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長曽祢興里入道乕徹 - Nagasone Okisato Nyudō Kotetsu

This is a translation of the setsumei giving the opinion of the shinsa panel. Worth reading carefully. 65th Jūyō Tōken Designation Summary Designated on November 7, Reiwa 1 (2019) Classification & Attestation Item: Katana (刀) — One blade (一口) Signature: Mumei, attributed to Sa Yoshisada (無銘 左吉貞) Submitter: Paul Martin (ポール マーティン) Measurements (Sugata) Blade Length (Nagasa): 66.7 cm (2 shaku, 2 sun, 0 bu) Curvature (Sori): 1.6 cm Motohaba (Base Width): 2.8 cm Sakihaba (Tip Width): 1.8 cm Kissaki Length: 2.9 cm Nakago Length: 18.5 cm Nakago Sori: 0.1 cm Appraisal & Technical Description Shape (Taihai) Shinogi-zukuri with an iori-mune. The blade exhibits standard width proportions with a typical differential between the base and tip width. The curvature is shallow, culminating in a slightly elongated chū-kissaki profile. Forging Pattern (Kitae) An itame-hada foundation seamlessly intermingles with areas of mokume-hada. The grain characteristically flows (nagare-gokoro) toward the cutting edge. The entire steel matrix is densely packed with fine ji-nie, displaying an excellent jigane clarity that yields a faint, soft utsuri (reflection). Temper Line (Hamon) A masterfully restrained ko-notare(small wave) serves as the primary motif, interspersed with ko-gunome(small undulating steps). The overall temper is intentionally low-profile, exhibiting active ashi (legs). The steel displays brilliant metallurgical activity near the cutting boundary, where yubashiri (drifting mist formations) fuse with sunagashi (streaks of sand). The nioiguchi remains bright, crisp, and exceedingly clear. Tip Temper (Bōshi) The temper line runs true (sugu) into the point, executing a shallow, rounded turnback (komaru-gokoro). The apex of the curve terminates with a delicate, swept hakikake (brushed) texture. Engravings (Horimono) A classic bōhi (wide groove) is cleanly carved into both faces of the blade, running entirely through the tang. Tang (Nakago) Ō-suriage (significantly shortened). The heel profile is finished in kirijiri (flat cut) with indistinct, faint yasurime (file marks). The tang features two mekugi-ana (retaining pin holes) and remains strictly unsigned (mumei). Official Commentary & Historical Context Yoshisada was an elite bladesmith belonging to the Sa lineage of Chikuzen province. Historical scholarship positions him alternately as the direct son or primary student of the legendary founding master, Sa (Samonji). His production era can be confidently contextualized through existing dated examples, notably a signed companion piece from the 13th year of the Shōhei era (1358). While signed long swords (tachi) by Yoshisada are vanishingly rare, his signature is primarily preserved on short daggers (tantō) and sidearms (wakizashi). His styling on long blades typically trends toward a highly controlled, narrower hamon footprint compared to his peers. This specific mumei katana perfectly captures those defining school traits. The blade's overall width is classical, paired with a sophisticated, gentle curvature. The hamon centers around a subtle, low-profile wave pattern. While the upper and lower halves show variation, the upper section resolves into a quiet, uniform temper line. Enhanced by vibrant nie activity, a flawless jigane, and remarkable health from tip to tang, this piece stands as a premier, highly dignified exemplar of the Sa Yoshisada tradition.

There are many options at this price, if you're prepared to pay that amount it could be a better idea to travel to Japan to inspect some first class swords in hand.

