an item features difficult to understand. There are times when for example the item is described more with feeling rather than actual numerical measurements. I can understand that and sometimes even I do the same thing but at the same time it is sometimes difficult to grasp. As I am focused on size and shape, I often get puzzled when sword is described having wide mihaba but the actual numerical measurements show perfectly average sized blade. For me that is difficult to get but there are indeed swords that you can look at and think the sword has wide mihaba even though the numerical measurements would be perfectly average. To me it seems like an optical illusion that makes you observe the sword larger than it is in reality. Even someone as fixated with size and numbers as myself can fall for it.

Here's a quick video in sunlight of the tsuba for you to better appreciate it https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xPGDzFvqnX69nEFrNMGgFwfyYPqa5tLJ/view?usp=drivesdk

Amazing, many congratulations . So nice to see that such skills, knowledge and ability still exist in this world. I understand your comment re “active meditation”. It is a very peaceful place to be.

秋草図縁頭 無銘 尾張金工 山銅地 鋤出高彫象嵌色絵 Akikusa zu fuchikashira mumei Owari kinkō yamagane chi sukidashi takabori zōgan iroe

Some similarities here?

Very, very tired…. Signs are everywhere: weight, jigane (with all the forging lines visible all over the blade), hamachi narrowed down, hamon running off the edge in a few places. It must have been a very good blade once. Yet, zaimei ubu Ichimonji…. so it has historic and other value….

Greetings, This is my 1st tsuba ever. What can you guys tell me about it?

Is this the link John? https://www.aoijapan.com/tsubakishu-ju-sadanaganbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-tosogu/ A sold example Kishu Ju Sadanaga https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/326823576742?srsltid=AfmBOooDqcgIxmv03s_wR7cQ7XFjIeKKX6whNdNtt8f67q0RrvY9ApMm https://www.bonhams.com/auction/16021/lot/139/an-iron-tsuba-by-kishu-no-sadanaga-teimei-mid-edo-period/ About thirty guards down the list is this one from https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_kogatana&tousougu&youhin.html Looks like Sadanaga varied his style a lot [if it was the same guy and not several with the same name?]

2nd picture

545g is lightweight for it being nearly 75cm in length. I agree with others that it appears to be tired, and the weight suggests that it has lost a lot of material over the years. But zaimei and ubu would seem to be worth more than the auction’s low starting price. I’m guessing it will go for quite a bit more.

The school of "exquisite" - and out of my pay grade! Wow beautiful piece.

Kyō-kinkō?

LOL. Yes! And that is exactly what Tanobe did: his judgement on this particular work was much less conservative than the NBTHK , and the sayagaki was given to the master, not the student, raising its fortunes considerably. From a 50,000 ft view, Tanobe-sense simply validated the NBTHK's call suggesting the blade was a top-work in a top lineage from a remarkable time, which was reassuring. I was very grateful. I would like to say it restored my faith in NBTHK attributions but I have since seen other calls have left me deeply perplexed and even more distrustful. The fact that I felt I need in the first place for a known outside expert to validate the validators is the problem we are dealing with. When Tanobe is gone, I do not know where we will turn. Who has the gravitas and confidence of the majority of the collectors and market players to take his place? That is the answer we all want to know.

Ironically, Tanobe-sensei continuing to do sayagaki might help with that in the long run, if there's a pretty good correlation between his attributions and what the shinsa team give out (or in fact if the shinsa team's attributions turn out to be more conservative than his, on average). But that would be something for the "big data" folks in here to look at.

