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Thank you for posting this Brett, you have made so many interesting threads and it is always fun to open them as I know it will be a good one. I got in bit of a rabbit hole when trying to dig up the blades and ended up finding some great info but mostly left dry. I found out that the Torikai Kunitsugu was donated to Kurokawa Research Institute in 2016. The Kotegiri Gō has been in the collection of Kurokawa Research Institute. Like Brett wrote the Tokuzenin Sadamune is in the collection of Mitsui Memorial Museum, this is absolutely amazing blade in my opinion. I've said few times I am not huge fan of the golden age Sōshū but this Sadamune and few other Sadamune I have seen have been spectacular. From the info that I can gather Maeda Masamune seems to reside in private collection, last mention I have seen about it was 1961 exhibition. As I was trying to dig info about the other swords of major importance mentioned, I found out that the named sword Satō Yukimitsu of Matsudaira family was also sold if I understood correctly in 1934 for 1,798 yen (however another source mentions same person won it for 10,000 yen). It passed Jūyō Bijutsuhin in 1935 and listed owner was the person winning the bid for it. To my understanding it resides in private collection. For the Tsuriganekiri Kuniyuki tachi I was only able to find the person who bought it from that auction and it seems he had some very nice swords. Unfortunately that 1924 mention of the item is the latest info I found about it. Unfortunately for the rest of the items I cannot find anything certain. If I understand correctly the Matsudaira sword list that I have is from 1670, and there most likely has been numerous swords added to the family collection after that time. The Yoshihiro tachi is listed with characters 義弘 so it would be either Gō or Senjuin, however I have not known a single signed tachi by Gō and even for Senjuin Yoshihiro I know of only 1 and that is in Tsurugaoka Hachimangū collection. Also that Kanenaga is really puzzling one to me, also the mumei Norishige compared to other items in the list the prices of these 2 mumei swords seem way out there, so they most likely had super serious provenance.

Great thoughts Brett - I think you should propose this to the NBTHK/AB, I am not sure the Japan office has thought on these, they really should. I will point out that one of your proposals is already a reality. The Northern California Japanese Sword Club and the Metropolitan New York Club both have reciprocal relationships via the NBTHK/AB we pay one fee for membership in both clubs. Also we still get the NBTHK magazines in the mail, it is the NCJSC that went digital and now produces its newsletter only electronically... -t

This is extremely complicated signature and I am missing lot of key information, however I think I have a grasp of the general idea about the smiths. 越前国□広□□為三十七歳□内□□□守 / 行年七十有二 同子 高柳加賀守藤原貞広 / 国継相共□正□ other side I would believe starts with 正徳二壬辰□三月上日 and there is a lot lot more to translate. This would be made by Kaga no Kami Sadahiro (signed as Takayanagi Kaga no Kami Fujiwara Sadahiro) at the age of 72 with his son Aritsugu while he was signing with Kunitsugu (国継) and the year would be 1712 as that matches the zodiac. I was able to find a reference piece that can be seen on page 11 here (unfortunately the pic is very blurry): https://www.yamasaki-bunka.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/kyodokaiho_063.pdf Both the item in this thread and the one above link, seem to be signed as at age 72 with son Kunitsugu and year is 1712. Markus Seskos swordsmith index and Nihontō Meikan both mention that there is a item signed as at 71 with son Kunitsugu (who was signing 27 year old to that sword) and year is 1711. I think it is extremely interesting item and I hope that you can get correct and proper translation on it, as there is so much that I fail to understand. I would feel the signature would be legitimate as it is such a peculiar one and extremely long.

