paulb

Just a note hopefully to reassure colleagues in the UK following the JAL restrictions. I have just received a sword from the USA using Fedex and the service was fast and trouble free. I assume we can expect the same if we use them from Japan.I think their main advantage is that they use their own freight planes so are not restricted in the same way as JAL passenger jets are. Anyhow I would be happy to use them again and pay the extra to be relatively trouble free and fast cheers Paul

Nick, I have spent a large part of my life studying handling and collecting Japanese swords. I have had the great privilege of seeing and handling many many swords over a 25 year period and learning with collectors of greater experience than mine. The number I own is not relevant nor is it a measure of my knowledge or lack thereof. Its interesting that the more I learn the fewer swords I need to collect, they are just better. Its true that over the years I have collected I have made very many mistakes but one I try very hard not to make is to say things like "assure you its not a Gendaito" especially when that view is based on a few photographs. However I am sure I still have a great deal to learn and hope I will continue to do so. BTW I have also spent the majority of my working life selling spectrophotometers for measuring colour and educating people about colour assessment so I do feel reasonably confident when stating that making colour assessment from photographs displayed on uncalibrated monitors and without a reference is extremely inaccurate

I think I am at risk of playing devils advocate here. Nick et al may all be absolutely right and this may well be a shinto blade. However I am concerned at how that conclusion is reached. At the various Shinsa I attended in the UK one thing that became very clear is that even with blades in an excellent state of polish it is extremely difficult to make judgement calls such as this. Many proud owners of what they believed to be old blades were disappointed. In this case there just doesn't appear to enough visible to judge. taking Nicks points: 1. Colour of steel -The colour we are seeing in these images has as much or more to do with the lighting and background as it does the object. without something to compare it with how can we judge the colour of the steel? I know that even after 20+ years of study I still find defining colour differences with swords in hand incredibly difficult. from a photograph it is impossible. 2. Shape of hamon, you cant see structure or activity. I agree that it doesn't look etched or the uniform pattern one sees on gunto with a false hamon, but it could equally be Gendai or shin-shinto or pretty much anything else. 3. Spider rust- sorry I don't follow that one at all. I have seen spider rust on every form of Japanese blade so don't understand why it should be indicative of shinto As pointed out above I am not trying to be difficult or argumentative. However I am concerned that we appear to be expressing opinions as if they are statements of fact without backing that up, and for someone new to the subject or just seeking help on a one off case this can be extremely misleading. Everyone's opinion is valid but it is useful if that is supported by reasoning. I still maintain that comments such as "Its definitely old" can be inadvertently misleading. Regards paul

Dear all I am slightly confused or missing something. Everyone seems convinced that this is an old (shinto) blade. based on what you can see how can you possibly tell? I am not saying you are wrong, I just don't understand how you reach that conclusion without seeing the nakago and are unable to see much detail on the blade. Having said that I agree totally with Peter that it would be wrong and makes no sense to separate the koshirae and blade regards Paul

Hi Jacques, I have only seen two ko-Bizen blades in hand and nether looked anything like this one. I have to say that from the images there are many calls I would make before considering ko-Bizen. Maybe there is something more telling with the sword in hand, but the shape, the depth of hamon and shape of hamon do seem unusual (at least to me) regards Paul

The last time I had a sword box opened was 2001. then they still got the tariff wrong. other than that all packages arrived unopened and I think all they used was the customs declaration on the outside of the box. regards Paul

Mark, Most of the blades I receive form the USA and Japan have been in bulk standard Fedex or EMS boxes with a lot of bubble-wrap and all have been fine. I have always shipped blades in either cardboard or plastic carpet tube with the blade wrapped in bubble-wrap until it is a very tight fit in the tube. This has always worked well. I have a feeling that customs now tend to rely on x-raying packages so are less likely to open them and inspect the contents but I may just be kidding myself. regards paul

Henry pm me your email address and i can forward a copy of the document. The latest revision does not show the exemptions listed in the 1988 act which are still in force and relevant not least because antique weapons (over 100 years old) are exempt. It does list a number of "defences" which are regarded as legal justification to import single edged blades with a cutting edge of 50cm or more. Regards Paul

Hi Clive, thank you for pointing out the significance of the date. its something I should have picked up on and didn't (I think my brain is becoming increasingly mushed these days) Do I understand that you think this could be a Masahiro daimei ? The reason I ask is that of the examples I have seen of swords attributed as daimei by Masahiro all have the squarer looking Tada character more commonly seen in the Tadahiro mei of Shodai and Nidai rather than the curved example on this piece. Can you throw more light on this? thanks Paul