Here was some information I found regarding the NTHK (not NPO) 2024 Shinsa team at the Orlando show: SWORD TEAM OKADA MORIYOSHI: Shinsa team member, director of the NTHK and Chief Editor of Token to Rekishi. Joined the NTHK in 1988, became a member of the board of directors for the Osaka-Kobe branch in 1993, became a permanent member of same in 1995, became a member of the board of trustees of the NTHK in 1996, became a researcher for the shinsa team in 1997 and participated in the New York shinsa in October of the same year under the late Yoshikawa Kentaro Sensei. Became the chief editor of Token to Rekishi in 1999 and a full member of the shinsa team in 2000. Became a director of the NTHK in 2001. His special area of interest is Yamato den. OGINO MITSUAKI: 1971 joined the Hyaku-tô-kai. Around 1990, he joined the Katana-Yoroi-Kai and studied under Iida Kazuo Sensei. After that, he also studied with the NTHK, the Harugasumi-kai and other sword clubs. He is particularly interested in Kotô, especially Kamakura period works of the major schools. He also has a fondness for the works of Kotetsu and Shinkai. Mr. Ogino’s other interests are in collecting porcelain and in all kinds of other Japanese antiques. TAKEMOTO FUKUKAZU: Takemoto san is assistant editor of the NTHK publication, To-ken to Rekishi and a longtime collector. KAWAKAMI YOICHIRO: Shinsa team member, a third generation sword polisher, he was a student of Yoshikawa Eiichi Sensei. In January 2017 he was a featured craftsman at the Seikado special exhibition, “Perfect Guide to the Japanese Sword,” where he demonstrated the art of sword polishing. For a time he worked at To-ken Matsumoto and now is the only independent polisher trained in the Yoshikawa style. FITTINGS TEAM PROFESSOR GORDON ROBSON: Gordon Robson became the translator and interpreter for the NTHK in 1985. He became a trustee, and a researcher for the shinsa team in 1999. In 2000 he was made an assistant to the shinsa team, and an editor for the journal Tôken to Rekishi in 2001. He became a full member of the shinsa team and a director in 2002. In 2014, Gordon was made a shinsa team member for both swords and fittings. Professor Robson has written extensively on the Kanabô School of Yamato and on Sengo Masazane. He has also written on the iron sukashi tsuba of Kyoto, Owari, Kanayama and Ko-Shôami as well as the fittings of the Ko-Gotô, Ko-Kinkô and Ko-Mino Schools. In addition to his translations for the NTHK, he has translated for the JSSUS, producing such works as The Art and the Sword series as well as the two-volume set Sue-Kotô, and the Kyomono no Ko-Meisaku. His areas of interest include the works of the Sue-Bizen School, Sue-Tegai School, the Kanabô and Fujiwara smiths of Nara, the Muramasa School of Sengo, the Shitahara School of Musashi and the Shimada School. Professor Robson will also be consulting with the sword team as needed. IWAMOTO NORIHISA: Mr. Iwamoto studies fittings under his father, Iwamoto Toshiki. He has a particular interest in iron tsuba and koshirae. From 2015, together with Inada Kazuhiko sensei, honorary member of the Kyoto National Museum, he has been surveying the swords and fittings in shrine museums beginning first of all with Itsukushima Shrine. Osaka Bijutsu Club, Youth Group, Assistant Director. Lecturer, Osaka Yomiuri Cultural Center’s Nihon-tô Program. During his 20s, he traveled extensively in Ukraine, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. IWAMOTO TOSHIKI: (FOR REFERENCE) Owner of the Iwamoto Sword Shop in Osaka. In 1991 he took over as head of the Namihana Kodôgu Kenkyû-kai (Sword Fittings Research Society). The Namihana Kodôgu Kenkyû-kai was originally the Nihon Tôken no Gaisô no Kenkyû-kai (Japanese Sword Fittings Research Society) established by Dr. Suenaga Masao in 1955.

I believe this reads: - Sagami (no) kami Fujiwara Kaneyasu - Noshu Seki ju

both replaced by Dawson, and this is coming from someone that has owned pieces published in all three

Moses Becerra at NihontoAntiques.com also

The scabbard once had a leather combat cover that is now gone.

I defer to your expertise, John, but what do you think about he nakago shape and two holes? Not a standard WWII nakago .... unless it's something late war? But hamon seems too good for late war.

I've been hijacking @Shamsy's Type 95 Black Saya thread for too long, so I'm starting a Gold-painted gunto thread to track the gold ones. I considered labeling it "Painted Gunto" to gather all the colors, but the discussions of each can get quite lengthy, so I'll keep this one just on the gold. But for reference, Steve's thread also has several examples of officer gunto painted black as well. And we have the thread on Mottled Green paint on Type 95s. I've had examples of all 3 colors and regret stripping the 2 gold-painted 95s and the mottled-green 95. I still have one black-painted 95. But back to the gold! My interest started with the acquisition of 2 Type 95s, one totally painted gold (even the blade) and a late-war 95 painted black and gold: I believe this one might have been post war as the paint come off relatively easy using acetone, and the blade, once cleaned, had lots of scratches and marks as if used plenty prior to painting. Also, there was no original paint underneath. It had been completely stripped before re-painting with gold. The late war 95: In hindsight, I now believe this one to be a wartime personalization. The paint was hard to get off with acetone, and the original color was underneath. The following are other examples that I've filed, beginning with a primo one just posted by @Arty A on this thread HERE. The paint is old and abused from use, and is covered with patina inline with the rest of the gunto: (out of time for now. Will update and continue later)

Here's a pic of my tropical cover.

