Jussi Ekholm

Congratulations Robert, it is a very fine sword. Was really nice to see it on display.

I visited the exhibition second time this morning, as I will head out to other parts of Japan. Some additional thoughts. Unfortunately that is wrong Norishige Lewis. That is displayed as it has been donated by Nara Iwao to the museum recently. It is Jūyō Bijutsuhin and nice sword. However in my personal opinion the one passing Tokubetsu Jūyō is far better tantō, just a personal judgement. Nara Iwao donated spectacular items to NBTHK. In my personal opinion the hira-zukuri wakizashi by Yosōzaemon Sukesada he donated was every bit as good as TJ swords on display. Also I really liked the Fujiwara Nagasada katana that was dated 1868 that he donated. In my eyes it was very good sword, now it would never be "high ranked" but I dont care about that at all. *edit* forgot to add that the Tsunahiro wakizashi he donated was amazing. The Yasumitsu is one of my favorite items on the display. Even though it is slim and slender in form while I usually prefer the big monster swords. I am not sure if there will be photos of it as photography isnt allowed for TJ items. It is very recent Jūyō, passing in 71, so when they release the book there will be bit more info on the sword. I really don't like the extreme closeups as to me they are not something I personally see when looking at item, and I am not one seeking extremely fine details. Of course I understand that some people love these extreme details. I saw few Japanese with big cameras shooting closeup shots of the few reference items that were allowed to photography. When I am at home next month I should be able to match the majority of the swords to Jūyō level sessions. For the few mumei items I might need to wait until TJ book is released so I can match the item side by side. *edit* While I understand the multiple tier process I am not a fan of it. All of the items that passed the TJ shinsa are incredible items and display characteristic traits and experts would most likely identify them easily. If you would see any of these items with Hozon papers for example you wouldn't think about the paper level but how incredible the actual item is. I think it can be sometimes bit misleading as we talk a lot about these tier levels while I think the actual item would be more important focus point.

I went to see the 29th TJ exhibition today. All items were of course really high quality and I cannot judge their difference in level. What surprised me I didnt like all that much few of the items I was really looking forward seeing, and vice versa liked few others much more I thought I would before the exhibition. This is just my personal like list of 5 preferred items and no way judging the items by level. Hōjōji naoshi Kaneuji wakizashi Kanenaga katana (the longer) Yasumitsu tachi Norishige tantō I was really looking forward seeing the Futasuji-bi Sadamune Jūyō Bunkazai but to my surprise I didn't like that or the TJ 29 Sadamune as much as I thought I would. Of course both are incredible swords. Similarily I was really looking forward seeing the signed and dated Chōgi tachi but while very high quality sword it didn't really make an impact on me. Then on the opposite side I was very impressed by the Echizen Yasutugu wakizashi.

Thanks for posting the item. It does look to be a nice sword. I would think it could be much older than Shintō Hizen by just looking at the 2 overall shape pics. Of course the shinsa team has seen it in hand and they know much more than me. I remember few mumei swords that I looked some time ago in dealer inventory, and to me they looked like nice wide Nanbokuchō ō-suriage blades but had been attributed to Hizen Tadayoshi.

Thank you for these updates Brett. It is a joy to see so healthy and growing collecting group.

Great news Lex 😊

I am currently on train so I cannot write too long post. However as the sword seems to be 49 cm in current form and would seem to have long portion of the mei intact, I would guess it would have been under 60 cm blade originally.

I would see it as 来倫国 Rai Tomokuni

Sorry I didn't think that the picture would get compressed by the forum, here is a picture of the mei and added number 6.

This might be a bit off what everyone else is thinking but I think they could be added inventory numbering for the sword. I feel it could be 八三 - as in 83. As I personally love naginata, while it is very rare, some of the Muromachi naginata have "inventory numbers" carved on to them. Often these were made for bit more utilitarian weapons, and sometimes they were made quite crudely. Here is one example in naginata by Mino Kanenori where 六 - 6 has been added on to the nakago. (picture is not too good but unfortunately at the moment I don't have time to go through my books to take pictures of few different examples)

I feel the 珎州 that Piers posted would seem most resembling the last picture, however I have never seen that before, so my guess might be on 筑州住国重 (Chikushū jū Kunishige). In my personal feeling there seems to be different feeling between the first 2 and lower 3 kanji. Your sword seems to have very unusual blade construction as one side seems to be flat (hira) and another side ridged (shinogi), at least that is what I am seeing from the pictures.