Gary, I am not sure I fully understand the point you are making. While I agree that if someone has valued a blade sufficiently to put good quality fittings on it then the chances are it is a good quality blade ( or it may have some signicance to them). There is of course the less savoury possibility that some one has "tarted it up" with reasonable fittings to try and enhance what might otherwise be a mediocre piece. I am not saying your blade is bad, I haven't seen it, and I can believe it is as you say an attractive piece. However I also don't think it is a daimei either. If you go into many of the books they show examples of swords made by students who have then been allowed to sign with the masters name. They invariably follow the style of the master they are copying for, with one or two minor "signature" stroke variations. For example the direction of the bottom strokes in the hiro character are in a different direction for the Nidai, Sandai and Masahiro. The main problems I have with the mei on your sword are: 1. The second character in Fujiwara in the work of the shodai, Nidai and daimei of their work have a roundness in the box section whereas yours looks square. 2. The Tada character in both Shodai and Nidai work has a square-cut angular look to the lower horizontal stroke. Yours is curved and more indicative of the form seen when the shodai and sandai are signing Tadayoshi rather than Tadahiro. As said above I am not saying th blade is bad, I am not even saying definitively it is gimei I haven't seen the sword and even if I did I am not happy making such a call. There are far too many good copies in the field. The only way to be confident is to submit it for shinsa. However based on what I can see in the mei I do not believe it to be gimei and not daimei or daisaku. What I haven't checked is how the mei compares to later generations but if it matches one of those the date would not fit. BTW I do agree 100% with your point that first and foremost you like the sword. great enjoy it. If it turns out to be shoshin then that is fantastic if not the blade hasnt changed so you can continue to enjoy it for what it is, a well made sword.

Gary, First early morning reaction without reference to books is that I think this is gimei. The Fujiwara, and Tada kanji of 1st and second generations Tadahiro are very distinctive and as far as I can see this does not match them. I will look in more detail alter today and come back with more information. regards Paul

Dear John and Ford, As one of the least qualified people to assess fittings I can only offer a view based on aesthetic comparison and apparent execution. Johns FK while attractive lacks the cleanness/ sharpness of execution seen in the examples posted by Ford. The composition on Ford's examples fit the space better and creates a more harmonious whole. I think the biggest difference is in cleanness of line and subtlety of the drawing. Probably of little use but thought I would jump in with both feet!! Paul B

Mark, I haven't looked at the swords on Aoi but if it is the nidai Tadahiro his workig life spanned over 60 years so there is a lot of variation in his signature. Also his son Sandai Tadayoshi used to produce daimei for his father. It is possible to tie down the period of manufacture of the Nidai's work based on the variations in his mei. Roger Robertshaw's book shows great examples of this.

Hi Nick, Yes I had a sword which left Japan on a Thursday went into customs on Friday night and was at the delivery depot on Wednesday morning with the correct duty tariff. I think this was helped in that it was a wakazashi therefore below the 50cm legislation and had documentation from a proffessional dealer confirming its age. The ones that seem to be stopped for proof of age (happened to a friend again last week) are mainly those that are sent from private individuals as with many ebay purchases.

Peter, I received a sword from Japan last week via EMS. The sword was held in the Japanese post office for a few days, which at the time seemed unusual. It also arrived with a label I hadnt seen before attached, which doesn't exactly help with local customs (see below). The dealer told me they were having problems with EMS shipping item over 200K yen, so I assumed the delay was related to the value rather than being a prohibited item.

Sorry Guido beat my reply by 3 minutes! and said the same thing but in more detail

Henry, I think you have summed up the situation very well. The vast majority of items coming out of Japan via ebay are genuine but ordinary. Basically the pieces that cant easily be sold in Japan. Before causing a flood of examples of people picking up good pieces, I accept that there are on occasion one or two good pieces that sell for less than what might be considered their true worth, but generally and as with everything else you get what you pay for. regards Paul

Mark, Your questions deserve more detailed answers than I am giving here but at least it may offer a brief overview. 1. As you will probably already have found out many swords were handed down through generations of family. As koshirae (fittings) wore out or as changes in fashion or the way of fighting changed they were updated or replaced. So on a blade several hundred years old there may well have been a number of different sets of fittings made over time. 2. In addition it was not unusual for Daimyo to have several sets of fittings for for a blade for different occasions. For example the koshirae he wore when in Edo was different to the one he wore on his own estate. 3. Saya and shirasaya are made for a specific blade. The shirasaya (resting scabbard) is usually renewed when a blade is polished. So again in an older blade you can expect it to have had a number of shirasaya in its life. 4. The things that effect the value of blades and or fittings are quality, rarity and age. To find a sword from the 13th or 14th century in its original mounts would be extremely rare and would command a premium. However a good blade in later mounts would not necessarily be devalued provided the newer mounts were sympathetic both aesthetically and in terms of quality. Above all else whether collecting swords or fittings the first factor should be quality. I agree with Henry that if possible it would be very worthwhile trying to visit a group or club and meet people who can offer first hand advice. good luck Paul

