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I was just at the 2nd phase of the Jubi exhibition at the NBTHK museum this week, and it was quite a treat to see so many Kamakura era ubu zaimei tachi. The standout to me was the 96.3cm signed Tomonari tachi below: There was also a Norishige tanto with a gorgeous jigane, but it was was odd that the mekugi ana were both punched straight through the characters of the mei: There was also a Tsunahiro hirazukuri wakizashi with a flamboyant hamon: And also a Masamune, which I honestly didn't find to be that outstanding: There were lots of koto blades with prominent utsuri, such as this Muneyoshi: And a few blades had the hamon on the kissaki running very close to the edge: One very interesting sword to me was a Kaneyoshi that was signed and dated both on the same side of the nakago:

Hi Bruce, the full inscription reads 夛賀大明神 - Taga Daimyōjin and the blade was made in the mid 1930's by Kojima Kanetoki.

Has it really been over 15 years since I wrote that post?? Oh my gosh... :-D. Alex, you are very welcome, and thank you so much not only for acknowledging my post, but also sharing with me how it helped shape your perspective and drive you to continue your quest to study, learn, and *enjoy* this magnificent art form! I am *truly* touched by your post. You've made my week, and I am so happy for you. Sadly, the Nihonto community has lost every one of the folks you mentioned before; Guido, Ford, Keith, and Darcy, three of whom were very close personal friends to me, and while I could not presume to call Ford a friend in the truest sense of the word, I held deep respect for him as a craftsman. Friendships and relationships that were forged with shared enthusiasm and the joy within Nihonto. Herein lies the profound and salient point; the most precious of all things we collect in this wacky field is the friends, relationships, and experiences that stay with us forever while we help preserve the arts that brought us together in the first place. Thus in turn, these things can continue to do the same for future generations. Keep going. You're doing great, and it gets better. Cheers, Ted

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.

This one sticks in the memory from a dealer’s fb page a few years ago. T’was beyond my means, but I still think about it occasionally. Hats off to whoever picked it up.

The study/collection of nihontō can be a slow-burn pursuit. Some of you with bear-trap memories may recall (though I concede, it may be unlikely) this blade I posted here, coming on seventeen years ago. At the time a recent graduate living in the UK with plenty of enthusiasm but very little knowledge and severely limited means, this board (and SFI) was effectively my only interactive window into the realm of nihontō. At this stage of my 'study', which I recall very clearly, I was not content in taking the very good advice to spend my hard-earned pennies on boring old books! I was keen to get my mitts on medieval Japanese steel, and was rather more inclined to trawl eBay looking for a deal than to drop my “first thousand dollars” on dusty tomes. (You gotta be kidding me!) I had three criteria for buying my first ebay sword: be sure it’s koto, thick, and not rusty. Eventually I settled on something I could be certain, I told myself, was genuinely old but still healthy, which to me meant thick. In my defense, I tried hard to be selective, gravitating towards something with an “obviously old” and active jihada. This sword represented my first foray into online auctions, and marked my first thousand dollars spent there. I always had faith that this sword was a bit special and unusual; however, try as I might, I could never confidently match it to any school. It seemed to my ignorant eyes to have the traits of several, all at once. I am pleased to finally and at long last be able to share a reliable update and judgement of this sword. The sword was examined by renowned expert Mike Yamasaki, who appraised it as the work of... More recently, I had the opportunity to exhibit the sword locally at a cultural arts festival in Orange County, alongside a few others. It was a small thing, but meaningful to me, and felt like a way of (finally) contributing something back to the wider “nihontō study and preservation” community. I wanted to return to this thread to close the loop, but more importantly to say thank you. A great deal of my interest in deeper study began right here - I was so determined to uncover the mystery of this blade's origin. The friendships, knowledge, and perspective that followed all trace back, in part, to those early exchanges. NMB has a lot to answer for. Over the years I’ve had the chance to meet and correspond with some of the people who replied here and elsewhere. That has been an honour, and always both enlightening and entertaining. I feel compelled to mention a few names in particular who I wish I could properly thank: Guido Schiller, Ford Hallam, Keith Larman and Darcy Brockbank, among others. Ted, I have been meaning to thank you for your responses to that original thread for a very long time. So, a belated thank you to Ted Tenold for such a detailed reply; it became, whether you realised it or not, a lens through which I’ve looked at sugata and three-dimensional blade geometry ever since. This post is not intended to resurrect an old thread but rather to close the loop on an earlier discussion, which I have always felt was left unresolved, and also to acknowledge the influence it had. My thanks to those who contributed their knowledge then and who continue to do so now.

