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I was on the highway bus on my way home when reading this and has to wait until I get home to really reply. It is so rare we get discussion about the more rare schools such as Mōgusa. I have felt liking to northern swords for a long time maybe just the reason for it is that I live up north, that might have been the initial connection that clicked for me. I originally planned to see Hōju and Mōgusa swords this year in Japan but as my love for ōdachi is even greater I needed to adjust places I will visit so I can hopefully see several ōdachi I have not seen before during my month in Japan (currently I have seen 30 ōdachi). So perhaps I will try to do northern swords in 2027. Unfortunately there is not a lot of information about Mōgusa or Hōju schools in English. Many years ago, probably over 10 years ago when Paul Martins thejapanesesword site had a forum there was an amazing thread about Mōgusa, I still remember that dearly to this day. Unfortunately I believe all of that info is now gone for good... back then I didn't understand the need to save information as much as I do today. However I do have few Japanese books on Mōgusa, that have information that might be difficult to find. This might be bit controversial opinion but I don't think NBTHK might be the best authority on Mōgusa and Hōju swords... I am very long time NBTHK member but I think there are groups in Japan that know more about these specific swords than NBTHK. There is actually Mōgusa sword research group that publishes their magazine/publication. At one point I intended to start getting them but I am so backlogged with books and magazines I have more than enough to last for my lifetime. I know NBTHK is regarded as "the" high authority and with well earned reputation, there are still other groups with narrow focus that in my mind surpass the NBTHK knowledge in that particular field. Even though it does nothing to sword financially I would rather have the opinion of these people focusing on the specific field. Currently I think I have 11 signed Mōgusa swords in my references. Sometimes it might be difficult to judge if the smith was actually a Mōgusa smith but these are all northern smiths. I will put the swords out in my own order starting from what I presume to be the oldest (of course I might be wrong on some of these). Fusachika (閼寂) tachi - early Kamakura Tomoyasu (友安) tachi - early Kamakura Kunihira (国平) kodachi - early-middle Kamakura Mōgusa (舞草) tachi - middle Kamakura Toshiyasu (世安) tachi - late Kamakura Shigenaga (重長) ken - Nanbokuchō Mitsunaga (光長) tantō - Muromachi Mōgusa (舞草) katana - Muromachi Yukishige (行重) wakizashi - middle Muromachi Tomonaga (友長) katana - late Muromachi Tomonaga (友長) wakizashi - late Muromachi

I have several blades in my collection that have been polished in the Takeya Sashikomi shiage style (traditional Sashikomi). I assure you that the reflection of the martensitic structures is unmatched.

Hello, Delicate questions. In general, I recommend staying clear from recent TH papers to big names if you cannot assess it in hand and with sufficient experience studying higher level designations for said master. If this is not possible, only go in after having it appraised by someone who can hold it in hand, and has such experience. This is the value that a trusted dealer or collector friend brings. The reason for this is that the Shinsa panel is in a succession phase where it has to invest into new judges and ensure proper knowledge transmission - and this is a bumpy road. I has been so for a few years, let's see what happens at the upcoming Tokuju Shinsa. The last session had some eyebrow raising anomalies. For pieces attributed to Awataguchi Hisakuni, Shintogo Kunimitsu daito, Go Yoshihiro, Masamune without historical kiwame a respected Hon'ami judge or an entry into the Kanto Hibisho, it is quite delicate at the moment. I would even be exercise caution right now with zaimei pieces. With this wide caveat in place, there are still incredible pieces that can surface from time to time. Value wise, every tier of paper de-risks the object, that's all it does, the object does not change, and it is this de-risking that drives market perception and creates the price premium. If I'm a dealer and I tell you I have one of the best Nagamitsu, and it's sitting at TH, and I ask you 40 million yen for it, you're going to think I'm crazy. You won't believe me unless you have the knowledge to truly and deeply assess it, in relation to the corpus, and come up with your own conclusion that it is, in fact, one of the best extant Nagamitsu. Now if I tell you it passed Juyo session 3, then Tokuju session 6, all of a sudden it's a different story probabilistically speaking it is very likely amongst the ultimate blades extant. Sure, it might be the 'lesser' of the series, but these sessions contained an incredible density of treasures and on average, they contained more peak works. Advanced collectors know this, and dealers too, forming common knowledge around these heuristics. On the other hand, if you're one of the most experienced collectors in Japan, and you've "seen it all" - you look at the blade and you just know. You don't need the Juyo or Tokuju paper, you know what's out there, you've experienced most of it, you've been in the circles. You're ready to pay 40 million JPY in a blink for that blade sitting as a TH Nagamitsu. What's the value of his top blades? It's price = n/a. And the dealer might be very relieved you recognized it as such, and happy to sell it to you, because time is money and waiting for submission cycles is financially painful. He will put you into his serious client book, and propose you more such pieces in the future. If by miracle you get handed to you a zaimei Hisakuni tanto with denrai to the Imperial family -at Hozon- in good condition, it will be millions of dollars, and now the paradox kicks in that the buyer will be even happier as it's a secret blade that isn't recorded anywhere as some collectors just enjoy the secrecy a lot. This can help - for artists you follow, as you're looking for comparables out there, check out NW's artist database: https://nihontowatch.com/artists/nagamitsu-NAG281 Just be careful out there, if it looks like it's too good to be true, it probably is. I hope this helps, Hoshi

I am almost as far away from high end collector as you can be but I have spent lot of time with Jūyō data. First of all as a disclaimer I have to say I don't really like either of the swords. The den Gō should in my mind be a slam dunk for Jūyō - Date family ownership, excellent polish, Kanzan Sayagaki, Tanobe Sayagaki. Still every year I know that items that are in my mind bound to pass fail, and some other items that are unimpressive to me pass. The mumei Shintōgo Kunimitsu katana just passed Tokubetsu Hozon in 2025. Now take the following what I will write with a big grain of salt but I have sometimes really felt that way, just as a disclaimer I am not quality focused collector but historical. If you throw away the NBTHK papers attributing to Shintōgo Kunimitsu, would you pay 7,500,000 yen for that mumei sword? In my own opinion the NBTHK attribution sometimes carry too large value but market works how it works. Of course the fine workmanship of Shintōgo can not really be seen in few pictures. Still if I saw that mumei sword looking like it looks on the pictures I would just skip it without really even second thoughts about it, even if the price would be extremely lower than it currently is. I know it is a controversial take but hopefully it can get the discussion going.

