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As others have said, JAS is not about the level of the blades on offer but having an immersive experience in a very well appointed venue. As a noob to the field its a unique opportunity in Europe to handle many swords up to Juyo level. Yes, the quality as a whole is average but several dealers including Touken Takarado, Ginza Seiyudo and Daisuke Hataya will have upper tier TH (with Juyo potential) and Juyo papered Koto swords. And if Kodogu is something that interests you, there are specialist European dealers in attendance too. It really is a one stop shop to ignite a passion and make connections. The potential networking benefits should not be overlooked, especially if you are fishing in the Juyo and Juyo+ pool. Where else in Europe are you going to have such an opportunity? In the US, with the annual Chicago, SF and Orlando Shows you are spoilt for choice. We Europeans are not so lucky.

The tag looks questionable to me. The town’s name Miyajima-cho (宮島町) was used after 1950. If the tag was written just after the end of WWII (1945), the town’s name should be Itsukushima-cho (厳島町). At the time, Hiroshima-ken was most likely written as 廣島縣. There are three 島 kanji on the tag. They are all wrong characters. 宮 looks strange. It looks like 官

Kirill, please understand. He is from Germany. At museum You can’t hold one in hand, same with online sellers. Utrecht allows him to see irl some good blades. Fresh to hobby?, I don’t expect from him to spend 3k to fly to Japan just to try to speak with natives. I understand that You are seasoned nihonto scholar. He is beginner wanting to start collecting after 2 months in Japan. Utrecht is easy and safe for guy like him or even me. In states You have more of everything. Try to be more favorable. He want to buy Porsche, You advise him to take a trip to Sweden to look at Koenigsegg? Marcin

I always have issue with studying and learning before buying, because paying tuition is something that makes a lot of difference. And always like to be a bit contrarian-controversial. It took me a year of owning and studying some blades to realize their potential or my understanding of them. DTI. Prices are Tokyo retail. You hear about great deals from people who make a living buying there, adding 25% and selling worldwide, but to do so you need to have clientelle and established brand. Selection. I still remember my first DTI. After three days I became convinced - there was only one A+ blade. TJ Shintogo. Amazing piece. There were at least nine Rai Kunitoshi (later ones) in suguha which were mostly boring, some great tosogu, typical Shinkai (yes good, but typical), some other stuff. I think there was signed dated early Yamato tanto but again, signed but jigane was sort of rough. Hiromitsu, not the best. The idea that you'll see Sadamune, or first tier Sa - its possible, especially if you go there for years. At the same time you can walk into Sokendo with an introduction, ask for two great Sa blades and you'll have them in front of you in 10 minutes. There are quite a few collectors who can do the same. So, why DTI? Its like I constantly hear "Ultricht, Ultricht", but why? Ten TJ on a table? Twenty?

Hi Lewis, it is just the opposite. The long KITAE WARE are incomplete welding spots, mostly caused by insufficient temperature in the folding/fire-welding stages. They are often seen on the MUNE as results of the composite construction

Andrew, I can't add anything about the tag that hasn't already been said, but would love to see more of the kaigunto, fittings, blade, and nakago! There are guys on a couple other forums that know how to look up WWII personnel. Try Warrelics - Japanese Militaria and Wehrmacht-awards - Japanese Military Forum

The Iwato Ichimonji has passed through several dealers after passing the Jūyō shinsa. 2021 - https://web.archive.org/web/20210612111517/https://katananokura.jp/SHOP/2105-K02.html (without koshirae) 2025 - https://web.archive.org/web/20250322181409/https://www.samurai-nippon.net/SHOP/V-2114.html 2025 - https://www.toukentakarado.com/item-tk017-juyo-den-iwato-ichimonji 2026 - https://www.aoijapan.com/katana：mumeiunsigned-den-iwato-ichimonji-65th-juyo-token/

As others have said, you need to determine your aesthetic preferences first and then also fine tune your technical knowledge. I would not be too harsh on you here as both swords have similarish notate hamon outline (at least the Kesho outline) but Ichimonji has more choji and slanting gunome. That aside, it is clear to me you like robust-looking (both have very similar moto/sakihaba) older swords (14 century Koto). Look at how healthy the Iwato is. It is 50% heavier for only 10% more length. Also look at the jigane. While the setsumei (narrative) of the Juyo certificate of the Sa comments about it being kenzen (well preserved and healthy), I would say the Iwato seems healthier and also the jigane is tighter. The koshirae are both average (at best) typical Aoi add-ons, adduced by Aoi to make the “packages” more attractive to a foreigner. Don’t be skewed by them. Utrecht is helpful but don’t expect heaven and earth. After all, it is only 8-9 dealers. And if you can, visit Utrecht, visit collectors, go to the DTI. The latter is the real eye opener as that is where you see the top quality which Utrecht cannot give you (you will see JuBi and if you are lucky the occasional JuBu, lots of TokuJu and countless Juyo). Tune your eye and understanding.