All, I am looking to reenter the habit after a long hiatus. For those that don’t know me, I used to focus on the Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu group and amassed a nice collection before life took a detour. I am specifically looking for the Miyairi school, Enomoto Sadayoshi group, and Minamoto Moriyoshi. I do like So Tsutomo and Matsuba Kunimasa as well, so while I do have a preference to these groups, I’m not locked into them. I do have a preference for shinsakuto, gendaito, and possibly shinshinto. I’m looking to get a couple of blades to get started. Feel free to message me if you have any excellent examples you’re looking to move - or know of any.

Hi, Perhaps my perspective can help. I think the scientific perspective is a dead end. Why? Because controlled test conditions are impossible to create on historical swords ("too many variables that can't be systematically varied"). Research on Japanese steel and destructive testing on Google Scholar typically yield these ridiculously small sample studies, often with a no-big-deal Muromachi blade or two, sacrificed for metallurgic examination, which typically then leads the authors to make broad conclusions on Koto steel. This is over-generalization and unrigorous. At the other end of the spectrum, there is the folk-science of Masahide's testing - I am somewhat more sympathetic to his approach. Try to cut stuff, make notes. Again, very limited. End of the day, nobody is going to sacrifice a meito on the altar of a Kabuto test cutting. All in all, the fact that Shinto blades have a higher average carbon content leading to brittleness is well attested, and even today's centralized tatara process suffers from overcarbonisation, which is the most common complaint of modern smiths. But this is besides the point. If you want to understand the battle-worthiness of swords, you need to study the market, the method of warfare, and the needs of customers. This is fundamentally more interesting approach than attempting to misapply the scientific method: study the consumer demand profile and the market feedback mechanism. The market creates incentives, producers react to these incentives to make competitive products. Koto school that flourished produced in-demand swords. The main factor driving sword demand during the Koto period was battlefield feedback. Therefore, an efficient proxy for period-controlled, battle-worthiness is the popularity of certain Koto schools and maker that were in high-demand by the elite members of the bushi class. In other-words, if Oda Nobunaga or Toyotomi Hideyoshi took a liking to a certain smith, it's because the product got the job done, pretty was secondary, and they had nearly two centuries of accrued smith reputation to work with. Better, they either had first-hand experience, or second-hand experience from testimonials of their retainers or rivals. Nicknames at the time were simple and to the point: candlestand cutter, helmet cutter, etc. Collecting good swords as war booty, off the dead hands of rivals, was a competitive field at the time. What happens during Muromachi? Well, the demand profile changes. It's no longer about absolute battle effectiveness as it was during the Kamakura Golden Age, it's about getting production to be as cheap as possible to equip flocks of Ashigaru while maintaining a workable sidearm product that was used only in last resort. Different demand profile. That, and exporting swords to the mainland in high volume to quality-insensitive consumer to fund your armies. These were the early Toyotas, or the Shahed drones of today. It works and its cheap. And during Shinto time? Well, peace is upon the land, at long last. Sword smithing loses touch with battlefield reality. Imagine your arms industry producing weapons during peace time, without any adversary to provide feedback. And besides, all the people with money already have their ancestral collectible stashed away. But swords needed to be made in small quantities, this is where you start seeing hamons that feel extremely contrived, with painted tobiyaki and mount fuji impression rendered as hamon. Authorities knew this and of course a few swordsmith had access to their collections and tried making reproductions of Koto swords (Momoyama times, for instance), but it's a slow decline after that. By the middle Edo, the sword industry became so atrophied and the Shogun had to stimulate demand by providing honors and subsidies just to get some talented people moving into the field so it wouldn't completely die out, and a few talented smiths were found in Satsuma (Ippei Yasuo, etc) that genuinely stood out. Things got bad, and everyone knew it. Customers started asking for "proof that it cuts" and that spawned an entire test-cutting industry which was profoundly misguided as the test cutting was performed exclusively on naked or barely clothed static humans in a standardized posture across standardize cut angles with a strange and unrealistic weight attached on the tsuka. That certification industry became very profitable not because of the test-cutting per se, but the side-hustle of creating snake oil out out of harvested body parts. A grim and decadent practice. So Masahide walks into this dying field, realizes something is deeply wrong, and sets himself up on a journey to rectify it and go back to the "old ways". During the Bakumatsu period, one starts to see swords getting longer and more brutal looking. This was a thing in Japan, the closer to civil war, the longer and more brutal the swords got. Nobody wants to be the one with the tooth pick when all hell breaks loose. Kiyomaro cracks the Koto recipes and produce secretly Sunno-To for the Imperialist faction as a side hustle. Naotane cracks it on occasion as well, creating the closest Bizen-mono Utsushi ever made. There is a genuine effort in making functional swords again, and demand is met by the samurai population getting prepared for the inevitable showdown. Money flows into the underground markets and civil war brews. Nobody is looking for mount fuji as a hamon or a fancy Tadatsuna Horimono at that point. So what do we learn from all of this? Well, in the end, it is the desires of the customers that drive the market and product development, and the customer gets his desires from his current priorities. In the Kamakura period, this was about that solo duel on horseback against your sworn family enemy that you'd call out on the battlefield for a one on one in an effort to get his head and earn some glory for your clan. A blade severed by impact meant death and ridicule, and it made you and your entire clan look bad. And people watched and took notes. Battlefield effectiveness at whatever the cost was the goal. It was about having the ultimate weapon, the ultimate horse, the ultimate armor for those one-on-ones to grind up on the honor ladder and hopefully be rewarded by your Lord. I will skip the mongols and the effect it has on Bizen-mono, but things evolved quickly there as well as a result of pure feedback. During the Muromachi period, Ashigaru armies with cheap yari an arquebuses was the meta. No more heroic one-on-one for trophy hunting. Just bloody volleys, and once the Takeda Cavalry went down, it was the end of an era. War had forever changed its face, and demand would never be the same again. And yet, hard earned reputation during the Golden Age would persist to this day. I hope this helps, Hoshi

