Muka

Hello All, Picking up on an older post, does anyone have photos or oshigata that he/she is willing to share illustrating antai on a Yamashiro blade? Examples of nie-utsuri would also be appreciated. In my mind's eye, nie-utsuri appears as slightly larger, more pronounced particles of dense crystals clustered together (similar to yubashiri). I am sure there are variations, but photos are always helpful. Thank you, Matt U.

Tom and All, Unfortunately, the sword is not in my hands currently. It is a large tachi with a ko-choji midare hamon. I couldn't make out the jigane in its current condition. I will hopefully have photos posted in a few days. Earlier, I thought it was Toshitane, and there are references suggesting Toshitane resided in Tango at one time. With the help of Morita san, it was determined from the inscription on the reverse side of the nakago that this sword was made in Hagi. Thanks.

Yes, it is suriage. Thank you Morita san. Interesting, I will need to do some research to determine who was the 16th descendant of Nobukuni. Morita san, can you also translate the other side please. Thank you.

Hi All, Please help with confirming mei and date. I believe the mei reads: "Kyo Nobukuni Ju Roku Dai Toshitane." "First year Genji (1864)" - I can't decipher the rest of the date. Thanks.

Thank you Morita. Wow, I had no idea. I guess whoever previously owned this sword or made the shirasaya thought highly of it. I better do the same and take good care of it.

Hello All, Could someone assist me with translating the characters on this old shirasaya for my sword. Thank you! Matt U.

Thank you Bernard and Morita-san so much for helping me unlock this mystery.

Could someone help me translate this one. Thank you all!!

Chris, Grey, and Franco, thank you for your thoughtful insights. I really appreciate the board members' willingness to help the new and inexperienced. In time, I hope to have gained the knowledge and wisdom to help others.

Thank you Grey and Chris. What about situations where the Edo-made sword is well documented to have shortened for practical use and was taken into battle. Would that affect your opinion as to the importance and value of the sword? Thank you again gentlemen.

Hello All, I have a question in follow up to this topic from a couple of years ago. I am very new to the wonderful study of nihonto and I was hoping some of you could enlighten me with this particular subject. When evaluating a sword, the state of preservation given its age is obviously significant. That is, with all things being equal, two identical swords made by the same swordsmith in the same style at the same time, the sword that is ubu is held with higher esteem than the one that is suriage. I get that. However, when examining swords from the Muromachi and Edo (Shinto/ShinShinto) periods, the NBTHK rating system prohibits these swords from achieving juyo status. The criteria states it in terms of "as a rule". Is the reasoning because given the age there was no need for shortening except for unnecessary use/damage and flaws, and because this was generally a peaceful era? What about large tachi that were made into uchigatana for use during the Satsuma Rebellion or Boshi Wars? Is the NBTHK criteria absolute, or are there exceptions? Paul indicated that juyo is possible under extraordinary circumstances, which I imagine would be based on rarity, historical significance, workmanship, maker, etc. I ask these questions because I'm trying to understand how suriage affects a sword's value. Thank you, Matt U. I understand that when rating a sword, NBTHK "as a rule" will not

Alright, here's the nakago. It took some work to remove the tsuka, but I was able to do it without too much twisting, wrenching, and bending of the sword. Hopefully, this will provide a clearer picture of the kanji characters. Thanks again to you all!! Matt

Thank you Toryu!!

Thank you John and Morita. As John had pointed out to me, I believe the Fourth character means supremacy or leadership and the fifth character is Castle. This is a tachi that I recently acquired. On the reverse side it says that it was made on the first day of the new year on 1864. Maker is Toshitane. Matt U.

Hello again, Could anyone help me translate this mei from a rubbing? Sorry for the poor quality image and I could not get the page to save with the nakago rotated upright. Thank you, Matt U. Nakago.pdf