I stumbled across a great little read in the Token Bijutsu Volume 35 about the sale of the Iyo Saijō Clan's Matsudaira Masterpieces. The Iyo Saijō Clan was established with the fief of 30,000 koku as a branch family of Kishū Tokugawa by Matsudaira Sakyō-dayū Yorizumi, who was second son of Tokugawa Yorinobu ruling Kishū. When the new branch came into existence, some of the treasures in the Kishū family collection were transferred as heirlooms. Among the ten transferred swords, three of them were meibutsu, namely, Maeda Masamune, Tokuzen-in Sadamune, and Satō Yukimitsu. Others included two Juyo Bunkazai, a kodachi by Sanenaga and a ken by Mitsutadai. It is said that the magnificence of swords in the Matsudaira collection came next only to the Maeda, Shimazu, and Kishū Tokugawa collections. In the article it, it talks to the sale of a few of these great swords that we have discussed even recently here on this forum. It seems insane that some of these things have actually been sold but there you go. In 1918 or 50 years after the Meiji restoration, two of the Iyo Saijō Clan's Matsudaira meibutso were sold: 1. Torikai Rai Kunitsugu tanto - said by Dr Homma when he saw it in 1950 that he was surprised this was not elevated to a higher status (Juyo Bunkazai or higher) this sold in 1918 to a Mr Sugihara who paid 8,000 yen for it. To put in perspective. 1 yen was equivalent to roughly 51.5c USD back in 1918. So this means the sword roughly cost $4,120. To assess how much this was in the day, an unskilled labour earned you $1/day, whilst skill labour was $1.50/day. As such the salary of an unskilled labourer was $241/year or $361.50/year for a skilled labourer. At the time a larger, well-built, multi-bedroom home in New England cost between $2,500 and $3,500, today this home would cost over $3-4 million. Basically, if you look at the USD prices from back in the day, all you need to do is throw three zeros at the end for an roughly equivalent price today. 2. Kotegiri Gō wakizashi - Initially owned by Inaba Tanba-no-kami Masakatsu it was given official recognition as work of Gō by the origami issued by Hon'ami Koon in Kanbun 2 (1662). The origami also certified that it was worth 100 pieces of gold coins. Later when its ownership went to Hosokawa Etchū-no-kami the price was raised to 130 gold coins. It went back to the Inaba again with the origami certifying its new value was 200 gold coins. Finally it was put into the same auction in 1918 as the Torikai Rai Kunitsugu tanto and was sold for €3,338 or $1,719. In 1924, some 56 years after the Meiji Restoration, the remaining bulk of the Iyo Saijō Clan masterpieces were auctioned off, including their third Matsudaira meitbutso: 3. Tokuzen-in Sadamune tanto - named ofter the owner Maeda Gen-i who had the pseudonym Tokuzen-in. It came to the Kishū Tokugawa by way of the Shōgun Tokugawa, and it eventually went to the Matsudaira in lyo Saijō. It was at the time given the price of 300 gold pieces. It was placed in an auction in 1924 along with an aikuchi-koshirae with a set of mitokoro-mono made by Gotô Kojo. The three metal pieces are of the shishi (lion) design in gold. The tanto and the koshirae sold for 5,200 yen or $2,132 at 41c USD. Which seems a lot but this sword was made a Kokuhō or National Treasure on the 22nd November 1952 and is now held at the Mitsui Memorial Museum. The following is a list of some of the swords of major importance that sold at the 1924 auction: Bizen Kanenaga (unsigned) with shirasaya: 27,800 yen or $11,398 (even though it was not meibutso it became the highest priced sword at the time - we know it is not Kokuhō or Juyo Bunkazai as none of Kanenaga's blades are Kokuhō or Juyo Bunkazai. Would love to know what happened to it, is it one of the Juyo Bijutsu or Tokebetsu Juyo blades?) That would be almost $11.4 million in today's money! Norishige (unsigned) with shirasaya: 12,100 yen or $4,961 (People loving Norishige apparently is not a modern trend... Is this one of the Kokuhō or Juyo Bunkazai blades?) That would be almost $5 million in today's money! Tsuriganekiri Kuniyuki with shirasaya: 3,050 yen or $1250.50 or $1.25 million in today's money! Unreal! Enju Kunitoki tachi in shirasaya: 2,200 yen or $902 Yoshihiro tachi in koshirae: 1,650 yen or $676.50 Awataguchi Yoshimitsu tanto in koshirae: 1, 320 yen or $541 Rai Kunimitsu with shirasaya: 1,250 yen or $512.50 Awataguchi Kuniyoshi tachi in koshirae: 1,250 yen or $512.50 It is also known that more than half of the blades sold at this auction achieved prices above 1,000 yen or $410, that is over $410,000 in equivalent purchasing power today. If we consider the Dr Compton Auction at Christie's held March 30, 1992 as the highlight Japanese sword auction of our generation, then this 1924 auction would simply have been the greatest Japanese sword auction of all time!

I agree)

The Kinzogan is very crudely executed, suspect this is fairly recent and done for nefarious purposes.

As a Gen Z, I would be entertained with less visual effects as well I am usually more interested in whats in an exhibition than how it looks visually. After all, I am there to learn something new.