I was wrong…..they did thank us!…..

59th Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival - sword display

Dear members, please see attached link to my eBay listing of the following tsuba. It has a Sato Kanzan Hakogaki to 3rd Jingo , however I feel it is likely to be later than this. The carving and inlay is incredibly delicate and it has a beautiful rich patina. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/257476493284 i can also sell direct for those who prefer not to use eBay. 5% of the net sales value will be donated to the NMB message me if you have any questions. kind regards Michael

The most common material used for inlaid eyes in Japanese Art is translucent horn often with a darker pupil. Found on metalwork, netsuke, Shibayama, okimono etc. This is what this eye looks like to me. I’ve made 100s of them! Quick pick of something similar….

My problem with this is that the NBTHK has started just throwing into one single basket anything that is kinko and comes from that area. Kozenji and Owari Goto level workmanship vs Nagoya mono . Since 2014 or so, increasingly it is simply labeled "Owari kinko" way to dumb it down. ... way way down.

If you fellow collector's, enthusiasts and scholars would like some very nice nihonto items to study then check out the upcoming morphy auctions may 12th 2026. It looks like lots 1301-1328 are some fantastic tachi, katana, wakizashi , fuchi kashira etc.. Juyo items, TB Hozon etc. I was studying the suishinshi masahide today for some time. Here is a link to the sale. https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/A_RARE_AND_IMPORTANT_SUISHINSHI_MASAHIDE_WAKIZASHI-lot664367.aspx

Alex, I absolutely share your opinion. Coming back to the title of this thread, I am often more impressed by the inherent craft in a TSUBA than by its artistry. I can admire the work in a gorgeous and opulent 19th century KINKO TSUBA, but for owning one, I would choose a genuine KACHUSHI TSUBA with a well-made DOTE MIMI. But they are no longer underrated and now sold for big money!

Just a few pictures from the show. This was from Sunday. Saturday was much busier! As always, Mark and family put on a great show! Lots of great items to see and had the chance to meet up with old friends.

