Ted Tenold

Brain, The mei looks rightous by comparison to me too. I also agree with Grey that your sword may have been slightly machi okuri. The placement of the ana on polearms can vary depending on the length and also upon the style and placement of the fittings on the Ebu (shaft), so I wouldn't worry terribly about that. The character, stroke order, depth, and style all look to be really good on yours, and I'd send it through for shinsa without much more consideration as long as the blade condition presents no objectionable flaws.

Hi George, From the image, it is difficult to make a clear comparison. Can you get some closer images of the mei, even if it's in groups of one or two kanji at a time? Stroke order, size, and character are very important. The reality of it is that even if members here find it a favorable comparison, the real judgment is made by those more qualified, and for that, the sword has to be submitted to a shinsa. Conditionally speaking, the fact that it's been greatly shortened with a gakumei will limit it's papering potential to lower or mid-level papers. Anyways, please do try to get some better closeups of the signature. The exercise will do us good. :lol:

Hi George, Out of curiousity, which are the references that define the 3rd and 4th generations? Perhaps some of the members also have them and can look them up. I haven't had a chance to compare this signature yet, but I'll take a moment and see what I can find at my first opportunity.

Thanks for that Jacques, but unless one of those smiths (or some other exception) made this sword, then your point is fairly moot. Perhaps my statement was a bit too concrete. I will revise it for clarity as I wrote it this morning in somewhat of a rush. How about..... Better? :|

The ends of the bohi terminate before (or nearly at, hard to tell from the image) the yokote and don't extend into the koshinogi. This indicates they are atobori. However, there's nothing to say that the suriage was done even after the bohi were installed. This is what I believe we're seeing; two (or more) subsequent alterations.

If we translate the symbol on the tang mathmatically, then I believe this sword to be the "summation" of Chinese components. :lol: Couldn't resist.... :D Seriously Joe, I agree with the others that this is not of Japanese origin.

I also agree with Ford. "Best" is a term that is very subjective. Craft and creation must be held in their own light and not by comparison of Kaga inlay vs. Nielo vs. Cloisonne'. Appreciation of art and craft is not about comparison so much as quality of workmanship and skill in the individual specimens. Even within singular culture and craft it's futile to ask such questions as "Who made better fittings, Ichijo or Tomei?" or "Which is the better sword, Bizen Mitsutada or Rai Kunitoshi?" Silly... Be careful Phillip. Let's not forget craftsman such as Carl Faberge'.

John, Walk away from it knowing the facts. Never argue with a fool or a drunk. Fuggetabowdet...

Not fake. It's real Japanese blade. Signature reads Yakumo Amatsu Masakiyo saku (meaning the maker's name is Masakiyo and he was from Yakumo village in Shimane prefecture), dated 1944. He's in John Slough's book, and maybe in the Gendai toko meikan (haven't looked there yet). Decent gendaito smith.

Black...grooves....get nooo, sa-tis-fac-tion.

Interesting indeed. I never thought much about the possible religious significance of the color, but it makes sense. I have seen black lacquer, but only once. As for the motivations behind lacquering, here is an example of a yari which had lacquer (yes, red) in the hi. It was chipping and shedding from the surface and the blade needed polish. This picture illustrates what was under the lacquer which could not be seen prior to removal. Overall the piece is quite decent and well made with only a couple smaller ware which extend outside and adjacent to the hi and two or three small inclusions on the neck. When finished, it will again have red lacquer. Although it's not the absolute answer we'd like to have, the reason for it on this piece is pretty obvious to me. It's an Echizen Shimozaka yari that was cut down in to a Tanto in case anyone is wondering, and since most of these were viewed as utilitarian arsenal arms, lacquering horimono instead of polishing them is logical and practical for expediency and cost efficiency.

Sometimes.....all the above. :lol:

True indeed! But what you really should assume is that something is chasing them, whatever they are.....so don't stick around to find out. Run like hell.

I don't think the devil needs any help with this one. There is a minor stroke difference between this very common Naga character, and the *highly* uncommon form of Kiyo that it resembles. So the question would then be; "If the identity of this kanji is still in question, is there a smith with the name Kiyohiro utilizing that rare form of Kiyo listed in any references?" Yes, but you can really overthink these things sometimes and make them harder than they really are. When you hear galloping hooves in the distance, it's better to assume they're a horse and not a zebra.

Steve, In the row of "Hiro" kanji you illustrated, it's the second from the left.

Yeah, if you do decide to, proceed with caution. The latch mechanisms are often made of horn and can break. Over the years the sleeve can also become very tight inside the saya. Gaki is pretty rare anyways.