I do think it can often be confusing when lot of different status levels are thrown in for the swords. I do understand it is the easy way in differentiating perceived quality levels and for seasoned collectors it is fairly easy to grasp. However I do think it can be difficult for new enthusiasts, sometimes I think the appreciation status level can be overriding the actual item. In my personal opinion Iwato Ichimonji is a minor branch of Ichimonji school. I do feel the only smith of true importance is Yoshiie. I do have recorded signed items from 5 other Iwato Ichimonji smiths but it is very minor school. The two items by Yoshiie are quite nice. 83,5 cm tachi that is held by Yoshikawa Local History Museum (tachi is Jūyō Bijutsuhin) and a 61,5 cm naginata that is in the collection of Ōyamazumi jinja (naginata is Jūyō Bunkazai). Both are also dated around 1330 and feature Iwato in their signature. I have seen the naginata several times when visiting the shrine and while as naginata lover I do agree it is amazing item and has huge historical importance, I have to say in just pure quality aspect I am not too sold on the item. I just remember always liking other naginata at the shrine a lot more than this particular one. In the beginning I would just recommend looking into different time periods and seeing various items in general. Like how will Osaka-Shintō blades look like, what would be the Kotō Yamato schools like, how Bizen area was churning out various swords throughout history. How different can tantō be next to one another, how short and long can some katana be, how were Japanese polearms. Looking into smiths and schools that might be interesting, rather than going for status level like Jūyō etc. I do think any event with swords will be great for looking at different things. I attended few of the early Utrecht shows and I liked the athmosphere and met so many friends around Europe in there. I think for me the social aspect might have been more important than the swords.

The Iwato Ichimonji has passed through several dealers after passing the Jūyō shinsa. 2021 - https://web.archive.org/web/20210612111517/https://katananokura.jp/SHOP/2105-K02.html (without koshirae) 2025 - https://web.archive.org/web/20250322181409/https://www.samurai-nippon.net/SHOP/V-2114.html 2025 - https://www.toukentakarado.com/item-tk017-juyo-den-iwato-ichimonji 2026 - https://www.aoijapan.com/katana：mumeiunsigned-den-iwato-ichimonji-65th-juyo-token/

There will be lots to see around various parts of Japan at any given time. I think trying to get most accurate info 1-2 months before trip would be my recommendation. I planned my June trip way ahead of that schedule but when I was planning I didnt know the exact items that I would see at many locations. But now when the exhibitions are ongoing or getting closer to start date many places will put out list of items on display to their website. For me this is very important and I have been able to cut some places out and add some more interesting ones in. Here are for example some interesting things you could see in Nagoya & Kyoto in about 3 weeks. (Unfortunately I will skip Nagoya this year) Nagoya Tōken World will have koshirae special exhibition (their permanent exhibition is most likely largest in the world) https://www.meihaku.jp/event-koshiraeten/ Tokugawa Art Museum will have special NHK exhibition Hideyoshi & Hidenaga https://toyotomi2026.jp/ Atsuta Jingū will have their tachi on display rotation https://www.atsutajingu.or.jp/houmotukan_kusanagi/schedule/index02.html Kyoto Kyoto National Museum will have Kitano Tenjin special exhibition https://www.kyohaku.go.jp/jp/exhibitions/special/2026_kitano/ Kitano Tenmangu will have special exhibition https://kitanotenmangu.or.jp/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/◎sp_exhA401_fr.pdf Honno-ji will have Yamato swords special exhibition https://nihontonobi.jimdosite.com/ As you wrote the timing on exhibitions can be crucial. I know I will miss few amazing ones as I cannot fit everything I want to my schedule as it is just impossible. There can be some very short exhibitions popping up too. For example this summer there is one amazing event bit over 1 week in length popping up in Nara. I just couldn't fit it in as that time I am in other part of country. There are lots of museums and places in Japan that have very interesting swords. I have few places I check when searching information and Brett has been doing amazing job adding things to NMB event calendar.

Which areas in Japan you will be visiting and around what time?