Whenever you need a good laugh, heading to the lanes armoury site and reading the latest high fantasy they've dreamed up never disappoints. Hollywood could take some notes on the cultivation of sheer suspension of disbelief these fellows pull off.

This is from my file that I did about year ago

@Bruce Pennington @Kiipu You guys might find this interesting. Through a discussion with a dealer, I commented on showato getting torokusho. I was told that this dealer was commisioned to gather swords to be sent to Japan for resale. The Japanese dealer had several shops and would ask the swords be sent to his Osaka location and not his Tokyo location because the regulations were less strict (or at least less enforced) in Osaka and getting a torokusho for gunto was easier. I bring this up because I was thinking about...gulp...doing some research on registered gunto by location and frequency - unless you guys have done that already. John C.

Hi Forrest, welcome to the forum! Unfortunately I have to agree with everyone else, this does look like either a homemade blade, or one built to intentionally deceive. Quite a few of us started the same way, buying a fake and then getting introduced to the world of Nihonto and wartime blades the hard way, do so don't give up hope - they are out there! Hopefully you didn't pay too much for it... I'd heavily advise reading up on as many threads in the forum as you can - you'll be able to train your eye pretty quickly about what a type 95 or type 98 etc should look like. Also, did you remove the tsuka wrap? Hopefully not something you'd do on a real ww2 relic 😅

Sorry, it is a Chinese reproduction. Probably made within the last thirty years.

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.

#1) Bushu - there is a lot of low end Bushu, hiding the fact that there are some very high end Bushu #2) Ko-kinko - same as above. There are low end ko-kinko worth $100, on up to high end ko-kinko worth $45k The wide spread in values of certain large groups results in a propensity to value some exceptionally fine tsuba downwards towards the center of the bell curve.

Great show and thanks for organizing it! I have not been able to participate for two years and the experience was exhilarating. I hope everyone in the field gets to enjoy a show like this at least once.

We’re excited to announce that Touken Takarado will be exhibiting at the Japan Art Fair Utrecht 2026 Join us in Utrecht, Netherlands from June 12–14, 2026, where collectors, dealers, and enthusiasts from around the world gather to experience exceptional Japanese art, including samurai swords, armour, and antiques. We look forward to meeting you there. For more information: https://www.toukentakarado.com/Japan-art-fair-utrecht-2026-1 Official event website: https://www.japanartfair.com/ If there is anything you would like to specifically request for us to bring that is listed on our website, please do let us know and we will try our best to meet your expectations. Sincerely, Nicholas Fu Touken Takarado

Kudos to you Colin, and to them for actually listening. A small victory, but a victory none the less.

Just having a beer and got a link to this through email. Sounds interesting but for some reason im getting lost reading through it. Sure someone here will fathom it out, cheers. 2nd one down. https://thelanesarmoury.co.uk/shop.php Price on request, must be special.

Appears that they have been withdrawn. I was a bit blunt in what I said……so best we don’t expect any thanks🙂

I am unsure about the second line. It might be an address? 祈願武運長久 – Pray for continued luck in the fortunes of war □□□□□□□ 谷口幸雄 – Taniguchi Yukio 二十二才 – 22 year old

...and yet, a dozen folks on Ebay, icluding some of our own unfortunately, call ANY dagger a kamikaze suicide dagger. In my opinion, it really gives the hobby a black eye, particularly when perpetuated by folks who know better but just want to make a buck. John C.

