Heringsdorf

Well, the Tanto was purchased from Aoi and they still currently have it. Also the export permit has not been applied for as of now. I will have my family send it to Seto Yoshihiro for validation and get some written prove from him. And then have it send back to Aoi to have them handle the export to me. Thank you all for the input.

What do you mean with: it gets far less....? Also what should I ask for? A sayagaki by him or a handwritten note that it was made by him, or have I'm just confirm it.

Can they just accept a sword? I know that the laws in Japan are very strict about these things.

I send an email to Aoi art asking them if they could send the Tanto to Seto Yoshihiro and ask him if he would do a sayagaki. They replied that they have no contact with Seto Yoshihiro and can't ask him about that. But they offered to have Kazushige Tsuruta to do the sayagaki!? Not really what I asked for, though. Not sure what to do now? Probably will have them just send the Tanto as is and enjoy it. I just thought that it would have been nice to have Seto Yoshihiro himself inspect it.

Update. I have family who lives in Kyoto, and I asked them to please try to call Mr. Seto Yoshihiro. They where actually able to talk to him and his wife directly! He is still active, but only on a direct commission basis, and he only sells personally without a dealer. Concerning the Tanto, he confirmed that he did make a Tanto in February of 2002. But couldn't say over the phone if mine is the one he made. He doesn't use internet, so the only way to have him definitely confirm my blade would be to send it to him. I'm debating if I want to do that, since the blade is currently still in Japan. On the other hand I think I have enough evidence now to conclude that this is authentic by him. I received a picture of the Touroku-sho and it supports the assumption of it being authentic. Based on all this, what do other more knowledgeable collectors here think? Thanks.

I wanted to share this restored Fuchikashira set. I originally got this from Aoi Japan, and it had some stains on the mon. Ford Hallam did the restoration. The black mon are actually Kuro shibuishi, which I found interesting.

I was wondering if this is a picture of Seto Yoshihiro?

How would you make the wooden tsuka-Ito?

Very nice Tanto and you got if for a very good price. The whole package is great.

I got my copy from Amazon Japan for $90.

Thank you Brian and Joe for the good information. Does anybody know if Seto Yoshihiro is still active today?

I haven't received the Tanto yet. My father told me that he got me this, and send me the pictures. Thank you all for the information. So the smith is Mukansa level. I know that means above competition, but how common is this ranking? Do most smiths reach this after a certain time span? I did find an older list online which listed 20+ smiths which were Mukansa.

Hello, I'm not so familiar with modern smiths, and was wondering about the status and quality of blades made by Seto Yoshihiro? I'm asking because I received a Tanto by this smith as a gift. This Tanto was made in February of 2002.

I was wondering about how common Mokume Tsuba where, when did they start making such Tsubas? Also did they use a similar forging technique as in making the shingane of the sword? Where these kind of tsubas from certain areas in Japan or common in all areas? And what kind of koshirae would you have seen with such Tsubas? Here are some pictures of Tsuba examples.

Does anybody have or know of an English index for the 8 volume Toso Kodogu Koza set?

Pm sent.

Right Brian, My first impression was that this is a Chinese fake. But I think you are right that this is a authentic nihonto, just in bad condition. The acid etched Harmon led me to think Chinese. Also the nakago looks strange. This blade is really in need of a professional polish and restoration.

To me this blade looks like a Chinese made sword, not Japanese. The jihada looks strange to me, like made of powdered carbon steel. Did your friend who sold you the blade give you any more information?

Very nice picture indeed. Thank you for sharing.

Nick Ricupero is very honest and has some nice stuff on his website at nihontoart.com I bought from him a katana with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon certificate. The sword is very nice and in quality polish. I also recommend Wakeidou in Japan, very nice items for sale.

Hello Ford, Is your book out?

Received my book today. Wow, really nice and good quality. Highly recommended.

I think after finding out that this is not even a real NBTHK certificate, I would absolutely return that sword. To me this looks like fraud, the seller Komonjo can read Japanese and he still advertised this as an NBTHK papered sword. That's what I mean with utterly untrustworthy sellers on eBay. You're lucky that you found out all this now, and can return this sword.

Hello Joel, My intention was never to be negative towards you. I made the same mistake you did when I started collecting nihonto. I bought a signed wakizashi from Komonjo which had an old NBTHK kicho certificate. I thought I made the right decision, but the blade turned out to be gimei. I think most of us who entered this hobby within the last 5 years probably started looking for "treasures" on eBay. Very quickly I realized though to stay away from eBay and only deal with reputable dealers who are highly recommended by the experienced collectors here on this forum. Since then I have been able to build a small collection of really nice swords and fittings, all singed and with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon or Hozon certificates. Of course they weren't cheap but I know that what I have is authentic and of good quality. You get what you pay for. Always remember that. Another recommendation, buy and read a lot of books about this subject. Some are expensive but totally worth the money. Get books from Markus Sesko http://markussesko.com, he is a true expert in nihonto and even speaks Japanese. He can translate anything you might need to have translated. Also Grey Doffin is an expert and has a great website http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com. There are many great books there which any serious collector must have.

One thing I find very indicative is that these swords are all still in Japan. But Komonjo will never have them go through shinsa to get authorative papers. I think that for the most part these swords didn't sell in Japan for whatever reason, so they are offered on eBay. New collectors, not being aware of the big problem with old NBTHK papers, think that since its papered it must be fine.