quoshy

For the sword on the right: Miyazaki echizen no kami naomasa saku kore 宮崎越前守直正作之　The last character is cut off. https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/NAO76

My 2 cents as an amateur collector and eager learner: I also think the sugata hints older than shinshintou but there are other aspects like the nakago that make me think it's newer. For an estimate of worth, browsing ebay or other auction sites shows prices for similar items (mumei wakizashis) generally go for $500 - $1000 depending on condition and package.

Thanks Ray!

Hi there, Could someone please help with the recognition and translation of these characters? __近 ? Maybe Thanks,

The three circular crests on the small knife (kozuka) slipped in the side of the scabbard (saya) are the Aoi Mon which is the symbol for the Tokugawa family. I wouldn't read too deeply into this though - Kozuka are often lost or replaced so it may be modern replica but still a fun tidbit of information.

加州藤原家次作 - Kashu fujiwara ietsugu saku

I don't want to encourage anything that may cause damage but I suspect there's a second character hidden under the little wooden piece in this picture:

Ah yes, I believe this is katana-boutique off of ebay. My guess on age is late edo to early shinshintou based on sugata, nakago. I don't have a guess on school. Always open to learning and hearing other opinions.

Congratulations. It seems like quite a nice find and package overall. Some of the fitting are quite nice too. A value estimate depends on the polish, condition and if there are any flaws among a bunch of other factors that can be hard to determine from photos. IMO it would make sense to pursue an appraisal or further investigate the piece. I agree with the above assessments. And to also re-emphasize, please don't try to clean, alter or touch the sword. Less is more.

My best guess on the signature is 備州三原住X廣作 (bishu ju mihara X hiro saku) but I think I may have a couple characters wrong. Stylistically, I think it could fit Mihara. Happy for someone to confirm/recommend something else.

You're absolutely right. Thanks for pointing those features out. I need to slow down and pay more attention.

Sorry for the bad news, very much not an authentic nihonto.

IMO, gimei (not original signature). To me, it looks like the blade has been shortened over it's life, due to the several ana (holes) in the nakago (tang) meaning, if there was a signature, it may have been lost or would be further down on the nakago. Also, the polish is very poor making blade identification (i.e. if it is a real Nagamitsu) more difficult. I like the sugata (shape) though.

Seems like a pretty nice blade. Could be worth getting professionally polished. The bohi going all the way to end of the nakago is a strong indicator that it's been (significantly) cut down at some point. It's not terribly uncommon. At best, this could be a VERY vague indication of age. I don't think I've seen this on a blade newer than early Edo. Here's a few examples of bohis going to the end of the nakago. https://tokka.biz/sword/norimitsu3.html https://tokka.biz/sword/tadayoshi17.html https://tokka.biz/sword/kiyomitsu6.html

Based on sugata I'm guessing Muromachi (mid 1500s ish) and the jihada looks Bizen to me but I'm more than happy to have someone else tell me I'm wrong

Based off the dates of the papers that I have this is the best timeline of paper changes that I can document: Date perforations in the upper left were added sometime after March 16, 1994 (as referenced by the paper in the pictures) and before May 1, 2007. The location of the small "日刀保" also seems to have moved around the same time. According to Peitro's post, ownership tracking on the back of the papers existed at least up to June 21, 2009 but was no longer tracked as by February 5, 2014 so this must have changed between these two dates. If anyone has papers that can narrow these dates down more, that would be awesome. E.g. a paper without date perforations dated after March 16, 1994 or a paper with ownership tracking on the back dated after June 21, 2009. This could help create a timeline of changes to NBTHK Hozon papers.

Thanks for all this information! Super helpful. Any other opinions on the date perforations or the small kanji characters being in different places on this paper versus the places on the link? E.g. when they were introduced or changed?

Don't know why I never realized it before but I have a few Hozon papers, all which have slightly different features. This one is missing the perforations in the upper left (hozon and date) but all the other features are there (watermark, etc.) including the really small "日刀保" but in different places than indicated on http://www.nihontocraft.com/japanese_sword_papers.html If the perforations were to be included on this paper, they would puncture the stamp on the back so I wonder if this is why they weren't included. I can't find any good documentation about the backs of these papers. This one has some information on the back but the name of the certifier has been scratched off. I have another paper that has the same back as this one and also with the name scratched out. I got these two swords/papers from different dealers so I'm curious if this is a normal practice. I have a third Hozon paper that has a completely blank back. Are these differences "normal"? Any insights are greatly appreciated Front: Back: 保: 刀: 日:

Thanks Steve! I'll dig through that thread.

Hello, I have a (I think) Edo period korshirae with some crests on the saya. Does anyone recognize the mon (crest)? If not, does anyone know any reference websites or books where I could do some research to find more information? Please and thanks https://imgur.com/a/sI9GQpU

It is signed Noshu Ju Kanemoto (濃州住兼元). Based on the sugata, to me, it seems fairly modern - 1600s, Edo or newer. IMO

According to the paper, the smith's name is Kanesaki (兼先) from Inaba-kuni (因幡国) modern day Tottori prefecture during Ansei 安政 period (1854 to 1860) The rest of the paper has details about the sword (grain, hamon, etc.)

My guess is late shinto to shinshinto (1700s?) - the kissaki is quite large, the nakago doesn't show a ton of age, the length and sori also indicate it's more modern. (unless it's been cut down) IMO

I've had mixed experiences with Showa22. The first time was I won the auction and it was for a great price, but then he pulled out after the auction closed so the transaction didn't go through. (Clearly it was a good price). Second time I purchased a wakizashi and it was pretty much fine. The pictures were fairly representative, but there were some small scratches that didn't show. The third time was an issue. Bought a wakizashi that was clearly a put-together. Habaki didn't fit, tsuka was loose, saya rattled. The polish was worse than what was in the pictures. No fatal flaws and it was pretty cheap so I didn't return but I won't be buying from him again. Scott

Thanks for the additional help and apologies for not signing my previous post. Scott