Hi John, Every one of the irekozaya style I've seen was of very high quality mounting. One in particular I remember was a Shikakke Norinaga tanto. By far one of my most favorite tanto ever, not only because the blade was gorgeous, but the koshirae was constructed of a rare wood, with solid gold fittings. I found a picture of it on John Berta's site, who owned it subsequent to when I saw it. Scroll down about half the page. Note the gaki on the inserted sleeve. http://www3.telus.net/sword/sword/index ... 0items.htm I think this may be the one Grey is also referring to. I was at the San Francisco show several years ago admiring a daito with saya that had stunning lacquer work. Very fine powders of cinnabar, mother of pearl, gold, silver, in formations of clouds. The sword was on the rack while I looked at the saya. It's become more or less a matter of habit that I check the koiguchi for the tell-tale mechanism that these have. It did, and I turn to my friend, who owned the sword at the time and said, "Very nice that this is an irekozaya". He turned to me and said; "Huh?" Until that point, he didn't even realize it had one. :lol:

Lovely Hada. Okay, 'nuff said.

Holy Cow! $950?! Heck, my copy is signed by Willis himself, it should be worth twice that then! Nevin, out of curiousity I made a quick call and what I was told is that these haven't been available from Hawley's Library for quite some time; about two years actually. It was an expensive book to produce with low volume of sales, which in the book business, is the kiss of death for any edition. Your best bet will be to find one on the secondary market. They come up on occassion.

There are are a couple places to get Hawley publications. http://www.bugei.com http://www.bridgeofdreams.com http://www.satcho.com Try these folks and see if you can find what you need. I'm pretty sure Panchita is alive, but not sure if she's doing any direct sales. Good Luck.

Komogawa, Please sign your posts with your name. Your profile only lists "K S". This is not acceptable according to the rules for participation here.

Eric, Ko-Mihara!!! Just kidding... I'd call it Enjyu. Why? Anyone else wanna take a chance?

Franco, Completely agreed. Or alternatively a desperate or stubborn attempt is made to bring up things that simply aren't there thus attenuating what is, or ruining it in some other manner.

Color in steel is always a contentious subject mainly, in my opinion, because so much of the color depends on how it was polished and what materials were used. Blades with really thick nie can also look whiter as well depending on how well they were polished because the nie is very very hard (it is a martensitic structure) and takes a lot of time and effort to polish thoroughly. Therefore the overall appearance can be drastically different if not approached judiciously. From your description, this is indeed an example of "Enjyu Boshi", and thus a strong indicator for that school. This is where things can get tricky. Utsuri is a product of forging and heat treating, so the presence of a particular forging pattern does not necessarily dictate a particular utsuri pattern. This can be particularly true with nie based utsuri on a very fine forging pattern. The only way I can describe how to examine some of these features collectively yet also independently is like looking at the bottom of a shallow chrystal clear lake with small leaves or dust on the surface. You can seen the textures on the bottom by looking through the top, and the surface against the bottom. Perhaps this is a bit poetic, and definately lacks an accurate scientific explaination, but it’s the best way I can describe how I try to approach it. Herein lies the importance of what a polish can (or can't ) do for revealing and identifying a sword. What we can see in a poor state of polish doesn't tell the "whole" story, and those invisible details that emerge after polish completes the equation. Add that to the variances of work styles and periods, whether known or unknown to us as students, and the equation becomes more complex.

Jean, I think that French proverb is very applicable in swords. There are those occasions when certain features get "married" to a smith or tradition, when in fact there is a variance in work that somewhat undermines our study habits and conclusions by what we read in our texts and accept and understand to be "absolutes". I could be wrong, but Shirake is something I would attribute to later works, while nie utsuri would seem more of an earlier trait. However, the lack of utsuri or the presence of it doesn't necessarily confirm or deny a particular smith, or school for that matter. These lack or inclusions of particular characteristics are what lead to the debates on certain issues such as the drastic difference between NiJi and Sanji Kunitoshi. One generation or two? Who knows for sure, but that said, there is conclusive evidence that smiths could and did work in a variety of styles. Moving back to the Enjyu subject, here is an oshigata of a Kunisuke tanto. The saya gaki notes that although the midareba style is rare, examples are known to exist. There is profuse chikei in this tanto, and eventhough it's a bit long in the tooth (having been polished down) the looseness of the jigane is attributable more to how it was made and not completely the product of diminishment, but rather exacerbated by it. Also, note the boshi on this example, as it is not omaru, but is rather pointed. For images of it, here is the slide show. http://www.legacyswords.com/kunisukeSS.htm