DirkO

https://www.thejapanesesword.com/contact.php https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejapanesesword/ I don't know if he does proxy bidding however, it's not listed as a service on his site at least.

Don't know what you did, but seems to work fine now! Tried different searches and they all get expected results so far. Thanks!

Now I get 56 pages of results when searching for masamune and being logged in.

If I sign out and do the search, I get 1331 results, weird...

I imagine you're using mySQL for the search, then perhaps there's a different time cut off for non admins? Support forum

Settings: Results: I did notice there's no longer a flood protection on the search, but maybe there's other limitations at play here?

@Brian using your settings and looking for 'masamune' I get 2 results - pretty sure there's more written on this forum about him 😉

Search does work for me, however it's only giving me very limited results. @Brian could it be the indexing is still running? All results I get are from recent posts.

Reference books are a bit of a minefield. Sometimes there's now new knowledge, and when it's privately published it's sometimes done to enhance sales by a collector.

Well, with some luck the paper will say Masachika (Bushu Ito). It will confirm your own findings and - which I was alluding to - provide peace of mind and certainty to a future owner should you choose to let it go at one point. Obviously papering for commercial reasons only makes sense from a certain price point, the other reasons for papering being educational to confirm your findings, or shed light on doubtful mei,...

OK, different story altogether - indeed if a big name sword/tosogu came from Japan without any proven provenance (ex-Sasano for instance) and without papers, then I would be very carefull indeed. If you know what you have and can evidence it, great! However, when the time comes to pass things on, NBTHK kanteisho do make it a lot easier. They're by far the most commercially interesting certifications to have at the moment (plain fact)

I'm curious, seeing the number of items passing just Hozon shinsa, what gave you this idea? A lot of collectors, not having easy access to shinsa, won't bother with it. This doesn't mean that those items wouldn't pass.

Agree with John, Paul Martin's services are a blessing and he's an utter gentleman, always willing to help!

NORISADA (則定), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Fukuoka – “Moritsugu Norisada kinsaku” (守次則定謹作), real name Moritsugu Seikichi (守次清吉), he studied first under his grandfather and forged blades as a sideline to his actual profession as a smith for agricultural tools, from 1933 he entered a regular apprenticeship under Sakurai Masatsugu (桜井正次), it is said that he was a descendant of the kotō-era Chikuzen Moritsugu (守次), kihin-jōi (Akihide), Special Honor Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941)

(TH) Yatsushiro Jingo saku - although quite unique in its appearance and in its school, this piece is continuing to bring me a lot of joy. Maru gata, tetsu, tsuchime-ji with dote-mimi.

Probably hishaku and kama. You should look into tea utensils.

Done

Yokoyama Sukesada is far less in numbers, Ken. If I remember correctly, he wrote the Kanji for Sukesada in an odd fashion. Gimei pieces usually overlook this trait. I did a post about it years ago. I'll see if I can find it.

As long as it's signed with the smiths name I don't see any issue? The OP is signed "マサヒラ" on the mune, so it's fine to receive papers seeing it's clear what it is. The issue lies with blades that are made to deceive or where there can be doubt, not with clear utsushi (how many Masamune Hocho utsushi are out there? Dozens) BTW I had the chance of handing that Sadakazu I Sadamune utsushi - it's absolutely brilliant!

Personally I'd go for the Tombogiri utsushi: Asahitoken usually has quite a few of his pieces for sale, which is really showing off Ono Yoshimitsu's skill in various traditions, even though indeed he's most famous for his Yamatorige utsushi, which are absolutely a joy to watch and handle! http://asahitoken.jp/contents/01_token/product/token-O.html

Sadakazu II called himself Sadaichi out of respect for Sadakazu I (same kanji, different reading)

It's also the fact that if a new nengo started, that it wasn't known immediately throughout Japan. However, this would only account for small errors, by a year or so.

Great to see they're finally doing it online! Submitted my answer for the first time. Let's hope they indeed continue down this road in the future.

#1 has the most organic form, elegant distribution of niku along the mimi. It's thin where the branches seem to want to push out of the form. The mimi also accentuates the form better than the other examples. The completing of the seppa with sekigane is - I think - an early afterthought to its creation or even an initial part of it. The curvature of the underside of the pine bushes suggests more movement than the others, creating a sense of wind, which is enhanced by position and form of the mimi, where #4 and #5 are more static. Very free, creative design. If I didn't know the maker, I would say Kanshiro.

Just as a book tip - please read the following - it explains Steve's point very well imho The Unknown Craftsman: A Japanese Insight into Beauty Yanagi, Soetsu,