Have been digging a little deeper into Gō Yoshihiro blades recently - hoping to share more soon but in the mean time I found a really interesting article written in 2020 by Kurobe City that puts some flesh onto this mysterious, legendary sword smith. In the article they share some pretty incredible stories, myths and legends and even some stories and pictures from his descendants the Gō family. Yes, turns out the origin of the name Gō apparently comes from his surname Gō(郷) and it was not Gō(江) which is now used for his swords and that is only one of the amazing and super interesting tit-bits found in this article. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did. After reading it, it kind of reminded me a little of that line from Braveheart, where it is said William Wallace shot lightning bolts from his arse - that is, like all good stories there is a sense of blurring the lines between myth, legend and reality but with so little available on this enigmatic man and because we all love hearing a good story I am so grateful that these oral traditions have been collated and shared. As they say, there is always a little truth in the rumour. Enjoy. Gō Yoshihiro - The Master Swordsmith who created famous swords in Matsukura-Gō, Niigawa-gun, Etchū By Kurobe City (May 13, 2020) Gō Yoshihiro The Three Great Works Many mysteries surround the life of Gō Yoshihiro, one of the "Three Great Swordsmiths of Japan." He was a samurai who lived during the Kamakura period, estimated to have been born in 1298 (Einin 6) and died in 1325 (Shōchū 2). In his short life, he made a name for himself as a sword smith and left behind many excellent works. Although Yoshihiro's swords do not bear his signature, their high quality makes them unmistakable, and they were favoured by Sengoku warlords, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the Edo period's "Kyoho Meibutsucho" a catalogue of famous swordsmiths), he is counted among the greatest three sword smiths of all time (the "The Nihon San Saku"), and his reputation remains unshaken to this day. The "Three Great Swordsmiths of Japan" refers to three sword smiths: Awataguchi Yoshimitsu (1229-1291), Gōrō Nyūdō Masamune (1264-1343), and Gō Yoshihiro. While Masamune and Yoshimitsu were professional swordsmiths, Yoshihiro was a samurai. For Yoshihiro, sword smithing was a hobby, and he died at the age of 27 (by traditional Japanese reckoning), so his time as a sword smith was extremely short. However, through his innate talent and extraordinary effort, he produced masterpieces of divine beauty. The Nihon San Saku Scroll with Gō Yoshihiro (top left), Masamune (middle right) and Yoshimitsu (bottom right). Loyalist and anti-shogunate patriot Gō Yoshihiro, was said to be a loyalist and anti-shogunate activist, who lived in Matsukura-go, Niikawa-gun, Etchū Province (present-day Uozu City). Some documents suggest he was the Lord of Matsukura Castle, but the details are unclear. At the end of the Kamakura period, when public order was in disarray and the shogunate was losing its ability to govern, Yoshihiro was a samurai under Inoue Toshikiyo, the deputy Gōvernor of Etchū Province, and there is a theory that he secretly harboured loyalist and anti-shogunate aspirations together with Toshikiyo and was acting in secret. Gō Yoshihiro, a samurai who became a nationally renowned swordsmith at a young age, went to Kamakura at the age of 21 and became an apprentice to Masamune. There, he honed his sword-making skills while also gathering intelligence on the shogunate's activities. However, the shogunate learned of Emperor Go-Daigo's plot to overthrow the shogunate, and the emperor's close associates were exiled or placed under house arrest (Shōchū Incident, 1324), and pursuers were sent throughout the country. It remains a mystery whether Gō Yoshihiro, who had returned to Matsukura in Etchū Province, committed suicide to avoid implicating his Lord Toshikiyo and Masamune, or whether he was captured and executed as a samurai close to the imperial court. What we do know is the remaining Gō family fled Matsukura with their family temple and moved to what is now Kurobe City, where they became ordinary blacksmiths. This is a hanging scroll depicting Fudo Myoo (Acala), has been passed down through the Gō family. Family tradition says it once hung in Gō Yoshihiro’s forge. The Legend of Inamuragasaki After the death of Gō Yoshihiro, Emperor Go-Daigo regained power in various regions, and in 1333 (Genko 3), Nitta Yoshisada finally attacked Kamakura. However, Kamakura was a natural stronghold, surrounded by mountains on three sides and protected by the sea in front. Unable to make progress, Yoshisada advanced to Inamuragasaki to try to attack from the sea, but his path was blocked by sheer cliffs, and furthermore, enemy ships were waiting offshore, firing arrows, so he could not break through. In the Taiheiki, it is said that at this time Yoshisada prayed to the dragon god and threw his golden-mounted sword into the sea, and the tide went out, moving the ships far away and removing the threat of arrows, so he was able to easily cross the coastline and attack, and brilliantly defeated the shogunate army. It is suggested the sword that was thrown into the sea in this episode of the attack on Kamakura may have been a sword presented by Gō Yoshihiro to Yoshisada. It is believed that Gō Yoshihiro was well-versed in astronomy and knowledgeable about the ebb and flow of tides. The story is told that he informed Nitta Yoshisada of the timing of low tide when he sent him the sword, and Yoshisada used that information 8 years later to launch his attack... if this is true, then Gō Yoshihiro was indeed a brilliant strategist! Inamuragasaki cliffs A rare sword The highly sought-after and nationally treasured sword "Inaba-Gō" is considered the finest masterpiece among Gō Yoshihiro's works. "Tomita-Gō" is considered its equal, and is also designated a national treasure. Gō "江" refers to Gō"郷", and five other swords by him—"Kuwana-Gō," "Matsui-Gō," "Murakumo-Gō," "Buzen-Gō," and "Samidare-Gō"—are designated as important cultural properties. His early works show influences from older schools such as the Yamato-den (Nara) and Yamashiro-den (Kyoto), but after studying under Masamune, he based his style on the Soshu-den (Kamakura), resulting in a refined, bright, and brilliantly beautiful style. Yoshihiro's aesthetic sense is also reflected in the blade patterns, some of which depict the landscape of the Tateyama mountain range. Because Yoshihiro's swords were favoured by warlords during the Sengoku period, most of them were treasured possessions and never seen by the public. As they were moved from place to place, many were destroyed by fire or lost. "Kurikara-Gō," said to be the beloved sword of Akechi Mitsuhide, is one of those that went missing during the turbulent times. The more we learn about the many legends surrounding him, the more we regret that Yoshihiro did not live longer. Gō Yoshihiro's swords bear no inscriptions. There are various theories as to why, including: "He was not a blacksmith who made swords for sale, but a samurai (or nobleman)"; "He often presented the swords he made as gifts, and he hesitated to assert his own identity by inscribing his name to the recipient (a person of high rank)"; and "He had absolute confidence in the swords he made, and believed that anyone who knew would be convinced that they were Gō Yoshihiro's works." We can only imagine Gō Yoshihiro's character from the works he left behind and fragmented anecdotes. Kokuho: Inaba Gō National Treasure author turned into musical In 2014, a musical featuring this great sword smith as the protagonist was performed in Uozu. Toshiro Kitahara (representative of Hatena no Machi Concert), who was in charge of production, faced a lack of materials and various difficulties, and at one point almost gave up on making the work. However, he persevered with his research, completed everything from the script to the direction from scratch, and successfully staged the performance. Flyer for the Gō Yoshihiro Musical in 2014 Memorial monument The monument to Gō Yoshihiro stands near the main keep of Matsukura Castle. It was erected to honour the 26th generation descendent of Yoshihiro who died in the line of duty in 1985 who wished such a monument erected - a wish that was fulfilled by his mother Gō Toki and the City of Uozu. It is the last known monument to be erected for one of Masamune's Ten Disciples (Masamune Jittetsu). A monument modelled after a Japanese sword anvil was also built next to it. Not many people know that Etchū Province was once a centre for sword production or that sword smith Gō Yoshihiro existed, but recently, games that personify swords have ignited a Japanese sword boom, and attention to Gō Yoshihiro has been increasing. Gō Yoshihiro only lived in his hometown Matsukura for a few years after returning from Kamakura. Although there is very little evidence of interaction with the local community and no detailed records or historical documents, it is certain that Matsukura-go in Niikawa-gun is the place where many famous swords, including his national treasures, were created. Even after 700 years, his extraordinary talent and story continues to fascinate people. Monument to Gō Yoshihiro erected by his descendants and Uozo City at Matsukura Castle in Niigawa-gun, Uozu We would like to thank Toshiro Kitahara, who is the concert representative of Hatena Town and produced the Uozu hometown musical "Gō Yoshihiro" for sharing so much information about Gō Yoshihiro. [References] Toyama Prefecture Shimoshinkawa District Office, “Shimoshinigawa County History, Vol. 2” (1908) Toyama Prefecture Youth Activities Practical Council, “People Shining in the Local Area, Vol. 1” (1962) Uozu City History Compilation Committee, “Uozu City History, Vol. 1” (1962) Nobuaki Tamagawa, “Toyama Photography Portraits” (1975) Junji Okuda and Hiroshi Yonehara, “Etchū People (Toyama Bunko 11)” (1976) Toyama Shimbun, “Etchu Hyakuke, Volume 2” (1981) Koji Nojima, “Shinkawa Monogatari” (1987) Monthly Uozu Doujinsha “Legend Uozu” (1988) Toyama Social Studies Education Research Group, “The People Who Built Toyama Prefecture” (1985) Matsukura Promotion Association, “Jusan no Sato (No. 13) Special Feature on Yoshihiro Gō” (1993) Junji Okuda, “Illustrated History of Uozu, Kurobe, and Shimoshinkawa” (2000) Hometown Development Research Institute, “Kaleidoscope No. 218 Swordsmith” Yoshihiro Gō” (2010) Toyama Prefectural Board of Education “Stories of People from Hometown and Yama” (2011) Hatena Town Concert “9th Uozu Hometown Musical Yoshihiro Gō” (2014) The original Japanese version of this article can be found on the Korobe City website here.

