Wim V

Stephen, I believe this is the kanji: 根本博中将佩刀. I am not 100% sure about the correct reading however, maybe someone with better knowledge of Japanese could add. But it seems to be a personal inscription to Mr Nemoto Hiroshi. Wikipedia tells me this was a lieutenant general who lived from 1891 until 1966. Maybe the inscription can roughly be translated as "lieutenant general Nemoto Hiroshi carried this sword"?

Maybe 小尻刃上り栗形 (ko-jiri ha agari kuri-gata) ? I would expect to see something like 茎尻刃上り栗尻 (nakago-jiri ha agari kuri-jiri)

Reading what the paper has to say is always interesting in my opinion. Not only with high level mumei blades as Darcy describes, but also with signed blades. In my experience the last sentence of the setsumei of a Juyo Zufu description is the most important one. The setsumei will begin describing to what school the smith belongs, give the common features of his work, and then describe the features of the specific blade in question. But I feel the last sentence will mostly explain why the NBTHK chose to award the sword Juyo status. For example by saying it's a perfectly healthy and typical example of the smith's work. Or for example by saying it's an important reference work because it is signed and dated (but maybe not so healthy …).

Nice topic, I like it. In attachment a picture of my library. I have approximately 100 books, and a collection of +/- 600 NBTHK Token Bijutsu magazines (starting from 1968). My logic was a bit as Jussi described: I could not afford a serious collection of swords so decided to collect "all" the books on the subject. Only to find out that even that is a nearly impossible task. But I am very happy with the books I have (although I am still missing a few important titles)

Fresh off the press : the results of the 65th Juyo shinsa are published on the NBTHK website: https://www.touken.or.jp/Portals/0/pdf/shinsa/第65回重要刀剣等新指定品発表_1128.pdf Apparently 138 items were selected out of 1341 submissions: Token: 101 passed (out of 1003 submitted) Toso: 8 passed (out of 45 submitted) Tosogu: 29 passed (out of 293 submitted)

Apparently it still happened in the second part of the 19th century. Here is another example: https://www.fujibi.or.jp/en/our-collection/profile-of-works.html?work_id=695 A dated (1864) katana by Fujiwara Kiyondo, with a cutting test inscription stating that a Tai-tai cut was executed by Yamada Yoshitoyo at the Denma-Cho prison/execution grounds. Quite interesting pieces of history I would say. And here is a link with more info on the Denma-Cho prison: https://japanthis.com/2017/04/27/a-tour-of-denma-cho-prison-execution-ground/

Hi James, It seems you can buy the issues from the last three years directly at the NBTHK: https://www.touken.or.jp/shop/ , look in the table for the catalogues advertised as "現代刀職展－今に伝わるいにしえの技　作品集－". However, unless you have a contact person in Japan I guess you would have to use a proxy service like "From Japan". Alternatively you can maybe search on Yahoo Japan or Winners Auctions? Good luck.

You can find a brief outline of the koshirae making process on the Usagiya website: http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/koshiraemaking.html

At the last NBTHK-EB meeting in Bonn, we had the fortunate opportunity to study a Sadamune-utsushi daito by Gassan Sadakazu, made in Meiji 39 (1906). The blade was in katakiriba-zukuri with an incredible amount of Soshu-style hataraki, really an exceptional and wonderful piece. On top of that the sword also had a magnificent dragon horimono, skillfully executed by Sadakazu (hori-do saku). According to the owner this is one of only 3 pieces by Sadakazu that have been awarded Juyo Token status. Unfortunately I don't have a picture or oshigata, but it received Juyo in the 61st shinsa, so people who own the zufu of that session can find the oshigata. To answer the original question however: in this case the owner doesn't specialize in utsushi-mono, but he definitely consistently aims for very high quality.

Bishu Osafune Iesuke, if I read correctly . Looks very interesting, thanks for posting.

Very nice info indeed. The Motoshige wakizashi is a heirloom of the Shimazu family and is referenced in at least 10 important books/publications. It is regarded as his best example where the Soshu influence can be clearly seen. If you take a look at this blade it's quite evident why Motoshige is regarded as one of the Sadamune santetsu. So I'm not really surprised about the price.

According to the tag in the pictures it's by the 13th generation Sendai Kunikane, so should be made somewhere between 1847 and 1881.

Very nice collection indeed. Thanks for pointing out Jussi. Only a shame they don't seem to be in best condition (lots of the spines are quite faded), otherwise I would be really tempted.

Are you referring to the Fukushima disaster? (since lots of masame blades come from the Sendai region). Sorry, stupid joke maybe, but I could not help myself ...