I like this one. mei Ichiiriuku Hisamitsu

Hi, i am reducing my collection and selling now a nice Tanto from Gassan Sadayoshi. Nagasa is about 19,5 cm. It comes in Shirasaya, a Box and NBTHK Hozon papers. A nice package I think. Price is 3000 Euro (including shipping inside EU) About the smith (from Markus Seiko books): SADAYOSHI (貞吉), Bunkyū (文久, 1861-1864), Settsu – “Ushū Murayama-gun no jū Gassan Sadayoshi Sesshū Ōsaka ni oite kore o saku” (羽州村山郡住月山貞吉於摂州大坂作之, “made by Gassan Sadayoshi from the Mura- yama district of Dewa province in Ōsaka in Settsu province”), “Naniwa ni oite Gassan Yahachirō Sadayoshi” (於浪花月 山弥八郎貞吉), “Naniwa Kinpō-jōhen ni oite Gassan Yahachirō Sadayoshi kore o tsukuru” (於浪花金宝城辺月山 弥八郎貞吉), “Naniwa-jū Gassan Sadayoshi” (浪華住月山貞吉), “Gassan Sadayoshi kore o tsukuru” (月山貞吉造之), “Sesshū ni oite Ikutama-jū Gassan Sadayoshi kore o tsukuru” (於摂州住生玉月山貞吉造之), real name Gassan Yahachirō (月山弥八郎), he was born in the first year of Tenmei (天明, 1781) in Takegawa (竹川) in the Murayama district (村山郡) of Dewa province as oldest son of the local swordsmith Okuyama Yasaburō Sadachika (奥山弥三郎 貞近) who is regarded as reviver of the kotō-era Gassan school, at the beginning of the Bunsei era (文政, 1818-1830) he moved to Edo and studied there under Suishinshi Masahide (水心子正秀), later, in the fourth year of Tenpō (天保, 1833), he moved to Ōsaka, he died on the 19th day of the second month Meiji three (1870) at the age of 90, we know blades from the Bunsei to the end of the Keiō era (慶応, 1865-1868), the jigane is the Gassan-typical ayasugi-hada, a masame in the Yamato tradition, or a dense mokume, the hamon can appear as suguha in nie-deki, as small dimensioned choji- midare, or as koshi-no-hiraita midare, traditions say that his adopted son Sadakazu made some daisaku-daimei works when Sadayoshi was in his later years, – The handed-down dates are somewhat uncertain. When Sadayoshi was allegedly born in Tenmei one (1781), his father Sadachika was only ten years old. A theory says that Sadayoshi died not at the age of 90 but of 71 in Meiji three (1870) what would calculate his year of birth as Kansei two (寛政, 1800). Sadachika was then 30 years old and this seems to be more plausible. So maybe this all goes back to a wrong quotation of his age when he died and the year of birth had never been transmitted and always just calculated back from Meiji three. jō-saku For any questions or offers, write me pleas a PM, Thanks Oliver

Sold

Oof, seems like Lanes Armory won the Knutsen auction for this item. Well it is good to know for the future that the item resides with them. However unfortunately I don't think I can ever afford to buy it from them. It seems it was 3,400 GBP at auction, don't even want to ask what the price is now...

An auspicious day in the fifth month of Genji 2 (1865).

We apologise for the recent lack of updates. We have now listed six new items on our website, featuring a strong mix of high-quality Koto, Shintō, Shinshintō, and modern works. Jūyō Token — Mumei (Attributed to Unji) Naginata An ubu (unshortened) mumei naginata attributed to Unji, dating to the 14th century. This is an exceptionally healthy example that has seen very few polishes, retaining an outstanding sugata together with excellent jigane and hamon. A rare opportunity to acquire a high-level Jūyō naginata in such condition. 🔗 https://www.toukentakarado.com/tk037-mumei-juyo-unji-naginata Tokubetsu Hozon Token — Mumei (Attributed to Tametsugu) Katana A Nanbokuchō-period katana with a bold and powerful sugata, displaying strong and attractive Sōshū-den characteristics throughout. A highly appealing work attributed to Tametsugu. 🔗 https://www.toukentakarado.com/tk036-mumei-tametsugu-th Yanagida Fukutsugu Daishō A purpose-made daishō by leading modern swordsmith Yanagida Fukutsugu, designated an Intangible Cultural Property holder of Moka City. Commissioned by Dr. Yoshiaki Sato for Mr. Hirata Fuhō, a 17th-generation descendant of Hirata Shōgen (Grandfather of Miyamoto Musashi). Executed in the style of Kiyomaro, both blades feature impressive ō-kissaki and commanding presence. 🔗 https://www.toukentakarado.com/tk038-yanagida-fukutsugu-daisho Tokubetsu Hozon Token — Sasshū-jū Kiyosada Wakizashi A Shinshintō-period Satsuma wakizashi with a bold and powerful sugata, representing a strong example of the Satsuma tradition. 🔗 https://www.toukentakarado.com/tk035-sasshu-ju-kiyosada-wakizashi Tokubetsu Hozon Token — Sanshū-jū Kunisuke Katana A long and dynamically shaped katana by a direct student of Koyama Munetsugu. Executed in a Bizen-influenced style with a tightly forged ko-itame jigane, and accompanied by Bakumatsu-period style koshirae. 🔗 https://www.toukentakarado.com/item-tk039-sanshu-ju-kunisuke Tokubetsu Hozon Token — Shinano no Kami Fujiwara Nobuyoshi Katana A refined Shintō katana featuring a tight ko-itame jigane and suguha hamon in fine nie-deki. Accompanied by a practical and understated ryaku tachi koshirae. 🔗 https://www.toukentakarado.com/item-tk040-shinano-no-kami-fujiwara-nobuyoshi-katana We hope you’ll take a moment to explore these new additions. Please stay tuned, as we will continue to list more of our inventory in the coming weeks. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Warm regards, Nicholas Fu Touken Takarado 🌐 www.toukentakarado.com