Sorry to reopen such an old thread more than 13 years after the oldest post but I wanted to share this kozuka I recently purchased. It is signed Aki Masa [Haynes 00041.0].

Here we have an outstanding example of how many years of excessive wiping can lead to a rather dull looking blade... This is the Kikko Sadamune - Sadamune's most brilliant work photographed in 1948. You would not tell this is his most beautiful sword. And here we have a photo in 1967 after it has been beautifully polished - boy does a polish make a difference - it is like a completely difference sword. Bright and clear. Not dull and boring. The Kikko Sadamune is the Sadamune sword that is most praised for it's beauty. Ironically, this is a very a-typical Sadamune sword as it moves away from his more typical Mokume-hada and adopts Gō Yoshihiro's "modern style". Like a typical Gō blade it has a shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune and well forged itame grain with, with thick ji-nie and well-defined ji-kei (patterns in the ji). The hamon (temper line) is a shallow large notare mixed with small gunome (irregular wave-like patterns), with small ashi (short lines extending from the base), generally well-defined nie with occasional coarse nie, frequent kinsuji (golden lines), and sunagashi (sand-like patterns). I hesitate to say this but if the Kikko Sadamune was not Meibutso and papered by Hon'Ami in the past as a Sadamune - if it appeared on the market today as a mumei blade I suspect it would be designated a Tokubetsu Juyo by Gō as it has almost all of the trademarks. Regardless, it is an exquisite blade and shows the power of a polish.