Does anyone know if NBTHK have ever suggested they would put their sword directory online? I know I would pay to get an annual membership to that. I suspect majority/ everyone here would. A NBTHK Juyo & Tokubetsu Juyo Shinsa book costs around 20,000 yen each. That is 60,000 yen every two years for two Juyo and one TB books or 30,000 yen a year on average. But I am not sure how many of these books they print or sell annually and therefore do not actually know how much they make from this exercise. Current Japanese NBTHK membership costs 12,000 yen and foreign membership costs 19,200 yen - I believe this use to cost more because they sent mail internationally but I am also advised that all of this is now online since covid? So I am not sure how many members they have - a few I suspect but not as many as are members registered with clubs and forums such as NMB. If they provided the NBTHK sword database to members I suspect they could probably ask 25,000 or 2,500/month (Price of a Netflix subscription) across the board and negate the need for local and international snail mail. As this is a subscription to an educational service subscribers could probably also get a tax deduction for this in most countries. I think this could really take off if they did a deal where sword clubs and forums are allowed to apply for association status, so that the club can get subscriptions to the NBTHK at a discount rate (20% less perhaps) that would allow the club or forum to fund their activities through the difference between the subscription and the discount. It would bring in some much needed revenue for the clubs and forums, that currently struggle, it would bring in more money to NBTHK and the data access would be super helpful for the community. A win, win for everyone really. There is also opportunity for the NBTHK to license their images and sell them if people wanted to use them outside of the NBTHK database. They could also charge the retailers more (like 100,000 a year) to allow them to use the NBTHK data, images & certificates in their sales advertising. It just makes economic and commercial sense. I am not sure they get anything from the retailers who scan in and currently use the NBTHK certificates on their websites? Does anyone know more about this? Surely something like this must have been discussed in the higher circles of the NBTHK in the past? But I am very aware of how reluctant the Japanese are to online usage especially in the Nihonto space where the average age is not exactly young. The Japanese also appear to love paper work, snail mail and red tape - in a way these last 30 years or the "lost" 30 years have seen a lot of Japan left in the 90s. So I am aware this is not a small exercise and would involve a significant amount of work, infrastructure and mental realignment to set this up but I am also sure that I am not the only one who wants this - the Nihonto community is desperate for high resolution images. It would be so good to have a single source for this information - the benefit analysis & growth of this space would be absolutely enormous. If the NBTHK are not willing to do this due to the size or uncertainty of the project then perhaps there is an opportunity for a private institution to exclusively license this data from the NBTHK and on sell it themselves to the community? Of course if there was a really rich benefactor who would be willing to fund this and make this incredible data available for free, then I will also not object. Morning thoughts.

This one is signed Gotō Hōgen (aka Gotō Ichijo), made at 78 years of age. This would place the date of manufacture around 1868-1869.

Odd as it may seem a similar sword came up a year or two ago, good quality early mounts with a 1990's blade made to fit it. No Shirasaya either.

Kenukigata Tachi Style Sword -Rare Japanese Tanto -Kaigata (Oar-shaped) Saya FOR SALE An exceptionally rare kenukigata tachi–style Japanese sword is now available. This Edo period utsuchi (tribute sword) faithfully recreates a National Treasure kenukigata tachi from the Heian period in tanto size. A kenukigata tachi features a distinctive mekugi-ana shape in the nakago. Kenukigata translates to “tweezers shape” in Japanese, which clearly describes the openwork form. This tanto shares the graceful sori (curvature) of an early tachi and closely mirrors that elegant profile. The blade displays a fine hamon and remains in excellent polish. The mumei blade measures 12 1/4″ (31.1 cm) in nagasa. The kaigata (oar-shaped) saya further enhances the presentation. Notably, it features a kurikata carved in the form of seashells. The mounts include a leather tsuba. Historical Context: Kenukigata Tachi The kenukigata tachi represents a rare and early Japanese sword style from the Heian period (794–1185). Craftsmen forged these swords from a single piece of steel, piercing the tang (nakago) with an opening that resembles tweezers (kenuki). Consequently, they stand as a crucial transitional form in Japanese sword development and serve as ceremonial predecessors to the traditional tachi and later katana. Key Features and Significance Design: These blades incorporate an openwork handle formed as part of the blade itself. Rather than attaching a separate wooden hilt secured by a mekugi peg, the user gripped the integrated tang directly or wrapped it lightly. As a result, the design reflects an early stage in sword mounting evolution. History: Swordsmiths developed the kenukigata form during the mid-Heian period, evolving it from the earlier warabitetō swords of the Tohoku region. Therefore, historians regard it as a prototype of the curved Japanese tachi. Usage: High-ranking imperial guards (Efu) primarily carried these swords for ceremonial purposes. Elite warriors also wore them as symbols of rank and prestige. Condition This fine kenukigata tachi–style sword remains in beautiful polish. Importantly, the blade shows no openings (ware) whatsoever.. Additionally, the lacquer exhibits only occasional small dents consistent with age. Overall, this antique Edo period piece presents exceptionally well and retains outstanding collector appeal. $3400 plus shipping w/payment via check, Zelle, Venmo, bank wire (add 3% if paying via PP or credit card) Visit StCroixBlades.com for more photos