Funnily enough, that's also how I found the sword initially; I had been searching for an iaito online for my own practice, and because the story about the iaido sensei was in the seller's description, the listing showed up in my search results. The koshirae is very nice for a fatally flawed blade, albeit rather low-key, which lends some credence to this story (as does the blade being extremely thin and light due to having taken so many polishes - suitable indeed for an elderly practitioner). I was particularly fond of the tsuba, which has some subtle detailing reminiscent of Kagamishi school work. At any rate, I am pleased that both you and the previous owner were both upfront and well-informed about the blade's condition, and that it has found its way to someone who can appreciate it for what it is and the centuries of history behind it.

Hi, yes, took screen shots, cropped them, turned them upright and saved them. The first is a Settsu (Osaka) gun made by a smith (name obliterated) working for the House of Enamiya. 摂州住榎並屋ｘｘｘ衛作 The second has stuff I need to double-check on. The date at top is fuzzy but looks like 萬延 Man-en Gannen (1860). The Mei 鈴木鉄造　典直　作之 Suzuki Tetsuzo (?) Norinao Saku Kore, = made by Suzuki Tetsuzo Norichika/Norinao (not sure about how he wanted those characters read!) but no place of manufacture is indicated. NB I did find a record of another gun made by this second smith above Nick, dated Bunkyu Gannen (1861), which does put yours inside the ballpark.

Good afternoon/evening! See, things like this is why I adore the Nihontō community - it’s such a small group of honest people! You were under no obligation to point any of this out, and yet you felt compelled to be open and honest - I wish more communities had this level of integrity. because… The seller 100% notified me of the concerns/previous issues with this blade, but he could not completely remember what was originally told to him. He was absolutely open on the “risks” of the purchase, and had provided a more than reasonable price (in my opinion). I was indeed wondering, although it wasn’t stated at the time, if this was an artificially applied hamon. That said, I noticed some aspects of the blade (like the hamon not extending into the kissaki, exactly), and figured something like this was going on. The fact that the suguha hamon is not original, while sad, doesn’t bother me too much to be honest. Ultimately, I ended up purchasing the blade based entirely on the fact that it (appears to have been) mounted so many different times, and has some aspects like the asymmetrical horimono that I enjoy as well. I set out to purchase a koto blade that was used throughout its life, and despite its issues and although it may never see a kantei due to those concerns, I *think* I still accomplished that at least (though I’m still very much a novice in this!). The other amusing thing is that, I am a student of iaido of about a decade now, and I did also hear that note about the sensei - while that story may or may not be true, I found it enjoyable nevertheless. Out of curiosity, being mounted so many times and based on the profile of the blade, I had imagined this was somewhere in the ballpark of 1400-1500. Did you ever place the blade in a particular time (understanding the school/tradition may be impossible now) when you owned it? Thank you! Very Respectfully, Vincent

@Bruce Pennington From the auction posted above: I know you have Masahide's kokuin listed in the stamps doc, however this may be a slightly clearer pic. John C.