（ I asked because it is a bit long.） Right（meaning) 「The Kagura of our shrine has been performed since ancient times, 　and it is even mentioned in an old poetry anthology, 拾遺和歌集the Shūi Wakashū. The waka poem composed by藤原忠房 Fujiwara noTadafusa when 宇多上皇Emperor Uda (during his time as a retired emperor)visited Kasuga Taisha in Nara.　（In 920. 延喜engi20年）」 Left（Only the first half of the waka poem is written.） （meaning) 「Today, Yaotome (shrine maidens who perform Kagura) at Kasuga Taisha are so wonderfully rare and beautiful that even the gods themselves cannot help but rejoice and praise them.」 「めつらしき けふの春日の やをとめを かみもうれしと しのはさらめや」 　me tu ra si ki ke fu no ka su ga no ya wo to me wo ka mi mo u re shi to shi no ha sa ra me ya 　（珍しき　　 今日の春日の　　 八乙女を　　　 神も嬉しと　　　 忍ばざらめや ） （mezurasiki kyou no kasuga no yawotome wo 　 kami mo ureshi to sinoba zarameya）　 The photo shows the text up to “yawotome wo.” （Emperor Uda is famous for having written in his diary that “my black cat is so cute.”） Hiro

About “advancement of knowledge” in the field: People like Mitsuru Ito and Eckhard Kremers who have published books on specific collections of tsuba from particular smiths in a more analytical manner rather than just producing a picture book of accumulated tsuba from a particular school with no real analysis included. Markus Sesko of course needs to be mentioned because of his relentless efforts in translating Japanese texts, and the many years of him posting his blogs that frequently revolved around comparative analysis of small groups of similarly themed tsuba, sometimes by the same smith, and sometimes by different smiths. I always learned something whenever I read his posts. And then there's Steve Waszak with his years of dedication to Yamakichibei and Hoan tsuba... with a definitive book on the subject sure to come sometime in the future, which I hope to play some part in as I have also been diving deep into Yamakichibei, and separating out types of acid etched tsuba that often get mislabeled as Hoan. I have also been diving deep into all things “Owari-related”, trying to sort out the mess that is Kanayama, Ohno, Owari, and Ko-Akasaka (since they clearly had Owari roots), and trying to associate these with approximate time periods, trying to tie it all to cultural and artistic trends at various points in time. I apologize if I have left out any other publishers and bloggers from the list (like the “Zenzai blog” by Keisuke Nakamura, now that I think about it… he does this too, and I’m a big fan of what he puts together) Then there’s also some thoughtful insights and sharing of information on sites like this of course! At least this forum allows for the potential for some kind of proper, positive discussion. And just as an example, I realized I had two tsuba of clear Owari lineage, but that were also obviously divergent from the typical Owari tsuba. In comparing them, I realized they were made by the same smith who has yet to be described or named in some way. After posting the pair and pointing it out online, it tuned out that Eckhard Kremers had realized the same thing about this smith when looking at specific tsuba published by Sasano. Then he and I spurred each other on to do a deep dive into other publications and accumulated image banks, and we found a bunch more by the same smith. He has produced some extraordinary, unique designs that show a lot more "movement" compared to other Owari tsuba. His tsuba have gotten a variety of attributions from different sources, but as soon as you line them up, they are clearly all done by one smith. It's the "gut feeling" mislabeling under the current system that I think (hope?) can and should be course corrected over time, by doing comparative analysis in exactly this way…. I have also identified several other groupings of tsuba that I think point to the work of individuals smiths, rather than a broad label like "Owari" or one of the other Owari-linked groupings I mentioned above. Owari was after all, a significantly large geographic area with so many smiths with different styles over the course of the 1500s and 1600s. Anyway, It’s doable, but more people need to have these thoughts in mind when they are looking at examples and gathering up images of tsuba that allow for comparison (hopefully including some oblique and side views, and not just straight on black and white images!) Blah blah blah… when will this guy shut up… sheesh? I apologize for blathering, I will stop now Oh and no, I am not just presuming to throw my name in with all those that I mentioned above, out of some sort of inflated self-worth. But I'm putting in the effort to gather evidence, and trying to make sense of it all with an open mind and a critical view... which is what I share in common with all those I mentioned above. I hope to put together some kind of publication one day, but for now, I'm still gathering information and examples, and enjoying the obsession.

Described as geese (karigane). Regards Luca

Love the discussion, although I’m not very confident that we can eventually arrive at a solid understanding of tsuba attribution to a specific school. So, let’s get back to the details, which may become clearer as our thinking progresses. Let’s try to move from naturalistic to more abstract representations of wild geese: Now it’s quite clear how the more abstract pattern is oriented.

