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I do think the price estimations seem quite low to me, only a good thing though. Lot 4025 - For me the most special item is definately the one Brian linked above. This will start to be very fickle stuff with the designations as there are lots of categories which you could call that one but in my own personal opinion it is of very rare form 長刀 (Nagatō). I have briefly mentioned these on the few naginata presentations I have held. This form usually has swordlike blade and shorter handle length. I do think late Muromachi to early Edo would be my age guess for this one. If anyone from the forum ends up getting this one I would love to chat more about this (or if someone you know gets the item). Maybe some day I might even offer to purchase it if stars align. Unfortunately at the moment I cannot make a bid on any of the items. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/tooveys/catalogue-id-srtoo10562/lot-1c8ac754-b1a3-4f3f-9b1e-b42000e12482 Lot 4026 - I was surprised of the price this. I guess I shouldn't comment this too much without seeing this in person but just for the price I would skip this one. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/tooveys/catalogue-id-srtoo10562/lot-150b7b97-1509-401c-aa97-b42000e124d9 Lot 4039 - Interesting naginata package with very low estimate, unfortunately limited pics https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/tooveys/catalogue-id-srtoo10562/lot-9101f1fb-683d-4bfd-8998-b42000e1299b Lot 4040 - Same as above. I like the koshirae of this more than the above item but blade less... https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/tooveys/catalogue-id-srtoo10562/lot-32105988-f154-40f7-b52f-b42000e129f5 Lot 4041 - Pretty wild horimono, not my style but I think some will like this. In my opinion possibly a later Edo piece. I see the signature potentially as 国義 Kuniyoshi. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/tooveys/catalogue-id-srtoo10562/lot-f61afeae-a250-4d9c-8934-b42000e12a51 Lot 4042 - There is a signature 丹波守吉道 Tanba no Kami Yoshimichi. Unfortunately I am not well versed in the smith lineage as there are lots of generations. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/tooveys/catalogue-id-srtoo10562/lot-1666d620-198d-499a-a16a-b42000e12aa5 Lot 4043 - This is in my opinion very interesting one, unfortunately they cannot remove the blade from the shaft. It is supposedly signed too, however it cannot be confirmed right now. Unfortunately the condition of the blades is what it is but this might be my number 2 as far as interesting items go. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/tooveys/catalogue-id-srtoo10562/lot-1649c8f7-4508-4af1-a7e3-b42000e12afd Lot 4044 - This might be number 3 in my list. Unfortunately no pictures of the tang, as this too seems to be signed. In general I am not fan of such a strong sweep in the upper portion. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/tooveys/catalogue-id-srtoo10562/lot-b078239b-726a-43cb-921f-b42000e12b59 Lot 4059 - This seems way too cheap and would feel like a killer deal. I like the size and shape of this a lot. I almost missed this one. By shape alone I would think it could be tad older but when looking it as a whole I think Knutsen had it pinned as Edo period item and that would be fitting. There is a signature 正吉 Masayoshi. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/tooveys/catalogue-id-srtoo10562/lot-ac53fcea-86cc-4e0c-89ac-b42000e130aa These are the naginata in the sales lot. In overall I think the estimates are very reasonable. Of course the condition of the items needs to be taken into consideration but apart from that 1 item that I think they see as the prized one, everything seems to have surprisingly low estimates. If it would be possible for me, I would definately bid on few of them but this time I cannot.

Hello, To my eyes it is much more likely that it is, indeed, the work of Yukimitsu, signed with the Shintogo Atelier mei. As we know, it wasn't just Shintogo himself signing Shintogo Kunimitsu. It was a brand for his workshop in Kamakura. My personal speculations on this is that there was, at the beginning, a single workshop: the Shintogo Atelier, producing highly refined daito and tanto for the warrior elite. Very much classical Awataguchi. Over time, Yukimitsu felt the creative urge deviate and to create pieces that fall outside of the established teachings of Shintogo. Creative minds are like this, they have an urge to innovate, and producing the classical tanto must have felt extremely limiting after many years. I can imagine that this tanto was such a radical deviation that it may have caused a spark between the master and the student. It was a risk to the Atelier's brand to introduce a different product. A decision may have been reached, at some point in time, to separate the workshops: one will continue to produce the safe product, headed by Shintogo's son and brothers, and the other atelier would produce something different and experiment freely. This is where Yukimitsu, Masamune, and Norishige come in. There was a rupture, and they split: This is why Yukimitsu started signing with his own name. Today, surviving Yukimitsu tanto are all over the place in terms of shape and deki. It is astounding range of workmanship and experimentation. So, to sum up, it can be argued that it was Yukimitsu, the true founder of the Soshu tradition. And with the range of work we see in Masamune and Norishige, Yukimitsu was eminently tolerant of experimentation - and even encouraged it, such that each member of the atelier could pursue his own dreams and desires. He flew from his own wings out of frustration, reached an arrangement with Shintogo to preserve the brand intact by signing with his own name, and started a parallel atelier that would not pose a threat to the brand integrity of the Awataguchi tradition. The rest is history. Best, Hoshi