Hi Elias, Welcome to NMB. I'm assuming this is the one AOI has on hold. Nice tachi koshirae if you like blingy mounts. Believed to be a student or son of O-Sa. Not the best of the nidai smiths but still highly rated at jojo-saku. I prefer Sa-Kunihiro. From Sesko's eSwordsmiths. YOSHISADA (吉貞), Jōwa (貞和, 1345-1350), Chikuzen – “Chikushū-jū Yoshisada” (筑州住吉貞), “Yoshisada” (吉貞), “Yoshisada saku” (吉貞作), “Mononobe Yoshisada” (物部吉貞), Sa school, according to tradition the son or student of Ō-Sa (大左), there exists a tantō with a date signature of the Shōhei era (正平, 1346-1370), no tachi are extant by Yoshisada, his tantō have a wide mihaba and some sori, the jigane is an itame-nagare with ji-nie and thick chikei, the hamon is a slightly undulating notare mixed with gunome and sunagashi, the bōshi has a rather long kaeri, we know smaller and larger signatures but it is assumed that they go back to the changes in the active period of a single smith because nothing indicates a 2nd gen., jōjō-saku As to value you have to also factor in the ~20% importation tax so after shipping costs its more like 6mil JPY you'll be paying. I personally would not pay that figure for this blade.

Hello Aiden, Welcome to the forum! I have some unfortunate news. The Kai Gunto is a Chinese replica made in the last 30 years. I say this based on the signature and tang(nakago) of the sword. This sword is not a Japanese sword unfortunately. The Type 98 is a little harder to judge because you weren’t able to remove the tsuka to photograph the nakago. But the sword has a few red flags. It seems like the sword has a second shinogi-ji (ridge line). Which is not really done on Japanese swords in this fashion. This sword could also very well be a replica. Don’t let this discourage you, there are many good swords out there to enjoy. If you have any questions then please let me know. Greetings, Lex

Sometimes it is not the importance or rarity of an object that warrants restoration or saving but it most definitely is the pleasure and peace that so doing brings. Reward of a different kind.

The pass rate for Juyo in 2019 was only 10% so can be considered one of the recent 'tough' years to pass. That speaks highly to the quality of the blade as Joe indicated. Just look at the storied grandmaster names it joined that year: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/30248-juyo-2019/#findComment-311599 But if one of your criteria is that this is a solid investment I think 6milJPY is too much for a Yoshisada. I doubt you will recoup that if you had to sell. There is also an early March 1951 registration. And AOI made a mistake the sori is 1.6cm not 0.6cm

Thank you very much for your comment and for sharing your perspective. I really appreciate your opinion that the overall package — the Juyo papers, attribution, historical period, condition, and presentation — could justify the asking price. Your explanation was genuinely helpful and gave me another way to look at the sword beyond only the number itself. I had a very strong interest in this blade and already asked the dealer to place it on hold. At the same time, I wanted to be careful and make sure I’m not paying significantly above market value. I almost made an expensive mistake before with a tanto that, in hindsight, may have been overpriced, so I’m trying to approach purchases more cautiously now and learn from collectors with more experience. I’m honestly interested not only in investment potential, but also in owning an important historical piece and understanding what makes a sword truly special from a collector’s perspective. If you don’t mind me asking: with a budget around 4.5–5 million yen, would you personally still consider this Juyo Sa Yoshisada a strong choice, or are there other blades currently on the market, dealer inventories, or auction examples that you believe offer better value or stronger quality? Thank you again — your advice was very useful and helped me a lot.

The Type 98 is likely genuine. Wipe it over with pure isopropyl alcohol and then oil lightly. The second shinogi line is likely a stripe in the gunk from the sheath. But it looks ok so far. The Kai Gunto is definitely a complete and poor fake. Even in polish, real Japanese swords don't look Damascus, and the hada is subtle. A vivid pattern like this is a sure sign of a fake. Focus on the other one. If both mekugi are out, you should be able to tap off the tsuka. Make sure you are using something like wood or plastic and you should have minimal chance of damaging anything. Seeing that tang is vital.

Gentlemen, I just received Darren’s latest batch of tsuba stands. As before they are meticulously executed and as before Darren’s communication, helpfulness and professionalism is a 5/5. He is a joy to deal with and I highly recommend his workmanship. All the best, Danny

It must be a typo. 純正眞鐵入鍛 I do not know its correct reading either. Junsei magane nyutan (?) - Forged from genuin iron.

Could the third character be “真/眞” as well? Thus we would have “純正真鐡入鍛” ??

Unless you plan to mount them again I don't really see why it would matter Piers... Just think of them as jewelled art meant to be looked at but not worn.