Jussi, as always an absolute pleasure to see a post from yourself, whenever you do I know I am going to learn something! Thank you. Yes, I was surprised to see the price of the Norishige and especially the Kanenaga. If true that makes these two blades some of the most expensive blades ever sold. Like, ever! And the Kanenage in particular could lay claim to the most expensive blade ever sold in a public forum in the modern era, but they seem to only include both these blades in a list in the article as an appendix, or end note. How is it possible that a these two blades could sell for this much and both get forgotten in the sands of history? So yes, it is very strange and I would love to find out more.

Maybe Cottontail Customs? I think he's accepting work again, but I'm not sure of the price? As above I don't think you will find anyone that does quality work for under $300 There were a couple who did great work for good prices but they're no longer doing tsukamaki. You seem to have at least a decent amount of the ito left. I would try and repair as much as you can.

Also another thing I see interesting on this is it only has a Soe Naginata Hi on one side?

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/26913 All I could afford of Ishiguro Koreyoshi work was this tiny badge. [Ishiguro really liked his pheasants!] One selling now in fact https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g1194727171 or https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1194727171

I recently came across this one, and am asking for some feedback here on the forum. It is obviously based on a Navy Model 1883 dirk. The scabbard is actually metal, most likely to allow for the flag to be furled and stored inside. The rest of the fittings seem genuine to me. I know that the reference books have examples of Imperial flags on a sword body, much like what is shown here on the dirk. What little I have found suggests this is a personal flag used by a Naval officer too designate his authority? I have asked some people for help in translating what is written on the flag but so far, no one has felt confident to confirm what is written. I can find nothing in Fuller & Gregory or in Banks. Any comments from the Forum? Any thoughts on a translation of the writing on the flag? Thanks.

I find myself struggling a lot trying to understand the item, I just cant get it right in my head. Could you post measurements 1 & 2 for the sugata picture, to get an idea about the sori and 1 & 2 for the thickness?

It looks to me like that blade was shortened at some point (suriage), and possibly the kinzogan mei was carved at that time, to replace one removed in the shortening. Which might point to something older than Edo period, although I agree with Kirill on the appearance of the jigane.

The kozuka with the large tiger on it is in Sekibun's style. It is probably signed on the back with a sloppy looking signature. Ie. Not as neat as the signatures on the back of Hamano kozuka.

Welcome to the Tosogu section. That is quite a mix of kozuka. There are several nice ones in there. Personally, I like the Edo Goto one of black [shakudo] crabs. There are also two or three Hamano, a Kaga kinko, and one or two others. Signatures on the back might help produce more information, though there were a lot of "added signatures" done in the late 1800s to make them sell better to the visiting foreigners. Still, we can judge. If you feel like going through them one at a time... Some of us welcome the challenge. Also, visiting Ed W over in Louisiana should give you some quality answers. Curran

@JBHIII Relocating your thread to the TOSOGU section. I think you will get more input and opinions over there. Best of luck with your fathers collection, Some cool items there. -Sam

Jigane appears to be tight, not very distinctive itame, nioi-guchi is broad, hamon is relatively broad suguha, there is some ko nie foaming and overall forging is kind of crisp. I would vote for Edo period, Hizen or about. Hizen itself we would expect more prominent jigane, but it could be out of polish.... Other schools also have tried their hand in such style, even Yokoyama Bizen.

I did receive a scanned page from a Japanese textbook (Nihon Gunto Zuroku by Shindo Susumu?) I'm not familiar with that book.