Hi Markus, Your sword isn't a gunto (military sword). It is an older samurai sword. If I were in your position I would: 1. Whittle a new mekugi (menuki are the ornaments under the handle wrap; mekugi is a pin to hold the sword together) from a bamboo chopstick. The pin is incredibly important; don't delay. 2. Look for a collector/collectors' group that is strong on knowledge and honesty who can give you a better idea what you have. 3. If you are going to take other photos, use a dark background. Details will be more visible. Here you will find a care and handling brochure: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ You should read it. Best, Grey

This is the list of board members of the NBTHK. While the board is separate from the shinsa, it is likely that some members also participate as judges.HP役員名簿2025.11.20.pdf

And they’ve just received a donation from abroad! So they’re now looking into the possibility of facilitating such international donations from now on, although that was not part of the original plan.

@Lewis B @Hokke I think you are both right. I once asked someone close to Tanobe sensei why we see different lengths of sayagaki and why he sometimes uses specific terms. The answer I got was to not read too much into it--it depends on many things, including how much time he has, how poetic he is feeling in the moment, and his feelings about the blade, among others. His earlier sayagaki are briefer and more structured in their content and in his calligraphy. His later sayagaki are often more fluid in calligraphy and can be quite lengthy, yet the description typically follows a pattern.

plimptons book was just a fancy sales cataloge, not much info inside

Another blade without a designation is the Sozui Masamune which is part of the Imperial collection.

Bless you, Sam—I admire the optimism. But I do think the question touches on something many collectors are fretting about: what happens after Tanobe Michihiro? The answer is that we just don't know. Since the end of the war, there has been a fairly clear intellectual lineage in the study and appraisal of Nihontō—from Hon'ami Kosson and Honma Junji, to Sato Kanzan, and then to Ogawa Morihiro and Tanobe-sensei. That continuity has provided a kind of anchor for the field. What is certain now is that nobody seems to know who the next generation will be and how to access their chops. The NBTHK these days is, by most accounts, something of a black box, and it’s not clear who the torch will be passed to—or whether it will be passed in the same way at all. I’ve heard some interest around figures like Hirosuke Sato at the Tokyo National Museum, but that’s a very different institutional lane from the appraisal world the market tends to care about. It may be as Sam suggests that the next generation is being quietly groomed and hasn’t yet stepped forward publicly. But I keep hearing about a crisis in the Honbu which is shaking lots of peoples' confidence. From the outside, there appears to be no clear consensus on who carries that mantle next. And that uncertainty, for a lot of people, is unsettling. Maybe somebody here has heard of a potential rising star, but I certainly have not. Scary, actually.

I would say almost certainly coral. (The fruits, not the eyes)

I sent them a notice on the NAGAMAKI. There are many more mistakes in their descriptions, and it seems many items are in bad condition: Cleaned NAKAGO, corroded blades a.s.o.

One point where people might disagree is when we are starting to consider what items and authenticating bodies we see as legitimate ones. I am very allowing and I often accept museum and shrine items as legitimate ones, yet I know many people can disagree with this view. I feel I am not the correct person to judge authencity of the items. In my personal opinion some shrine items for example have much more interesting history than some newly minted NBTHK Tokubetsu Jūyō, still these are often just differences in viewpoints, For example here is a signed Masamune that I think is flying under the radar, named sword 夫馬正宗 (Fuma Masamune), no designation it is in the collection of Tokyo National Museum https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/489835 https://meitou.info/index.php/夫馬正宗 Here is named sword 朱判正宗 (Shuhan Masamune), no official designation and currently in private collection https://meitou.info/index.php/朱判正宗 Named sword 島津正宗 (Shimazu Masamune), no designation, is in the collection of Kyoto National Museum https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/565922 https://meitou.info/index.php/島津正宗 If you check Yahoo Japan auctions there are often Masamune being sold in there too... There is just lot of wiggle room depending on what you will accept as legitimate item.

Dale, the brown-red material is very likely coral, but it could also be red jasper or carnelian, just from the colour. But I don't know if these stones were available in Japan at that time. Natural crystal is a kind of quartz (= silica/silicon dioxide, agate, amethyst, flint, Arkansas and Ouashita wetstones, and others). You can create almost any colour with enamel, however, this will always be flat and, as far as I have seen in Japanese context, applied in a kind of metallic frame.

Nagamaki I suggest Brian

And finally, the harp logo on a General’s grade Type 19: I personally don’t see a correlation between the quality of the corporate logo and the overall quality of the sword, but that’s just my assessment as someone who primarily collects dress swords.

And another example on a Japanese Type 19 (from Sohei Swords listing): I would guess that the hanzi was used prior to the “harp” or “Suya Tokyo” logos.

Here’s another Kanji/Hanzi corporate logo on a Qing Dynasty Chinese sword (Note the inspector’s mark):

On Saturday Mr Koike told me they have already seen over 1.5 million JPY in donations towards the project. (One person alone apparently gave ¥1,000,000.)

