geekman

It would be very interesting to see what the experts say about the blade. The fact that the blade looks shinto because of the shallow sori seems valid, but it must be taken into account that many of the Shinto blades were copies of osuriage koto blades. Robert brings up a very good point about the mokume hada in the shinogi-ji, which is one of the kantei points of koto blades. Not being able to see the blade in hand makes it very difficult to pinpoint the age as well as the school, and until confirmed, it is anyones guess. Based on the photos, my very amateur guess leans toward maybe Ko-Uda or Etchu. Brian M.

Very much sadden by the news of Eiichi's passing. He was truly a great guy and a good friend to me.

I'll go with BIG on this one.

Hi Peter, There were no text . Just copies of the nakago with reference numbers at the to the swordsmiths in Hawley's Japanese Swordsmiths Book. Hope this helps. Brian Murashige

My condolences to the Yoshihara family. Very sad.

Ichimonji Sukesane???

Robert, Will try it. Thank you for your help!! Much appreciated!! Brian

Uwe, Don't worry about it... It's just that my friend had a blade by the same smith, that is why I remembered it. Just got lucky... Now if only I could learn how do attachments to my postings....Ha!! Brian

I think it is Tsukushi Yukimitsu, also signed Miike ju Yukimitsu. Brian

I think it's Echigo no Kuni Mitsuoki... Endo Mitsuoki... Brian

Bruce, Thanks for the article and info. Yes, things have changed a lot. Information is more readily available, as well as a lot more research discovering new information. Thanks!! Brian Murashige

Jean, Thanks!! I appreciate that!! Somehow I always get messed up trying to do these things!! Brian Murashige

Yes, I had heard that his work was often mistaken for Kamakura period work due to the high quality of his jigane. As you said, it was quite remarkable due to the fact that he was self-taught, like Endo Mitsuoki who is often confused with this individual. I hope that I'll be able to see some of his work someday. Brian Murashige

Kai-Gunto, Thanks for the correction. I was told that it was a marine mount back in the days 40 some years ago. Brian Murashige

Ray, Thanks for the link. Yes, I agree with you that it's taking a chance with items that come up on ebay like this. Like you said, you really don't know the types of flaws that you may find when the blade gets into your possession. Interesting, I wasn't aware that Ka's work were prone to kitae-ware as I have never seen his work in person. It seems that he was held in very high esteem by the older sword experts. Don't know if it was more political, being that he came from a prominent family at the time. Very grateful for the info!! Brian Murashige

Hi Ray, Thank you for the help!! I'm an idiot when it comes to attaching flies and stuff... Mahalo, Brian Murashige

Sorry, link will not download properly. Anyway, it was a Katana by Mitsuoki otherwise known as Shibata Ka. Blade was sold for $2,858.99, which is cheap considering that he made mostly tantos and this was a 27" Katana which usually fetches $6-8,000 range. So someone got an excellent deal on this one. Brian Murashige

Having problems uploading file. Sorry Brian Murashige

Someone got very lucky on this one!! Very rare blade by an excellent smith. Brian Murashige WW2 STAR STAMP Japanese Samurai Sword _ eBay.htm

Very interesting and excellent points brought up in this discussion. As Darcy said, a Kiyomaro blade rarely if ever comes onto the open market. One of the dealers mentioned above, once told me that the "High End" blades are always sold in house, between dealers, or between a dealer and a buyer looking for something specific. It never comes onto the open market. In this case, could it be the children of the owner, who have no interest in swords selling the blade and don't have the selling network connection that maybe the father had?? Is this a Kiyomaro that is subpar in work as compared to other blades made by him?. What must be remembered, is that Kiyomaro was a heavy drinker, and as such, many of his works suffered. Fujishiro Okisato once told me that a good Nobuhide was better than an average or poor Kiyomaro. Unless we are able to see the sword, or know the situation of the owner, we can only speculate. Finally, is the interest in swords in Japan as great now as it used to be back 15-40 years ago?? Brian

Peter, Very nice pictures and wonderful memories. Sadly, a few of them are no longer with us. Thank you very much for a look back in time. Brian

Peter, Thank you for posting the catalog. It brings back a lot of wonderful memories. I was lucky to be able to call many of these individuals "Friends", as I pursued my study of Nihonto back in the early 1970's. I was just 19 years old then, and many of these individuals were kind enough to offer guidance and friendship to this "Greenhorn Kid". Of course, swords were a little more affordable then. Fred Martin related to me once about how he did not buy a superb Mutsu no Kami Tadayoshi blade because the seller wanted $30.00, and he (Fred) would not budge from his $28.00 offer. Ah yes, those were the days!! Thank you for the memories, Peter!! Brian M.

Bitchu (no) Kami Tachibana Yasuhiro. There were about 4 generations of Yasuhiro. Unable to tell which generation this blade is at this time. From the signature, it doesn't look like the 1st. Brian

Hello, New to this Board...From what I remember, this swordsmith Takahashi Naganobu was one of the better Shin-Shinto smiths during the 1800's. I read somewhere that he never signed his name exactly the same twice. Brian