Mauro, First, let me say how sorry I am this has happened to you. As someone who has been tracking this issue for several years—and who has personally been impacted by these thefts—I can tell you that it is extremely difficult to get meaningful help once something goes missing. Despite what some people may suggest, local law enforcement and the FBI are not going to help in a situation like this. In practice, the only agency with jurisdiction is the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. However, unless a case involves theft from an actual mailbox or an assault on a carrier, these types of losses receive limited attention. The presence of insurance seems to shape their response, and if you don’t have it, they don;t care. It’s also important to understand that this problem extends well beyond Nihonto collectors. Similar losses are affecting shipments of fine art, antiques, and other high-value items. Based on patterns many of us have observed, issues often arise during handoffs—particularly between USPS, Customs, and third-party contractors responsible for air transport. When tracking shows a package “disappearing” for a period and then reappearing elsewhere, it’s often because that segment of transit is handled outside USPS systems and isn’t fully trackable. There are also troubling reports of packages being diverted after labels are removed or compromised. In theory, such items should be routed to recovery centers for identification and return. In practice, if no information about their final destination can be found, the package is categorized as “unrecoverable” and eventually sold through government auction channels. This is supposed to happen only after 90 days, but we have seen packages with swords (including a Sue-Sa/Sa Yasuyoshi wakizashi stolen en route to me a few years ago) end up in the hands of someone who purchased it at a government auction less than 30 days after it went missing. I’m afraid your best bet now is to make lots of noise with your representative in Congress and demand that they deal with USPIS. At the same time, you should carefully monitor government auction sites, as well as Reddit and other lesser-known sword forums, where people who have “legally” acquired these items sometimes seek advice on pricing their ill-gotten treasures. I’m sorry that you—and others—have to go through this. But the truth is we can no longer ship these goods around the world without using AirTags or similar devices to track them throughout their journey. I have long said that Japanese and American dealers need to raise these issues in Washington, but to my knowledge, nothing has come of it. It has gotten to the point where I no longer ship items to or buy from Japan because of the combination of shipping risks, tariffs, escalating transit costs, and unreliable customs brokers. It’s simply too much stress. But if we can’t stop this trend, the long-term impact on the hobby will not be good. So by all means, let your local post office know you’re upset—but direct your real pressure toward your member of Congress. Going forward, if you want to continue operating in this space, your best options are proactive: Put at least one tracker in every package, and ask that shippers you rely on do the same, even if it costs extra Document everything carefully before shipping Build relationships with your representative’s district and DC offices, just in case Sorry this isn’t better news. On the positive side, I was able to recover one of my items by using the insurance payout to buy it back from the person who had acquired it. Hopefully this lovely daito will appear before you have to do the same. Good luck.

Single opening hamidashi https://www.bonhams.com/auction/30726/lot/109/two-shakudo-goto-school-hamidashi-tanto-tsuba-edo-period-18th-century-2/ Double opening hamidashi https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/28556 - museum that has very little information [doesn't even describe the type] https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/24987- a little more information but wrong style given [tanto] An example of a Hamidashi Hamidashi tsuba can come in almost any style and school - they are not as common as other forms, I guess they were not replaced as often as larger types [How often did people swap out their favourite personal weapon?] As I have found [and others agree] tanto/hamidashi size tsuba tend to be cheaper to collect - so a good area to start a collection? Probably there is not a lot of information on this subject currently available - but maybe you can become the next "expert" on this niche line of research? Welcome to NMB André Nice pieces at auction now https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1225373964 https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1225319208 https://www.jauce.com/auction/t1225136036 and a more "normal" tanto https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1225314995

Hello all, I recently acquired a Gassan wakizashi (Hozon - Gassan) and would like to learn more about it. I would greatly appreciate your insight into identifying the period and any additional details you may notice. Thank you, and my apologies in advance for the photos.

Look at the Kamon on Shibata Katsuie’s kimono.

Ok, I suppose there aren't any more people willing to offer a hypothesis, or everyone else is somewhat in agreement with what has already been stated, or just don't know... #1 Apparently made by Higo's Hayashi Matashichi (It's published in the Gustav Jacoby Collection... and if I am reading this google translation correctly, it was once in the possession of the Hosokawa and Nishigaki lineages up until the late 19th century. #2 NBTHK papers to ko-Akasaka (lacking in any sort of useful detail, as usual...) Google translation: No. 4015180 Certificate of authenticity 1. Tsuba (sword guard) with openwork design of ginger and wild goose motifs, unsigned, Old Akasaka. Chrysanthemum-shaped iron base with openwork, rounded rim. The item on the right has been authenticated as a preserved sword fitting by our association as a result of our examination, and this is certified. May 28, 2019 Japanese Art Sword Preservation Association #3 Nishigaki Kanshiro (according to a hakogaki by Sasano. This one is posted on tsuba.info and is listed as 2nd generation Kanshiro in the section on Higo tsuba. I was given the info through messaging with the owner of the tsuba, but I don't have any images to post of the hakogaki. I was also informed that this one has some signs of slight layer separation, opening the door to a possible Akasaka connection And just to muddy the waters.. here's yet another, actually closest to # 2 in that it has the larger proportioned hitsu-ana. #4 It's in the Owari section of Tsuba Shusei (the elephant book), and it describes it as: 65. Myoga and Chidori – A tsuba with a nice texture in a central recess. In an older style. Seppa-dai 3mm, kakumiri 6mm. And just to blur things even more... here's one from illustrations of ancient tsuba on uchigatana, by Keichiro Yokota #5 attributed to Myochin it's back to the smaller sized hitsu-ana but it has some alternate motifs at the top and bottom of the seppa-dai (instead of myoga/ginger), and a few other small embellishments in the way the sukashi elements were chiseled. So to sum up... a mish mash of attributions due to some overlapping physical features between schools and smiths. So we have published attributions and hakogaki to Higo's Matashichi and Kanshiro, ko-Akasaka, as well as Owari and Myochin. Then I also got some suggestions elsewhere for Kariganeya Hikobe as well. So the answer is ... still to be determined I suppose

And in a more concentrated form on a ‘funa-dansu’ ship’s safe, designed with a heavy front so that it would float door-down (relatively watertight) should the sailing ship sink. These were expensive (for me on my salary) about 20 years ago but they’re a tenth of the price nowadays. I had a set of keys made for it, and one day about 10 years ago I found an old drum lock that fitted it perfectly.

My choice would be the original condition without a second thought Here are better photos from 1961

Unfortunately this is complicated by having many modern sources (mostly non-Japanese) of inferior uchiko; instead of powdered deer horn or burnt rice husks or whatever, most of it is both too hard and either too fine (builds up in openings or horimono and then gets inadvertently dragged out in clumps, causing those big gouges you see in the Norishige), or too coarse (creates a grid of hairline scratches that eventually obscures hada and activity, especially when viewing with an angled light source). Uchiko as the default was, if not ideal, at least workable when it was always produced by togishi and curated by dealers; now, if you're not buying from a reputable shop in Japan, you're probably going to get some mystery powder that might just leave your TokuJu blade looking like you took a buffing wheel to it.