I found the piece in Tanobe-sans article I referred to in the earlier text. I quote: "We know during the Edo period The Honami family applied Kinzogan-mei to blades which got mumei after the O-suriage process. When an attribution was done on an ubu but mumei blade, it was inscribed via a Shu-mei (red lacquer signature) From time to time we find blades which show a kind of shu-mei but which can be identified as O-suriage by the way the yakiba goes over the machi. Such attributions were done from the Meiji period onwards, and are not called shu-mei but shu-sho (red lacquer inscriptions). Also Kinpun-mei were not applied during the Edo period but also from the Meiji period onwards" I hope this may help to clarify and confirm peoples views Regards Paul

no problem it is an emotion I am used to!!

Guido Yes I am the lucky B******D :D

Not sure how this relates to the debate but I have spent the last 9 months looking at a suriage blade that has a very old looking shumei attributing it to Aoe Tsunetsugu. This attribution is confirmed in a sayagaki by Honami Cozon. The Juyo papers state that it is an Aoe blade from the late Kamakura period, that it has a shumei to Tsunetsugu but this is not the ko-Aoe Tsunetsugu. Obviously the presence of the Shumei did not cause the blade to fail shinsa, I assume because the workmanship left no doubt as to school and period but the NBTHK felt the need to clarify rather than discard the shumei attribution and have it removed. I am assumimg the shumei is old because of the discolouration of the lacquer. I am guessing it is from an earlier member of the honami family but have yet to tie it down. I also assume that when appraising it the panel took the view that the shumei was part of its history. I am away from base at the moment but those NBTHK members with the recent Tanobe-san article on recognising gimei, isnt there a definition in that about what type of blade shumei are applied to? I am sure I have read something recently about this. regards Paul

Joe, The wakazashi is copying the Naginata-Naoshi blades. Basically many naginata blades from the Koto period were shortened and converted in to wakazashi.These were called naginata-naoshi. Later smiths produced blades with similar dimensions and naginata -hi as copies. As in this case many copies have a yokote line which original conversions didn't. Regards Paul

I agree totally with Jean (a first for cross-channel co-operation??) and in recent months have gone down the same route although not quite so extremely. The most swords I have ever held in a collection was 24. I realised or had it pointed out to me that I only really looked at perhaps 4 or 5 with regularity and the others just to check they were ok. So I took the decision to reduce and improve (hopefully) and am part way through that process. It is probably the best thing I have done and I am delighted with the result. I am nervous about making the next point as I have no desire to get in to a long debate and verbose correspondence about being right or wrong. This is not fact but a point of view. Shan, in your mail you intimate that collecting quality is linked to wealth. Therefore only those with loads of money can collect or more importantly study fine art be it swords fittings or anything else. I absolutely disagree with this. To learn and appreciate what is good and what is not is achieved through study and commitment and a lot of hard work. It is easier if you have great examples to hand but not impossible to do otherwise. I have been collecting for 25+ years, seriously for perhaps half that. based on the number of pieces you post on the board I am very confident that my annual expenditure on swords fittings etc is well below yours. What I do spend a lot of money on is books, ( I know my book bill this year exceeds my sword expenditure and has cost a lot more than the budget that most new collectors set themselves for their first sword) The point is that 25 years on I am still investing in as many good books as I can. This is because I need them as a substitute for the quality swords I cannot see. Buying quality swords is not the exclusive right of the wealthy. If it was I couldn't do it. Claiming to have no taste, understanding and not being able to identify what is good or bad is neither a badge of honour nor justification for spending money on poor pieces. It is misguided. As Rich, Jean and others have said. buy fewer pieces, be prepared to pay more for them rather than hoping that every cheap piece of metal is a treasure waiting to be discovered and spend more time reading and studying. End of early morning rant regards Paul

Shan, without any pretence of expertise in this field I would make the following comments: 1. I like the design very much and it looks to have similarities to many Akasaka tsuba I have seen before on various websites and in hand. 2. I don't see any basis for considering it to be "modern junk" 3. The texture of the iron in the rim looks interesting and sort of what I would hope to see. 4. I am a little concerned with the flatness and colour of the inside surfaces if the design as they lack the rust I would expect to see and show no signs of layering which can occasionally be seen in Akasaka work. Overall I think it is a good design and based on the main photos a good colour (is the silver on the photos around the nakago-ana reflection or bright metal?) I sure those with a lot more experience in this field will enlighten both odf us. regards Paul