Jussi Ekholm

Unfortunately I am not well versed in later swords. I think the signature looks poorly cut but I couldn't find a comparison example from Mikawa Naoyoshi with this signature. Here is one of his later signature Naoyoshi 直義 : http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/14976-new-acquisition-temple-sword/

I think it is quite difficult task Alton. But here are maybe some pointers. 2. Noritsune I notice that this does not have a paper. Noritsune is quite rare name, most of them are early Bizen smiths and few other early smiths too. Could you show the signature on this tachi? If it is legitimate signature it is highly valuable. Of course there is always possibility of an unknown smith. 1. If you have attribution to Gisuke it means Shimada Yoshisuke. 1st gen (Gisuke) would be in the middle of 1400's. There are 9 gens coming up until mid 1700's. I'd guess a long hira-zukuri wakizashi like that one could be from 1500's. 3. Morikuni, seeing this signature too would help a lot. There are Morikuni smiths in many provinces during Muromachi period & Edo period. This looks like shortened and quite curved so would be nice to see the tang and sword more closely. 4,5,6,7,8 are pretty difficult to guess like you I'd throw in Late Muromachi - Edo to these. Many Kanesada & Kanemitsu smiths in Mino. I like you picture and idea for collecting. I hope we can offer you more help if you need.

Never asked from the Japanese HQ but for me the assumption has always been that if a mei is partially unreadable like here they will indicate further information in brackets (smith, school etc.). In some cases the mei has been attributed to certain smith if it fits but there are so many Kane x smiths working so I think Sue-Seki is very reasonable attribution if the sword does not show very identifiable characteristics. Here is a Hozon yari where Fujiwara X Kiyo gets den Takada attribution indicating they are meaning the spear is Fujiwara Takada but are not guessing the X Kiyo smith. http://www.e-sword.jp/yari/1410-4022.htm Here a TH example Bishu Osafune X mitsu gets Hidemitsu: http://www.shouzando.com/k-hidemitsu170409.html I think a Juyo example here Bizen Osafune X mitsu gets Yoshimitsu (Tsuruginoya does not have picture of the paper but I believe they putting Yoshi in square indicate similar situation and as you look at mei the character is to me unreadable) : http://www.tsuruginoya.com/mn1_3/f00222.html Can you show a picture of the nakago and the blade?

I think like Ray on this one. I think it was a great opportunity for someone and judging on how fast it sold plenty of others thought that way too. Yes it might not be the most desirable Kagemitsu but it was for pennies compared to more desirable swords by him. Sword like this would indeed be a very rare opportunity for a low tier collector like myself to own a grand piece. While I might personally go for lesser smith in the same price point to find a blade more suitable for my own collecting desires. While I perfectly agree on Michaels view that for the price of 3-5 swords like this you can have 1 juyo class blade, I think I would personally rather own 3-5 Hozon/TH swords than a single Juyo. A sword like this is most likely one that top dogs don't pay too much attention. Of course when you see blades by very good makers at low price point it is given that those swords are not masterpieces but they offer little guys a chance to own something we never could afford otherwise.

Not the quality of pics you were probably looking for but here are few. I believe this is the same Kuniyoshi tachi that was featured in TB 623. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8Z0zNqUMAEcR2r.jpg There was and exhibition in Kasuga taisha in Nara. Kuniyoshi has a meito that was displayed in the exhibition. http://wakuwaku-nara.com/nara-news/kasugataisya-3/ http://www.sankei.com/photo/story/news/161229/sty1612290014-n1.html http://blog.goo.ne.jp/to3300/e/30bba7625b7830c8cca3ad8bcb0e3c59 Iida Koendo had juyo tachi by Kuniyoshi: http://iidakoendo.com/462/

Not exactly what you are looking as they are just oshigata for but I think signed pieces by Kuniyoshi are quite rare, here are few Nihonto Koza pg 371 signed Kuniyoshi tanto Koto Zenshu by Markus item 188 which was in TB 623, signed tachi by Kuniyoshi

Congratulations Jan! I just ordered a copy for myself and will be really exciting to read it, I need to do the same thing as Jesper & Anna and bring it with me to Stockholm so I'll get your signature on it.