He lists things very cheap and gets bought instantly. Mostly unpapered but there are occasional hozon and toku ho. If u look closely, most items will have some form of kizu but you cant really complain with how cheap they are listed. It s always good to remember that cheap unpapered blades are cheap bc they most likely cant paper OR they arent worth the shinsa money. Like a lot of the mumei shinshinto tanto and wak

And here are some pictures of the Koshirae & Shirasaya

I'm very surprised by the Omori School papers. Personally, I thought this was high grade Kaga Kinko up there with some of the examples in the Kaga Kinko Taikan.

I linked to the listing above. Lots of photos on the dealer site. Unsigned but it does have NBTHK papers for Omori.

Construction appears to be different. I'm not seeing a silver insert. This is the original listing https://eirakudo.shop/487812

Nosyu in Seki City Gifu Provence. Keiji Igarashi the owner is who I would recommend.

Dear All I have seen this tsuba for sale on Yahoo Japan. To me it looks clearly as a Kaga Yoshiro piece but it comes with an NBTHK paper to Heianjo Zogan! What am I missing? Do you see any particular reason for the attribution? Regards Luca

Stephen - I have the same affliction of making decisions with the heart over head. Sentimental value is what I'm trying to convey to my wife. Suggestions from experience in this type of spousal negotiation is invited! Kronos - Chris said the togi-shi did take a look at it and said it was difficult to tell without taking it to the stone. Before shinsa is sent a photo of it to Mr Benson who thought it could polish out however I can appreciate the judgment is not based on in-hand observation. So far I take the togi-shi opinions it to mean restoration might be possible which is far better than an outright no. Brian - Great advice and justification. I'll have to borrow it. Better yet, may I have your number so I can have my wife call you? Perhaps start a nihonto spousal negotiation service? (Joking Regards, -allan

When a sword costs $475, and gets 76 points, then it really starts to become worth it to polish. I would. Maybe consult with the service mentioned here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/12772-sword-polishing-service-in-Japan/ Your initial outlay was minimal, so it is worth spending some money on it imho. Congrats, that is a surprise and welcome result.

Firstly, I need to say a very belated thank you to those that have responded. The collective wisdom and openness to sharing your knowledge on nihonto is very much appreciated. I even received a welcoming PM and invited advice which I consider invaluable (Thank you Arnold!) . Based on the advice of the board, I was able to secure the Shinsa services of Mr. Bowen (Thank you Chris! Considering the logistics and possible complications, your offer to act as an intermediary for shinsa is an amazing service!) and I was fortunate to have the sword appraised by the NBHK-NPO team. I was happily surprised that the sword passed and was very surprised at the score of 76. From what I read, I was under the impression that a sword in this condition (see photos of the original post) wouldn't make it above 70. It makes me curious if the score is representative of the sword and condition in hand or if it might be representative of the "potential" of the sword once restored. It also makes me wonder how the blade could score if it were restored (by a reputable togi-shi. How much can a pre- to post polish affect the score? I'm attaching a scan of the worksheet. There are some written comments in the Nakago, Kitae, Hamon, Boshi and Kantei sections of the worksheet that I'm hoping that someone would be kind enough to translate for me. I do have inquiry placed with a family friend to translate but I fear that they may have difficulty with the translation with nihonto-specific terminology. Lastly, I find myself entering into financial discussion with my boss (wife) about the possibility of submitting the blade to a togi-shi for restoration. I expect the discussion will center on "how much will it cost?" and "how much will it be worth after polishing?" I'll try my best to explain the intangible value of learning, experience and satisfaction in restoration of a blade. My battle is to try to figure out how this is worth considering even though it is I who would benefit in that regard. Time will tell how this plays out. Someday I hope to follow up with this post with before and after photos! Regards, Allan