It is possible the signature may read "Endo Ichimonji".

Dear Teodor. It is not uncommon to find a shorter wakizashi blade in a rather longer saya. I am unable to tell from your photogrh whether the saya is an original, in which case I would strongly suggest leaving it as it is, or whether it is a modern replacement. Japanese sworeds are always more subtle than you think and thouigh the fact that the saya is larger were you feel the kojiri might fit is an advantage I think rather the reverse. To make a good job of this that difference would mean correcting the shape of the saya over its entire length, destroying the lacquer in the process. As you can probably tell my feelings are strongly against attempting this. Even if the saya is a mismatched antique then best to leave it alone in my opinion. It is very easy to think that one can improve a sword by doing various small things to it, in practice this almost aways works to the detriment of the sword unless you are prepared to find Japanese trained craftsmen and pay the going rate. All the best.

I went back to my database once again and it turns out I wasn't being thorough I did find two blades at Juyo level One is an ubu Tachi with mei "Mogusa" (Ichinoseki city Bunkazai) The other is an o-suriage According to the setsumei, both are dated to the late Kamakura The JuBi Tachi Toshiyasu (some read it as Yoyasu) is descripted in detail in the Nihonto Taikan The dating is also late Kamakura

Since I will be selling a large part of my collection, here is the first piece. This Naginatanaoshi-zukuri/shaped wakizashi is mumei, but has been attributed to "Kanenobu belonged to the Naoe-Shiz I school. The hamon of this wakizashi shows gunome-midare consists of similar to Yahazu-ha and sunagashi which can be said to be "Den-Naoe Shizu," demonstrating the characteristics of Naoe Shizu. There are signs of repairs that appear to be umegane, but the work more than makes up for this. Tokubetsu Hozon sayagakı by Tanobe san. Length. 44.3cm Sori. 0.9cm Motohaba. 2.9cm Munekasane. 0.3 cm Shinogikasane. 0.7cm 3300€ +PP +shipping many pictures in the link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1quHMHSl_W1t5hfjPdAb50gYNybmHZGY7 Currently, DHL is not shipping from Germany to the USA (thanks, Trump). The shipping value must not exceed €100.

Antiques don't have a well defined price, or liquidity. Every auction generates stories how this item was for sale for 50k for a year with not a lot of interest, now it sold for 300k. It found the right buyer. Even if we just consider some abstract "value", people collect for different reasons. For myself its probably 40% interest in solving mysteries, which swords generate a plenty, 20% militarism, and 40% aesthetics. But there is a considerable number of people whose collecting is guided by specific historic or ethnic interest, or (a very considerable portion) because they believe it marks them as part of the elite, or because they believe they'll make money on it. Accordingly to some the fact that this maker was collected by a Daimyo, or that he was generally well regarded - is important. Knowing its Juyo - is important. Its "elite" by definition, in the very least. For me Juyo is like you took a perfectly good blade, added spoilers and now want a lot more money... Hm.... From purely aesthetic prospective many very high ranking smiths are not only associate with great blades. They also have a lot of bad blades. Plus condition. Plus intrinsic ambiguity with attribution. You end up with something that is very attractive to those who want to be the elite (big name), but aesthetically is so-so. Which is one of the reasons I tend to be allergic to any approach where a maker is "scored" by some formula or table, or the emphasis is made on how many Juyo he has. Plenty of high class early Kamakura smiths for whom there are couple of known blades. What's the pass ratio? How many were published-Meibutsu-whatever? Is it even in Fujishiro? By default I would take signed Mogusa over Kanemitsu anytime of the day, but that's just highlights my mystery-historical and aesthetic based preferences. Others will think very differently - and their price strategy will also be different.

Many visitors and members of NMB have questions but are not aware of the substantial amount of information provided by members in the DOWNLOADS (link is in bar at top of main page). To assist awareness here is a list of papers I have submitted. MEC sword papers NMB.pdf

Yesterday the blades (and the assembled guests) were blessed at Imamura Gu shrine by the Priestess, before they started their new journey to the Osafuné Sword Museum where they are on temporary display. The TV crew were there to cover it. And

Kunzan believed this to be a signed Go tanto. Although attributed by the NBTHK in mid 70's to Senjuin Yoshihiro, the quality of the jiba exceeds that of the SY blades he had examined. An important reference work.

Perhaps it might be a generalization but I think tanto sized tsuba are underrated - they require as much [or even more] work to construct, but most collectors tend to concentrate on larger guards. Bigger is not necessarily better. Maybe we need a magnifying lens mounted over these little fellows to give them the credit they deserve?

Because it’s an award, it’s recognition, who doesn’t want recognition of their work? Samuel Colt is considered a pioneer for his work in bringing the revolver firearm mass assembly into reality. That all on its own was a great accomplishment, but do you think he turned down the Silver Telford Medal? Of course not, why would anyone turn down an award. But that award gave him no more standing or value than he would have had without it. Awards are awards……..perhaps more valuable to romantics of history than the actual recipients.