Welcome back Karl Peter, haven't seen you in while. It is nice to see your passion for Hizen blades. I am curious, so I'll ask. What is the Taira blade doing in you attached pic?

備州長船忠光 - Bishū Osafune Tadamitsu

銘不明　mei fumei - mei not clear/unreadable

Well this might not be what you'd expect and I have owned so few Japanese swords over my collecting years that I think at the moment I do not miss too much any Japanese item. However I greatly miss one item I sold some years ago to be able to afford a Japanese sword. It was Albion Baron with Christian Fletcher scabbard & belt suspension. For those who might not know lot about European swords Albion is a maker of top tier reproductions and this was an Oakeshott type XIIa sword. War swords like this were historically seen in 13th and 14th century. I traded that sword to myself for a Chinese replica of Japanese sword, sold to fund a Japanese sword which I sold to fund my trip to Japan. So in the end I am very happy with the cycle. And I know I will some day get another similar war sword. As this is a forum about Japanese swords I'll add the toughest Japanese sword sell that I made. I am happy that the sword is now owned by a friend who can enjoy it. This tanto that was attributed to Shimada Sukemune has so much going on in the hamon. My personal favorite on this is the ura side.

This will be a bit longwinded post I'll guess as it is bit hard to put my thoughts into short sentences that make my point, and I will have few quotes by famous persons which show "the correct" way to art swords, which is way different from my own but I agree with them that it would be "the proper way". The quotes come from article by Nobuo Ogasawara - Meito, or what makes a masterpiece from the NBTHK EB book about Solingen display in 2002. I personally think there are 3 types of collecting, historical, martial arts and art. I classify myself being of the 1st type. I collect swords because of their historical value as weapons and items of past times. I don't sign myself to the art crowd, yes I agree that some of the top swords could be art to many but for me they are top tier historical items. As a historical collector I see swords as objects that should be preserved so I don't encourage martial arts use of old swords. 3 quotes from that article by Nobuo Ogasawara Also Michael Hagenbusch wrote article - The Japanese Sword, Reflections on the Sword as a work of Art for the same book which is incredible read. There are so much good stuff in these 2 articles that it would be quote after quote, so I took only the above 3 ones. Now some members here might already know that I personally have very strong bias to Kotō blades and I appreciate swords that were made in the time when warfare was going one. And yes due to me being a historical collector I would choose weaker old sword over much better new sword just because it is my own opinion. For someone focusing on art swords that might sound crazy. For example museum displays and top tier shops carry a display of Meito. It is easy to understand for example that every item on display on Tokyo National Museum for example is a Meito in it's own right. Some could be understood instantly, however some required much closer eyeing. One of my favorite swords ended up being Senjuin tachi that was not as highly regarded as neighbouring swords were. Likewise there was a remarkable sword by Horikawa Kunihiro on one shop. It was spectacular sword, easy to understand the sword is a Meito but personally it had 0 draw on me. On the opposite end one shop had a signed Gojō Kanenaga tachi and that was on a whole another level for me, such a rare wonderful item. Here are some thoughts, for myself I understand my limitations that I might never be an art sword collector but I appreciate them a lot. However for me personally seeing Meito is a rare occasion. I know for a fact that if I would see Meito more often my appreciation would only grow larger. That is why I always encourage people to visit sword meets, sword shops etc. While owning them is an impossibility for me at the moment I can still enjoy seeing them and trying to study them. For example those who live in Japan or around major European/US collecting hubs are in the fortunate spot to be able to enjoy high level swords on a regular basis. I think this quote from Michael Hagenbusch is a good ending to my post.