The little book by Kawachi Kunihira (The Art of the Japanese Sword, as taught by the experts) also contains a list of places in the world where you can see Nihonto. Maybe worth checking out. Best, Wim

Jussi, If you are still searching: the Japanese volumes can be quite easily found on yahoo Japan. usually one would pay around 1000-2000 yen for a complete year (12 volumes). Best regards,

Les, Take a look here: https://www.touken.or.jp/Portals/0/pdf/news/第63回重要刀剣等指定品発表.pdf Best regards, Wim

Uwe, I guess you will have to have a bit of patience before the Tokubetsu Juyo Zufu of the 25th shinsa will be published. But as soon as it is published I suppose you should be able to order it from the NBTHK (eventually by using a proxy service if you are not fluent in Japanese). For example: the TokuJu Zufu's of shinsa 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 are still available at the NBTHK, please take a look at this link: https://www.touken.or.jp/shop/. However, they are not cheap in my opinion, but if you really want them there is a way . Best, Wim

For your information: the list of the newly designated Tokubetsu Juyo items in the 25th shinsa was published on the NBTHK website today. See pdf document in attachment. Apparently: 343 swords were submitted, of which 70 passed; 19 koshirae were submitted, of which 3 passed; 42 tosogu were submitted, of which 4 passed. As usual the names are quite impressive: Gojo, Awataguchi, Rai Kunitoshi, Yukimitsu, Masamune, Sadamune, Go, several ko-Bizen, Ichimonji, Nagamitsu, Kagemasa, Chikakage, Motoshige, Chogi, Aoe, Samonji, and even a Takei Naotane (to name only a few). Should be a very nice exhibition if you are able to attend :-) H30tokuzyuulist.pdf

Dear all, I am selling a nearly complete set of Token Bijutsu - English edition. Please take a look if interested: https://www.benl.ebay.be/itm/Token-Bijutsu-English-edition-NBTHK-47-volumes-Japanese-sword-magazines/263543042284?hash=item3d5c63b0ec:g:XyMAAOSwfTVapGxV As you all know this is one of the best Nihonto references ever published in English. The start price is very reasonable I think, given the fact that they don't come up very often and if they do, then usually at a much higher price. If you are able to attend one of the coming NBTHK - European Branch meetings, or the Samurai Art expo in Utrecht in June, I can bring the set with me so you can save on the shipment cost. Best regards, Wim

The patina on the nakago looks very unnatural to me. The hada and "hamon" also look somewhat strange. If you ask me, I would say this is a modern made blade, which has been treated to look like an older blade. Oite Chugoku Saku maybe?

Dear Francis, I hope you don't mind me asking, but I wonder where you got this information? A friend of mine is a police officer and he keeps me up to date from time to time on the legislation in Belgium: to his knowledge Japanese swords are not mentioned as being forbidden or illegal weapons in the Belgian law. There might be an exception for moroha-tsukuri blades, as double edged knives or daggers are mentioned as being illegal, so a moroha-blade could give you some problems maybe when it is inspected by customs. I don't know if anyone in Belgium has experiences trying to import such a blade. Just like other Belgian collectors, I have ordered more than one Nihonto in the last 10 years from Japan and from the US, and I never had any problem importing them. One of my purchases was from ebay (a blade located in the US), and this also went smoothly, so there is no issue buying through the internet. Like Dirk said, 2 to 3 weeks waiting time (from start of shipment) is normal, and you will always have to pay the import taxes, 6% or 21% depending on antique or not. Wim

I agree that prices did not go very high. But as has been mentioned, the overall quality was not mind blowing, so you would not expect the bids to go through the roof. I picked up two pieces: Lot 817: Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo wakizashi, one of the few blades in the selection of which I was 99% sure that it is not gimei. Lot 819: I bought this one because I like the koshirae very much, the blade however looks more like a steel tsunagi :-). I am quite happy that I was able to buy two pieces. For me there's an emotional side to it because I have known Willem Dolphyn personally, he has been the president of the Belgian Token Club for many years. I remember visiting him in his house in Antwerp some 10 years ago. He had a room completely devoted to his Japanese collection: swords, koshirae, armour, helmets, you name it. I stayed there for a complete sunday afternoon and it was a wonderful experience. Some of the best pieces from the collection were already auctioned at Christies in december 2016. The remaining better quality pieces will be sold at Christies this coming december. For example, I know there will be a Miike daito (however unpapered), a Yokoyama Sukesada daisho, and a Rai Kinmichi daisho to name a few. Wim

And here you have the Japanese index for those interested in kanji: http://www.zentosho.com/assets/the-annual-dai-token-ichi-2017-ja.pdf Wim

You can order the catalog on the website of Sanmei Tokugawa Art: http://www.sanmei.com/contents/en-us/d1.html Best, Wim