Christian Chaffee

Hi BaZZa, I found it stated that Munekazu was a member of the Matsuura family, as well as a sword smith. I am not sure if being a member of the family is a blood relation, or an accepted member in a clan. Thanks for the link. I don't know of the connection between DOI SHINRYO school and Munekazu. I'll read the information on the link... Thanks!

I am just learning about the sword myself.It's a 28 1/2 inch beauty... a real cutter. I thought it was a cut test. The maker is basically unknown, and research needs to be done on the family who had the inscriptions put on the tang. I don't have the background to do the research to find out more.

Thank you very much for your time and sharing your knowledge. Christian

Thanks! I am waiting...

Hi Guys, It has been a long time since I have been here on NMB. I need help translation what I think may be a cut test inscription. I also need to know the maker, and any other information that can be obtained from the inscriptions. I have posted 6 images. I will be checking back regularly, Thanks, Christian Chaffee

Hi Darcy,Chris,and Markus, Thanks for the translations of the sayagaki. The comment that it is a very rare reference piece, shows that Tanobe did recognize it as out of the ordinary, which is consistent with it being chosen to be included in the 1935 book. It goes to show... even the blind chicken finds the grain. To Darcy: You mentioned: "there are two signed Juyo that have gone to him. One is a signed and dated tanto.". How can I get images of the signed and dated tanto that went juyo, and do you know what year this was awarded? Thanks for your time, and sharing knowledge. Let me know if I can ever help you out when it comes to California and American art. Christian

Hi Jussi, Here are images if the shirasaya. Please let me know what the sayagaki says, as I never had it translated. Thanks, Christian

The well known polisher in Hawaii.... Bob B And to Stephen, I found this blade over a year ago, and figured it might be educational to let guys take a guess based on what I saw in the unpolished blade. It was only recently completed, and sent to Japan for the Jan. shinsa.

The polisher has shared his opinion, and he thinks it's a nambokucho Soshu blade. posting.php?mode=reply&f=9&t=20870# Yes the kissaki did have some light grinding marks. The sword has been polished, and the polisher has emailed me, and stated the blade came out flawless, and has a very strong and impressive temper line. I will have to wait for the results from the January shinsa before I know more.

Hi Jussi, The sword was awarded TH in 2007, and then got the Tanobe sayagaki. I should be able to dig it out of my safe, and post images of the sayagaki by next week.... Christian

Hi Hamfish, I never said it was a missing treasure. I just said I have a tanto, and an oshigata of it's tang was found in a book published on Japanese swords in 1935... which is all true. Until I have a complete translation, I don't know exactly what the book says. This will be known soon, and I'll post it here. If you do not see any similarity between the oshigata and the tang on my tanto....... look again, as no two sword tangs are alike. Christian

Hi Sanjuro, It never hurts to share an opinion, and I invite others to do so too. To make it a bit more interesting, this blade has been polished, and is now in Japan for the Jan. shinsa. I know what I think it is, but then, I am no expert, and a bit of a dreamer. Shimada was influenced by the school which I think made this blade. Christian

Hi Nagamaki, I sent it to be polished, and only have some images. Hopefully you can guess the proportions by the scale on the ruler. It's hard to evaluate blades based on just images. In this case what you can't see in my images is an unknown. Still many buy swords off eBay, and many times you only see a few images. This is a chance to take a stab at this, and make your best guess.... based only on what you can see in the images. Christian

Hi Stephen, Yes, I think it deserves a polish. Hi Chris, I think it's koto, with an early shinto period osuriage, so for the sake of answering this question, and moving forward with sharing your opinion, please assume it's koto. Thanks Guys, Christian

Hi Stephen, In this game of searching for the better swords, many will turn up out of polish. This is where being able to recognize a special blade, can result in a fun discovery. I am not saying this is a great blade... just saying that most of what I find, is in as-discovered condition, rusty, missing parts, and covered with many years of dirt, grime, and exposure. I know others have seen more, studied more, and know more, but I use what knowledge I have, and keep looking for that needle in a haystack because it makes my life more interesting. Please share your thoughts on this as-found blade! Christian