Jared, I’m sorry the information provided about titles didn’t meet your expectations. We are all here because we care about Nihonto. What’s historically important to the broader study of Nihonto isn’t always the same as what’s culturally or artistically worth preserving and respecting. All of it matters to most of us, and we feel strongly about it. With any fine art, there’s a spectrum of importance. The Mona Lisa’s significance doesn’t negate the value of a family heirloom or an older painting with more personal meaning. -Sam

Changing the subject just for a moment, but loving the thoughts of woodworkers above! Last night I was watching a programme about restoring some of the walls and ceilings of a gorgeously appointed Bunkazai temple residence somewhere in Japan. (Missed the beginning so not sure where exactly it was.) Imagine large connected tatami rooms in Nijo Jo with colourful Kano-painted fusuma and wall panels, golden, with black-lacquered beams and gold fittings everywhere. That kind of place. One problem which the priest pointed out was a long vertical split in the samite gold cloth trimming down the right side of a sliding panel. They introduced the young artisan expert, wearing a backpack of tools, who assured us he would repair it in the traditional way as he had learned from his father and grandfather before him. The guy spread out a small plastic sheet on the tatami and placed upon it his minimal tool set. He opened a small Tupperware tub and showed us the glistening 'nori' rice-paste glue, the same as traditionally used by schoolchildren. "Repairs may have to be conducted again in the same place in the future" he explained, "so nothing permanent". "In fact," he added, pulling away some yellowed paper residue from out of the crack with his tweezers, "you can see how someone has done this before." He painted the Nori glue onto both sides of a hand-sized sheet of plastic, and slipped it under the edge of the gold cloth fabric, pressing it down with some brown paper as he withdrew his slide. Half an hour of repeating this process, and he declared himself finished. Could we see the line of the 'repair', well, yes, even as the camera crew said "no". Next we moved to a high-ceilinged corridor where one square-framed ceiling panel had a similar fabric split across the painting of flowers. He climbed an A-frame stepladder and used the same process over another half an hour. The after photo still showed a hairline crack and some discolouration where the Nori had seeped through(?) but at least the material was flat, stuck back in place. Educational? Yes, for me it was.

源市太　MINAMOTO Ichita Minamoto Ichita was a swordsmith from the 1600s. No idea if the signature is genuine or not.

Dear Joseph. It is perfectly understandable that you are looking for the type of boshi but there is a problem. When you read the texts they seem to suggest that there are discreet types of boshi and even that they can lead you to a specific smith. This is sometimes true, the example that Chris gave of a Mishina boshi being a case in point. Mishina being the name of the school. In some swords you would certainly expect a specific boshi as confirmation of the smith however in many others this classification by type does not work. To quote from Markus in Shinto and Shinshinto Kantei, "....on the omote side a shallow notare komi with a pointed and rather long kaeri, on the ura side a more sugu based notare with some ko gunome which turns into a jizo like and short ko maru kaeri. there is hakikake on both sides." It is useful to think of the types displayed in text books as just that, text book examples. What they are giving you is a vocabulary with which to describe the features of the hamon in the kissaki. (The same thing can be said for almost any other feature of a sword.) With some swords the description might be short and sweet, something like suguha with komaru and short kaeri, sometimes not. From what I can see in your photographs your sword does not have a nice tight nioi guchi running into the kissaki and so the description might be more convoluted. Feel free to wax lyrical in your description of the boshi on your sword. I hope that helps rather than hinders. All the best.

Chris wrote excellent post and information like that will take some time to process. It is actually quite complicated stuff. I was giving an introductory into Japanese swords during the weekend, and I briefly mentioned about the difficulties in looking at prices as there can be so much variation that is very hard to understand. This does happen at all levels, not just at high end. Sometimes it can be really difficult to say why one sword is listed at 500,000 yen and another one for 700,000 yen. I was about to dig up some reference example where the same seller has listed blades from the same school at various price points. As a fun fact I have recorded Aoi Art selling 46 different mumei Ko-Mihara blades. Here are 3 blades from my cherished northern Hōju school that all have been listed at Eirakudo and all papered as Tokubetsu Hozon by NBTHK, and all are in shirasaya so koshirae does not complicate things. As a fun fact N. 1 & 3 have also been at other dealers at different price point. 1: Tachi 78,1 cm : 2,000,000 yen : https://eirakudo.shop/token/wakizashi/detail/368087 2: Katana 79,1 cm : 2,600,000 yen : https://eirakudo.shop/806442 3: Katana 72,8 cm : 1,300,000 yen : https://eirakudo.shop/099872 If all items were equally priced I would pick them in order 3,2,1. I do like the number 3 most because of the strong shape. It has the strong Nanbokuchō profile that I like. I think the description for this one is good and there are of course some rougher areas on the blade that don't look that nice. There is one bit nasty delamination in kissaki that pop ups a bit, I could live with stuff like that but for many it might be annoying. Number 3 has also appeared on Samurai Museum for roughly 1,800,000 yen https://www.samuraimuseum.jp/shop/product/antique-Japanese-sword-katana-unsigned-hojyu-nbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-certificate-2/ and at Winners for price unknown to me https://www.winners-auction.jp/productDetail/99960 2 is the most expensive one and one that I have not yet seen anywhere else, it is recent 2025 Tokubetsu Hozon. This one has long length of 79,1 cm and in the sales ad it is mentioned this is ō-suriage. Long supposedly ō-suriage blades like this are always making my brain hurt. As then this would be an ōdachi originally and to me this does not really have the general vibe that ōdachi have. This is quite narrow sword in profile with little curvature. I know there is a hole at the bottom of the nakago but in my mind I see the middle most likely area for the original hole, so I would just see this as suriage sword and not ō-suriage. I would see this being bit similar to sword number one and both being late Kamakura period tachi originally. I am just comparing because I do have plenty of reference Hōju tachi that are in 80 to 88 cm range. I could very well see this being bit over 80 cm originally but struggle to see something like 95 cm. This does seem to have best polish of the bunch and most details are visible compared to other 2. To my eye sword also seems to be of the best quality out of all 3, the forging seems much finer than on other two. Even though you can see the pattern well it is still well made. I know Hōju often gets touted off as rough looking but Tokyo National Museum has Hōju tachi that has very fine forging. Number 1 is a decent tachi. I just can't personally see it desirable at this price point. Of course I have looked at Hōju tachi for probably over 10 years now and seen many nice ones pop up to market and going usually rather fast. I don't agree with the age estimate that is written on shirasaya and what sword shop also states 元暦 (Genryaku was 1184-85). I don't think this is late Heian - early Kamakura sword. In my opinion this is rather late Kamakura - early Nanbokuchō sword. I know that Hōju swords get often touted as really early ones, however as I have done research on them I believe there are only extremely few of the that actually date to early Kamakura. The one that I believe would be the perhaps the oldest one is the Jūyō Bunkazai tachi of Seikadō Bunko Art Museum (unfortunately haven't seen that one in person yet). The majority of Hōju school works are from late Kamakura period to early Muromachi period. I do think in the pictures this looks "hazy" and bit difficult to see the details. This tachi was later at Aoi Art and was listed for 1,200,000 yen https://www.aoijapan.com/tachi-mumei-attributed-to-hoju-nbthk-tokubetsu-hozon-token/ unfortunately Aoi now removes their listings (I can totally understand why they do it but it is too bad for saving information). Even though this is ubu tachi and in general I cherish original size, I just can't see myself liking this sword a lot. Now this is just a one opinion and other people might feel totally different and that is the fun part of the hobby. We don't need to like the same stuff. I think number 2 is the best item out of the bunch, number 1 closest to original, number 3 is the lowest in quality but to me best in form.