So that’s a little tough for me to guess with my level of knowledge. Especially with a naginata naoshi, as much of my studies has been with katana and tachi. Simply put, I’m just not there yet to give you a good age estimate. The thing with age, is that it’s generally assessed based on SUGATA and the form of the blade. When a blade has been shortened, much of that profile has been lost or altered. That can be said 2fold for naginata, because they’re often not only shortened from the bottom up, they are also often altered at the tip. Please see the heated discussion below. Lots of arguing, but also lots of valuable info: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/52155-naginata-naoshi/page/3/ From what little we can see, I think koto is likely. But because of what I mentioned above - big grain of salt. -Sam

Are any of these signed on the back? And, possible to get a clearer shot of this one?

last one

More photos

I appreciate the responses. I am trying to attaching more photos. I only took one photo of the back of one, but can take more. thanks for your help. Jim Looks like I will need to send more photos because of size limitations.

Hello, May I have your opinion on this kozuka ? It has a cloisonné enamel butterfly which leads me to believe that it is from the Hirata school. Could it be another school ? if so, which one ? Thanks

Hello, After some research in the Wakayama I found that most of the Hirata production was in shakudo. However 8th and 9th generation works also in shibuichi and made butterfly among other. So maybe ?! Sharing additionnal photos, just for the pleasure

Wow, 13 years ago since I posted this. Even from an old email I don't have anymore. Anywho, here is ya'lls update.

James, There is a sword club located in your state. Search for "Texas Token Kai" here on this website and reach out to them. I am sure they could help you better than anyone could. In person is always better than squinting at photos. ~Chris

I have several examples of tsuba with stacked sekigane in my collection and I always consider this a good thing as these tsuba are of a good enough quality where they have been taken care of and fitted for a blade more than once.

You're probably right, Alex. I mean having it refitted for different blades would indicate it was loved and worn.

He said: Strong robust & flawless signed & dated Shinshinto Katana, Blade condition : generally very clean old polish very thick & healthy with no hagire/crack, no kizu/flaw, no chip, no bend, no blister, solid & sound beautiful strong thick blade mix with minor light surface scuffs/scratches/stains here & there otherwise there is nothing further, & absolutely nothing major at all ! I didn't realize that flawless, no chip and no bend was open to interpretation. Flawless is pretty similar to perfect wouldn't you say. The mistake was not with me, I presented the facts. This should be a cautionary example for him that people don't like wasting time and money. They can read this thread and take it for what it is. Id let it go if he paid me the return shipping as I would do if I were in his situation. I would be ashamed of my error and fully repair the situation. Not try to get out of even paying for any shipping. I appreciate your opinion but you make it sound like I made a newby mistake by buying from him at all as if I should have known he was a shark. Trent Spencer

Why are you guys so keen to delete the thread? Why not let it die, is he a friend of yours? I didn't even know the mei had significance. I bought the sword because I liked the hamon and the koshire. But most of all because it was described as being in perfect condition as well. Im no expert but the flaws are very obvious, so it was a deceptive description. He is out a sale? so what, he gets the sword back to scam someone else but I lose $100 because of his dishonesty and have to wait 2 weeks to get my money back... Id have really appreciated a thread like this before I bid on it. I even searched here first because there are so many valuable opinions here. How is censoring factual information ever good for anything. Trent Spencer

Unfortunately I am still out the $100 dollars it will cost to send it back. Simple honesty would have saved me a lot of time and hassle. If I had seen a thread like this before my purchase it would have never occurred. Why do you feel the need to delete it? Just because he has to return my money doesn't mean I am happy with the transaction.

If the description is way off, I think a honest seller should offer full refund including shipping. My 2p, of course. Description on the auction page says "flawless" and "no bends".

I have written to Kavanagh Auctions of Montreal CA .. hopefully they will do something about their listing! Wwii Japanese Imperial Naval Katana Presentation Sword Auction Titled .......WWII Japanese Imperial Naval Katana Presentation Sword Description Naval Japanese imperial katana, note the anchor and waves pattern engraved on both sides of the blade, so probably a presentation sword or gift for an officer, aluminum grip which imitates the wooden tsuka with silk-cord wrapping, so a late war production (42-45). The numbers 198631 can be seen on the Habaki. Overall length is 39 inches, with a 30.5 inches blade. Heavy and very tight sword, very nice patina. No saya or scabbard.

If he is offering a full refund, then I consider the matter solved, and will be removing this thread. How a seller responds to a complaint is just as important as the sale itself. Btw..from a known seller of Nihonto, a big name MUST be assumed to be gimei if sold cheap. Brian