I thought writing to this topic earlier but my ideas came out too sharp and I think they were too discouraging for new collectors so I didn't want to write them up. However I must say that it seems that todays day & age people want instant results without putting in the hours. For those who just want a good sword fast I hope you have a strong wallet and you can just go and buy from good shops and not give much thoughts if you go that route. For those of us who need to do a lot of research and try to pick our purchases here are some tips. 1. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING I had to make that in bold letters as that is the most important thing. If you buy something instantly you are most likely going to regret it. This is also probably one of the hardest things, as everyone getting into the hobby will want to own a sword. However I think that if you spend at first maybe a year or so just without actually buying swords, just doing research you are going to see what kind of things you like and they will act as a guideline on how to develop your collection. Of course it is only logical that people will fail this step (I did, and I bet most people too), as you get into a new hobby you want to get into it, not just researching as that will be boring to most. 2. Owning swords (and other stuff) is overrated This is actually for study & research view. Yes you can learn lots of things by looking at your swords but there is a limitation. When you own a sword or two, yes you can learn things but it is more important in my opinion to see more swords. The broader field of swords you see the more you will learn. I will recommend travelling to sword meets, shows, shops all over the world above buying stuff. This will be actually my own main thing from now on. As I know my finances wont allow me to collect what I want I will just focus on travelling to Japan, NBTHK meetings etc. For example attending the NBTHK meeting with the theme being Gotō fittings I learned a ton more on Gotō than I would by owning one example of Gotō work. Being able to see lots of stuff with people who focus on the stuff giving guidance on them is much better than owning one piece. 3. Focus your collecting I think we had a thread about different collecting focuses but that is very important so you have a focused collecting goal instead of just buying things. You can for example go for 5 traditions, focus on Yamashiro swords, collect various tanto sugata etc. etc. The better job you do on the "groundwork" the happier you will be on the long run. You wont figure out your collecting goals immidiately and they can change over time but it is important to have some guideline what you want to collect and why. 4. Plan your purchases As was mentioned earlier I see many people have bought swords not knowing what they are. This is often due to not planning the purchases well ahead of time. Yes I've seen some very good deals pop up but I've skipped them as they wont fit to my own collecting goals. I recommend you will for example think what you aim to do on 1-5 year period and 5-10 year period. The planning will help you with future purchases and it will also make easier to realize your collecting focus. For example if you are aiming for something like good quality Mino katana within 5 years, then you should avoid buying a random cheap wakizashi every year and instead focus on saving up for the better sword. 5. Buy less Ok this might not make me popular among dealers or those who sell a lot of stuff but I say avoid most of the stuff on the market. My own personal interests have narrowed quite a bit and I have very clear view on what I want and what I don't want. When I browse online I see lots and lots of stuff that I have basically 0 interest in owning, and some of these are really good swords, much above anything I might ever have but still those swords would not fit me as I wouldn't enjoy them fully. It is great to see good swords like that in sword meetings for example. And of course you will see lots of swords for sale that have very little historical or artistical merits. Avoid buying junk stuff. Those above tips might have bit of an "elitist" approach and will most likely be too tough for new people entering the hobby as most would lose interest without buying anything. As Christian said earlier you need passion for this hobby but to be honest new people with passion are very hard to find. I have made the realization that I should be doing steps 1 and 2 for several upcoming years. I have decided a focus for my collecting but the unfortunate fact is I don't have the funds to make it reality, so I will avoid buying stuff and just focus on travelling to Japan & within Europe. For me just travelling and avoid buying will make me much happier than getting some low end stuff that does not really interest me. As for the buy high sell low or vice versa, I think that is extremely difficult for new collectors. I don't really think that should be a priority early on as it will takes many years to establish basic knowledge about the market, and even after years and years of looking it closely there are very often things that amaze me, why is sword X worth ??? of money etc. In the end swords & other antique items are worth as much as someone is willing to pay for them.

Someone needs to make the bad deals or nobody can make the good deals.

Steve explained very nicely the problems that there seems to be with signature & these papers combined. I only glimpsed through the papers quickly as I tried to focus on the signature as longer texts in Japanese are difficult. 1,2M Yen is a lot of money. Of course people have different tastes and some swords just seem right for you. However I would look around a bit as you have wide variety of available options with so large budget.