Without good relationships, you won't see 10 TJs on the table even at the best dealer in Tokyo Probably not one Utrecht is honestly mostly about average quality blades But it's an opportunity to see dozens of blades in one place and start training his collector's eye. Elias is in a euphoric state where he is willing to spend a significant amount for average Juyo level blades I also think he would do best not to rush and if he has the opportunity to travel to Utrecht, let him do it - not to buy anything. It's only a few hundred kilometers from Germany and the atmosphere is much more homely compared to DTI

I recently received results from the NBTHK shinsa but it lef me puzzled. So I would like to ask the community for any information on the maker and school of one of the pieces, which came back Tokubetsu Hozon. The piece: Iron mokko-gata tsuba with a starving wolf (餓狼図, garō-zu) in sukidashi takabori. Kin-zōgan for the eye and claws, shirogane-zōgan and lead(?) Ategane. Tsuchime-ji ground, uchikaehi mimi. The composition reads as a two-sided landscape, the wolf inhabiting the terrain implied by the omote. Signature: Two columns beside the nakago-ana on the ura: Right column: 駿高双山麓寓 Left column: 岩佐正 (花押) I read this as: "Residing at the foot of the twin mountains in Suruga Iwasa Masa [kao]." Or is there another reading? The 駿 abbreviating 駿河国 (Suruga province, present-day Shizuoka). The 双山麓 as a geographic locator, can only be Fuji-san or do know other twin mountains? What I am trying to establish: The Iwasa school in metalwork does not appear in the principal English-language references I have access to, and I have not found 岩佐正 in auction records or published catalogues. I would be grateful for any of the following: Has anyone encountered signed work by 岩佐正, or other Iwasa-signed tosogu? Any Haynes Index entries for Iwasa metalworkers would be particularly useful. Thanks everyone. Cheers, Alex

It is a Shin gunto or army sword rather than a kai gunto which is a naval sword . You can tell this by the handle mountings. The blade is signed Kaneshige and is most likely made during the war years

Here's the only 2nd ever koa isshina mantetsu sword I've ever seen with a gunome temperline: https://www.jauce.com/auction/b1230588478?allow=1 The other one I've seen is one that I owned, and I sold it in 2021 for only $2500. I should have found a way to sell it in the Japanese market, where koa isshin mantetsu blades apparently command exorbitant prices!

Michael, As usual, I agree with you wholeheartedly but I'm not sure I concur 100% on the above point. There are some ware in the Ichimonji hamon, small indeed, but pitting and openings in the ha kinda drive me crazy even on almost 700-year-old blades. Can't always be avoided and I get that. It's a purely personal thing. And when you say the Iwato jigane is tighter, I would argue that Bizen jigane is almost always going to be tighter than Sa School work, with the exception of maybe Yasuyoshi whose work appears to have been influenced by the Bizen school. The Iwato has flashes of brilliance but never quite gets there for my taste, but that's Iwato, I guess. It just doesn't have that "oomph" that the other Ichimonji schools have. Likewise, the Sa blade is well above average with a nice thick nioiguchi, but it's nowhere close to the top of the Sa School pile.At the same time neither of them are priced like they are national treasures. And I agree that by and large they on equal footing, both being stout Nanbokucho works done in notare, offering the qualities of their respective traditions. The ask isn't huge, but it is a big leap for most people. But I am with you in that Elias should walk away at this point and study until he knows what his heart desires, and a trip to DTI would be mind-opening. In fact, I need to go one of these years before I am a fully petrified fossil. PS: I am trying not to be a victim of my own Sa School fanboy inclinations but it's hard not to love what you love and not be swayed by that.

So cool Jussi, in 2021 valued at 5,5 million then 6.5 with koshirae. Maybe kissaki scares peps here.

I think Masatsune is a possibility for your sword.

Your sword is a suriage (shortened) Edo period katana. It is signed 美濃守藤原___ (Mino no kami Fujiwara ___). The swordsmith name was cut off when the sword was shortened. Here are some possibilities.

The Birmingham Arms Fair is coming up (14th June) so here are some poor images of assorted kozuka that I will be taking (Table 81) Mei include Goto, Hamano, Issando Joi, Hirata (the incredibly rare enamelled tigers) etc. Quality ranges from “OK” to very fine (imo🙂) Hope to see some of you there. All the best. Colin

I have to agree with the above assessments on the tag. My initial thoughts were that it looks too new. The ink looks like it was from a Sharpie rather than brushed. Can you tell up close? I guess it could be original IF it is brushed/ink pen AND were kept in a sealed box for the last 80 years. Not even a speck of dust on the cloth. But I would question it. John C.

関住兼松一則作 – Seki ju Kanematsu Kazunori saku (Kazunori’s family name is Kanematsu.)

With that many sales listings you would hope for a gold membership to support the forum.....