Jean

Bruce, I won’t call this a mei, but rather an inscription, tsuka being expendable they are not signed per se. There are no books on tsuka makers.

Not really John, because they are very long and often cover the length of the hamon. It is a kantei point for Satsuma great smiths.

Agents: Paul Martin or Robert Hughes

Hanks Stephen, more than outstanding

Done for Jim

I don’t think so Curran, I’d rather say that the Board is full of empty pockets

Bump

Hi Brian, The example you posted makes me think of the one used by Marlon Brando in Missouri Breaks movie to kill a rabbit..

Sorry to hear this. I shared it on my facebook page for French collectors

On the 30th of February

I am far from being a specialist, but I think it is a gendaito

Great deals, once again, flying tarts

Do not mistake clumsiness with Karma, JP

Fantastic

Osafune Tadamitsu

I liked Kevin’s post because all his swords were coming from Japan in full polish

Very good Stephen

Have you ever seen Tanobe sensei overthrowing a sayagaki by Honma Junji?

Points of view are different whether you are in Europe or in Japan. In Japan, handling swords with gloves is frown at. Their imperatives are not the same that in Western countries, above all in museum. I just wonder if Japanese museum employees use gloves to handle swords.

Zenon was not there at our last meeting in March, he was suffering hell from a sore back, I hope he has recovered but he could not walk or stay sitted

Jean-Pierre, First hint for Kamakura Ichimonji, think to midare utsuri. Most of all of 19th Ichimonji Utsushi lack midare utsuri or simply utsuri.

Just to compare the prices: https://www.aoijapan.com/katana-yasumitsu/

Itt is a very late offshot of the Taima school: http://www.sho-shin.com/yam5.htm Have a look at the bottom page. The blade is probably O suriage considering the bottom mekugi ana (thus the price). Other schools have some of their smiths who migrated: Nakajima Rai, Echizen Tametsugu. Not frequent attribution but not outstanding branch (reflected in the price). Remember the general rule : the tradition is kept pure till the third generation. Nevertheless it is a rarety

I bought once a Muromachi rusted Kanetsune Daito with NTHK kanteisho. Had it polished. 3 hagire appeared. I lost my shirt.... that is why I buy only blades in full polish. Errare humanum est, perseverare .....

You should ask members of Shinsa Panel, there is no direct logic as in your Norishige example. Best example is a katana I owned kanteied to Hosho by Tanobe sensei and Honma Junji and to Tegai Kanekiyo by Shinsa. Two different Yamato schools. One will say it is because NBTHK shinsa is reluctant to kantei a mumei blade to Hosho, or because Kanekiyo first generation was a son of Kanenaga who made blade in masame. It means you will have to study examples of each smith of these five traditions to understand NBTHK kantei, you will object you have no data available to understand the kantei. You, yes, NBTHK no, they have all their archive of thousand blades. It may exist Japanese books on these Yamato schools but no accessible to non Japanese speaker. So your only ressource is ask a shinsa panel the why’s. You will notice that most of O suriage Yamato blades are kanteied to a school and not a smith Juyo shinsa 25: 31 Yamato blades passed: only seven kanteied to a given smith (the top ones in their schools), 24 to a Yamato school. Why? because most Yamato blades were not signed.