Awataguchi Tadatsuna(2nd) Katana (NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon) A refined katana attributed to the second-generation Awataguchi Ōmi no Kami Tadatsuna, one of the prominent Osaka masters of the Edo period. Details: • Period: Mid Edo (1688-1704) • Province: Settsu • Certification: NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Token • Mounting: Koshirae + Shirasaya Dimensions: • Blade length: 71.2 cm (2 shaku 3 sun 5 bu) • Curvature: 2.0 cm • Mekugi-ana: 1 • Motohaba / Kasane: 32.3 mm / 7.4 mm • Sakihaba / Kasane: 22.2 mm / 5.2 mm The blade reflects the refined character of Osaka workmanship, with elegant proportions and a composed, well-balanced sugata that sits naturally in hand. The koshirae is thoughtfully assembled, centered around a rare polished same (ray skin) saya, paired with shakudō nanako fuchi-kashira and aoi menuki. Akasaka-style sukashi tsuba completes the mounting, bringing a sense of quiet strength and cohesion. Altogether, the mounting presents with understated sophistication, enhancing the blade without overpowering it. $16,000 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15YCFRog4WH2x76ZN4iy-uxWKdhSQujKk?usp=sharing

That’s why it is confusing CET vs CEST. Midnight CET is 01 am CEST so bidding could be like last minute snipe. But yeah lets go with first bid with 20$ and I will add another 5$ so We get same amount and no dissapointment on any side. Especially first bid was made at 14th. @Marius 35$ from me. Donation already made via paypal. @Brian paypal gives you Rands? I exchanged for 600 R and paypal took 35$ so I have 17,48 R left. Do You have something like revolut? great multi currency account. So simple cheap wire transfer.

The only Yoshimochis of note are Fukuoka Ichimonji so it doesn't need to be qualified here. If they thought the mei was legit but belonged to some other, less well-known Yoshimochi, then they would add a qualifier in brackets.

It was sold for 4.2 million yen, or roughly $26,000.

A fine Ko-Gassan wakizashi with NBTHK Hozon paper Nagasa: 48.9 cm Sori: 1.1 cm Motohaba: 2.9 cm Kasane: 0.5 cm Date of registration: Showa 33 (1958) Ishikawa pref. The Gassan school of Dewa Province is one of the most respected traditions in Japanese swordmaking, with a lineage extending from the Koto period into modern times. Authentic Koto-period Gassan Wakizashi are rarely encountered on the market. Based on its workmanship, excellent Ayasugi hada and overall characteristics, including its ō-kissaki (approx. 6 cm), the blade shows traits associated with the Nanbokuchō to early Muromachi period; however, precise dating remains difficult due to the consistency of Gassan style throughout the Koto era. Price: $5,600 USD A solid, papered, and increasingly hard-to-find Ko-Gassan piece.

Small update. I managed to contact the buyer other pieces and offered to sell him the blade. He's going to get back to me a bit later. Fingers crossed!

In the download section you can find the english Token Bijutsu. In 58/59 you can read a long article about the first and second generation.

The beginnings for the licensing system were bit funky. I believe the registering started at bit different dates in some provinces, some started earlier and some later. I did quite a bit of research about this in 2025 when I was calculating the total number of licenses issued. Now I can't even understand why I got so invested in quite useless information like that. The license in Gerrys OP is amongst the first issued in Shizuoka. The license in Johns post is from Tochigi. Here are some numbers from Tokyo that I have found, items highlighted in yellow are ones in which the numbering does not fit the running numbering. As you can see pretty much after S26 the running numbering starts to flow in Tokyo area. I think currently Tokyo must be passed 330,000 licenses issued, for comparison I think Tochigi is somewhere above 55,000 licenses and Shizuoka might be around 75,000 licenses (unfortunately the last certificate I found for each early last year when I searched were 2024, 2023 and 2018).

thanks Zack...appreciate your openness and honesty. My unsolicited advice? If your friend has asked you to sell it then do everything possible to make contact with the person who bought the tsuka etc and do a deal (this seems to be the universal term these days ) As I see it, what you are selling now is really not worth much. A collector won't be interested unless they have all the missing parts (UNLIKELY) and even then, its mismatched. A sword enthusiast is better buying something recently made and cheap, at least the bits would have been made together and it will cut (unlike a Type 95 blade). The person who bought the tsuka etc would be crazy not to pay a good price for the matching blade etc given they can put it all back together (or find someone who can/NMB will help there) and it will be worth a squillion more than it is now in two houses with two different people. and....you would be doing the collecting world a big favour! Rob