That Cloisonne tsuba is pretty high quality. You can find late Edo Nagasaki shippo pieces of lesser quality and they're nothing special, but the one you posted is perhaps one of the best I've seen!

I will wait until I get the photo's and report back before I post more on this blade. I was told this blade probably dates from the mid/late 1500's and is a decent blade. I will post more of Chris's findings when I get his written evaluation of the blade/mei/hamon/etc. forgive my ignorance if I misspelled something in this email. Again, I am FAR from a sword collector and really just want to know what it is that I have. Stay tuned, more to follow............

Hi Christopher, The sword is signed "Bi-Shu Osa-Fune Suke-Sada" and dated "Tenmon (or Tenbun) Go-Nen Ni-Gatsu-Hi", a day in the second month of the fifth year of Tenmon or 1536. There were a LOT of swordsmiths who used the art name of Sukesada in Osafune Village. They were of varied skill levels, and during this time they were producing many many swords. That being said, I have a fondness for Bizen swords even during the high production times. You didn't give us any measurements, or description of the mounts, so we would need much more to go on to establish a value. Also the sword will need a polish and that's an expensive proposition, so factor that into the price! Hope this helps, Tom

Hi, I will write only the characters. （I also do not know the correct reading of the first sentence.） 「純正直鐡入鍛 　濃刕住浅野兼眞作之」 （To me, it looks like the character “入,” but on the auction site below, it is identified as “人”. 　Looking at the photo of the registration paper on the same website, it says “入”.） ↓ 刀　(銘：濃州住浅野兼真作・純正眞鉄人鍛) auction site（yahoo!Japan）There are still some photos near the bottom of the website. 刕＝州　濃刕＝濃州＝美濃Mino 住＝live 浅野Asano兼眞Kanezane 作之=make this 眞＝an old-style “真” ↓There was also a brief biography on this website. sword dealer Giheiya 「Mei 濃州住浅野兼真 　Real name 浅野真一 　Date of birth 明治45年3月15日（March 15, Meiji 45 [1912]） 　Address 関市仲町住 Title 陸軍受命刀匠」 ↓以安来鋼浅野兼真作之刻印 Asano Kanezane sword dealer Meirin sangyo

Hi Con, The omote is a fairly typical nakirishimei: "No-Shu Ju Asa-No Kane-Zane Saku Kore". The ura side has me confused, on it he often would make an inscription about winning an award or the type of steel used etc, but this inscription is unfamiliar to me. Sorry I can't be more help, hopefully some of the better translators will weigh in. Tom

Thanks Conway and Bruce. I’ve dug out my copy of Dawsons to refresh my memory on these police sabers. @Ghaad47, according to Dawsons on pages 300-313, your sword with that half-decorated backstrap is a sword for police lieutenants. The police logo on yours looks like what Dawson describes as a 16 ray badge, found on lieutenant and superintendent swords. Whereas a sword with a fully decorated backstrap (similar to the army field grade counterparts), are for police superintendents. These are shown on dawsons page 314-315. *Dawson, Jim. Swords of Imperial Japan, 1868–1945. Cyclopedia ed. Newnan, Ga.: Stenger-Scott Publishing, 2007. All the best, -Sam

Spoke too soon. Duty = £41 which I was ok with

That type of hamon is very unlikely to be oil quenched/Showato. Suspect this is a good sword. I'm guessing it's for sale somewhere and you haven't secured it?

Hi Glen, thank you, very interesting and helpful! One of the factors you did not mention is the making of a TSUBA. I believe this will be most important. As you say, we shall see....

Dear Thomas, Yes, Tozando is a verified seller. Here is the link to Tozando: https://nihontowatch.com/?tab=available&dealer=101&sort=recent Since there are now way too many dealers for a dropdown menu selection, I suggest you use the textbox under dealer in the side panel filter. There, you can select the specific dealer. All the best, Hoshi

Golden rule that applies to all antiques/works of art etc…….of any variety…. No repair is far better than bodged repair🙂 I suspect I am “teaching granny”……🙂

I'll give it a try and comb it. 😂😉

Isn't this surface sometimes referred to as "boar-hair" pattern?