Looking for auspices ("auspices" means "looking at birds") in tosogu is almost as varied as it is in nature. Birds may fly centripetally, centrifugally, or in circles (sometimes in the same direction, or occasionally in opposite directions). A brief treatise on “Tsuba Augury”:

An "Owari" you might notice the birds are inverted - pointing towards the seppa-dai rather than the mimi. https://www.choshuya.co.jp/senrigan/抱茗荷雁金透鍔（鐔）　無銘　尾張/鍔/尾張 Afew in this older thread https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/44479-wild-geese-in-the-clouds/

木瓜形鉄地 – Mokko-gata Tetsu-ji 鋤出高彫象嵌 – Sukidashi takabori zogan 無銘甚五 – Mumei, Jingo 昭和戊申新春 – Showa Tuchinoe-Saru, shinshun (1968, New year) 寒山誌 – Kanzan wrote.

It's not signed, Viktor. Here you go:

Well no surprise there - I have compiled my own book with dozens [at least 62] of tsuba designs replicated over and over [and not all cast copies] One particular pattern of the rain dragon has now reached 162 individual examples. A question better asked of Grev Cooke as he did the book - but yes I would say it was iron. A great number of guards were copied between schools so once again it is very possible for a design to be attributed to more than one school.

Extra pictures of the koshirae:

For my eyes, the strong HADORI is concealing the features in the photo, but it may be different in-hand.

Hi Kevin. Glad to hear you’re enjoying the Moritaka blade! I just heard one of my swords going thru NBTHK shinsa came back as TH Ko-Kongobyoe, so I’m really looking forward to learning more about it.

Saturday morning, 10 I think, some old guy will demonstrate care and handling. Free to all. Grey

Tsuba in tsuba. A friend tells me this was the first tsuba he ever bought as a Junior High student on a trip to Kobe about 40 years ago. He uses it as a (large) Netsuke. And

I just received my Mantetsu Spring 1940. Photos are from seller, Ray Singer.

Hello Adam, welcome to the forum. What you have is an authentic Japanese Type 95 Military Sword. Sometimes called a Type 95 Guntō, or Type 95 NCO sword. Yours has the stamps on the ferrule indicating it was made by Suya Shoten, inspected by Tokyo first army arsenal, and administered by Kokura Arsenal. The "東" stamp on the blade (also middle stamp on the ferrule) is for 東京第一陸軍造兵廠監督課 = Tōkyō 1st Army Arsenal Supervisory Section. According to my study and interpretation, your sword was made between April 1941 and March 1942. It looks to be in good condition, although the hanger piece at the end of the hilt (the sarute) is not factory original. It's very common for the sarute to be replaced or missing entirely, so this is not a big issue. It also looks like the scabbard number does not match the blade, this is also common, but it does hurt the value a bit from a collector standpoint. Are you able to get a close up shot of the flowers in the handle? Also the side openings of the tsuba? I like to catalog these swords, and am noting some fine details. Nice looking sword, and thank you for sharing. All the best, -Sam

Hello, After discussing with experienced friends in the business, generating credible and professional .pdf brochure is basically equipping scam sellers with nuclear-grade fraud material. My north star is to create a more trustworthy and reliable market for the field. So, can't have that, at least not in its current form. Shortest lived feature on NW, it will be accessible in a gated form at some point in the future. Cheers, Hoshi

Mauro, your sentiment basically captures one of the principal driving forces in posting this thread in the first place. It's a thought that can't be ignored the more you go down the rabbit hole of trying to sort out the mess of attributions and sometimes outlandish papers that exist (yes, even the new ones... not just the old green ones). Another point that really needs consideration is that the classification system itself is inadequate when it comes to assigning attributions. That's exactly why attributions seems to be subject to whims and fads and "cultism" of sorts. As the system stands at the moment, it's far far away from being a "science". It's only by gathering more evidence and really gathering up a strong database that we'll be able to do enough comparative analysis to really break things down into proper groupings and many more "sub-groupings" than currently exist. Some of these sub-groupings may never get a genuine name to hang on them, but I genuinely feel that could slowly tease out some more specific attributions that could even point to a specific smith's work (regardless of whether they fall under a larger category's umbrella or just shows an "influence" from one or more groups). But hopefully we can put together enough visual resources to point to see to say, "yup this is one of that guy's pieces". One day... but I sincerely hope we can all start slowly chipping away at it, one grouping at a time.

I just found this in the second volume of „Hyaku Tsuba“ by chance: Not the same, but a similar design. Only the front is depicted. The hitsu-ana, however, are thicker than on the piece in question. The text says „Mumei Echizen“. Maybe it helps.