As a disclaimer I must say I am not a martial artist even though I dabbled few years in Japanese sword arts when I was teenager. As a ōdachi fan I will vouch many of them were indeed used in battles. So far I have seen 30 historical ōdachi in various places in Japan and I am hoping to still see many more in the future. There are however some limitations by size and by age that are my own personal feelings, I will expand more on them later on the post. Most of the ōdachi I have seen are preserved in various shrines in Japan and photography in shrine treasure rooms is forbidden. So I don't have pictures taken at the shrines apart from few where the museum staff wanted me to take a picture of the item. However in books I do have lots and lots of pictures and information. I don't know my martial arts history that well but I know in Japan there are some arts that are seen as koryū (古流) and they have strong historical standing. I believe the martial art shown in above video is Enshin-ryū (円心流), which is to my understanding classified as koryū, old historical martial art. To my limited understanding the meaning and specifics of kata in koryū is not really given outside the school. So even if you see that ōdachi is drawn from the hip in videos it could possibly be just a form of training. I believe I have seen other videos of this same person using the same sword over the years. I believe it is ōdachi with a blade length of 三尺六寸 3 shaku 6 sun which in centimeters is 109 cm. He does have impressive drawing and sheating technique and I believe he would be very seasoned martial artist. This brings me to the koshirae and how they were worn. I have recorded currently 151 ōdachi in Japan. Extremely few of them are in katana koshirae, as wearing them thrusted through the belt was not really that good option in my personal opinion, and as they were intended for battlefield use I don't see wearing them thrusted through the belt, they were already out when going to live battle or in many cases high ranking samurai had sword bearers who carried the ōdachi and allowed their master to draw it. There are however few very large Edo period swords that I classify as an ōdachi that are in katana koshirae, I can remember few from memory. - Itsukushima Jinja has 99,8 cm blade dated 1867, it was commissioned by a sumo wrestler at that time. (I have seen this sword at the shrine) - Matsubara Hachimangu had 101,3 cm blade (if I understand correctly it is dated 1644 and dedicated to the shrine when made). - Unfortunately there is only small picture but I believe the Takaoka Jinja sword 106,1 cm and 1641 dated blade that was in previous Okayama Branch restoration project might have katana koshirae, the pic I have seen is very small. However mostly the old historical ōdachi had various types of ōdachi koshirae. Many of the Edo period ōdachi that still have koshirae have an ōdachi koshirae too. Also the dating on the blades for Edo period can show how it will fit historically into timeline of Japan, as battles ceased after the early 1600's. I watched some Japanese youtube videos and in one of them it was mentioned that actually commissioning an ōdachi cost several times the normal amount of money, which is easy to understand, as the project of making a giant sword is lot more complicated than a normal sized one. This usually would mean that the person commissioning the sword must be wealthy and/or possibly a high ranking samurai. Finally comes the size of the ōdachi. These are just my personal opinions after seeing many of them live at shrines and lots and lots in books. Of course unfortunately currently handling experience is limited to modern swords. I am talking about blade lengths here, I see the length range of 3 to 4 shaku (90-120 cm) as perfectly reasonable range, there shouldn't be any issues with these. blade lengths of 4 to 5 shaku (120-150 cm) is where I see the upper end of actually usable ōdachi. When you go to blade lengths of over 5 shaku (150+ cm) I just don't see them all that reasonable for usability. As you have to calculate the tsuka in, these weapons are over 200 cm in total length and the majority of it is in blade. For usability I would rather exchange some of that blade length to handle/shaft length, arriving towards large bladed nagamaki and naginata. I think the longest ōdachi that I know has historical record of it being used in battle is the gigantic Tarōtachi (太郎太刀) of Atsuta Jingū it has blade length of 221,5 cm. There is a historical legend and provenance to back that up and there is a story for it. In my understanding the short version would be that two relatives wielding two giant ōdachi Tarōtachi and Jirōtachi, were stalling the enemy troops while wielding these on horseback. The enemy finally killed both of them but they gave time for others to get to safety. I believe they were dedicated to Atsuta Jingū in 1576. Atsuta Jingū has three ōdachi in similar koshirae Tarōtachi, Jirōtachi and Kanetake ōdachi made in 1620. As there is historical story and provenance I cannot discard the fact that the giant sword could indeed have been used in battle. In my brain I just can't figure out what would be the benefit in having these extremely long blades compared to very long blade with slightly longer handle. The post came quite a bit longer than I originally intended and had to do some fact checking as I hate making errors.

Another thought is that the logo on the Dirk is specific to navy items that Suya made, while the other logo is specific to army items. We have seen that in some other stamps.

That is the same stamp in Nick's example. Looks to me like a stylized "壽". Which makes me wonder, now, where the logo found on Type 95's came from. It seems to me that the one on 95's is a more full renditon of that kanji and the ones on early dirks are maybe simplified?

I seem to recall seeing this logo before. Nick depicts this logo in his Suya missive. The logo could be based upon the simplified character 寿? Check the blade to make sure it has a steel blade versus the postwar alloy reproductions. Ｔhe Untold Story of Suya Shoten

Sword blade beginning the grinding process... the hamon becomes visible.