I keep mine bagged in shirasaya so not display tips from me personally. I do keep my replicas of European swords out in the open, and never had problems of them developing rust even when handling, touching and using them. I was very impressed by displays that several high end shops in Japan had. While many had spectacular displays I must point out that in my opinion the display at Taibundo is god-tier. Weather conditions around the world are so different, Japan is so humid total opposite what we have here in Finland. I found this as really interesting subject but my lacking ability of speaking Japanese made the conversations almost always very brief as language barrier was really steep. Pic borrowed from their website.

Here is info about the signature so you know the smith(s) 藤太安吉真十五枚甲伏作之 - Tōta Yasuyoshi shin jūgo-mai kōbuse saku (last part is a rare inscription indicating making blade in kobuse with 15 times folded steel) 越後士大村加卜?之 - Echigo-shi Ōmura Kaboku ? Kore I think I found the sword you are talking about, as it is such rare inscription. Now I am not too big on these new Edo period smiths but I would be cautious with this one. All examples from Ōmura Kaboku that I can find are signed 越後幕下士 Echigo Bakkashi and this is signed 越後士 Echigo-shi. I'd guess the signature would maybe show this as a joint work of Ōmura Kaboku and his student Tōta Yasuyoshi. If you are a dealer in Japan and you have a sword by jō-saku smith and chūjō-saku student, you wouldn't really let the blade have (financially worthless) JTK papers when you could have NBTHK papers for this if it is legitimate. Japanese dealers who sell a lot of swords know pretty much better than anyone how the attribution & papers will affect to price. So if you see blades with old NBTHK papers or JTK papers etc. sold in Japan (and elsewhere too) be skeptical. I would recommend taking things slow. I see you are located in Minneapolis and fellow board member Joe recently put up Midwest sword club (Minneapolis): https://www.jsc-mw.com/I would recommend hooking up with some local Midwest collectors and they will offer great help to you. I know Grey is also located in Minnesota: http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/ You have plenty of great guys around your area who can help you to get a good sword for you.

I am guessing this is the same sword: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/10213-shinto-wakizashi-i-spotted-at-a-flea-market-today/ At least I get the feeling when I look at the weird tip, and also you can see the black dimples that show as white dimples due to lighting of Meirin Sangyo pictures. They are advertising it as sakabatō that was famous in anime/manga Rurouni Kenshin where main character had a reverse bladed sword. However I think this is intentionally made like this and edge is in regular side. I'm away from my books so I can't check info of this blade type but I think this might be an oddity that might not gotten into terminology books.

These are just some thoughts, I'm well above my league as usual as owning blades of this level might never be in my future. But speculation is always fun. I think works of Rai Kunizane are rare. In Nihontō Kōza it is mentioned about Kunizane that only 2 of his works can be identified at 100% certainty (as in they are signed) and both are short blades. In Nihon Kotō Shi 1 tachi and 2 short blades are mentioned, along with Tokujū signed wakizashi (which I believe is seperate from those mentioned earlier). Maybe some more signed examples of his work have surfaced after these books were written but I don't have further knowledge about that. Also unfortunately I don't yet have the jūyō index so I cannot check about jūyō status of his attributed works. Seems like the sword got Tokubetsu Hozon papers in 2014. It has been for sale now 2 times at Aoi and also has been for sale at Maruhide Tōken before: http://www.maruhidetouken.com/k-5.html I think that swords in this price range need a certain buyer, a very serious collector who is not filthy rich. Why so? Because rich people can just walk to top dealers in Japan, US or Europe and get top notch swords with full service. The less wealthy serious collectors tend to usually be quite picky and do the research as well as they can. Because a sword like this can be the dream sword that will fulfill the collection. So I would think the collectors that fit the above profile especially in Japan, and around the world know reasonably well what is being sold by various sword shops. If you are looking for medium priced Rai swords (not the top smiths of the school), items like that will surely catch your radar. I think one important thing would be comparing prices of cheaper mumei jūyō examples of Rai school and see of this fares in comparison. How much rise in value could you expect (if any) IF this sword would pass the shinsa. Taiseido had TH: http://www.taiseido.biz/cn11/cn22/pg548.html Iida Koendo had TH: http://iidakoendo.com/514/ Sanmei, sayagaki to Kunizane - Hozon for Echizen Rai: http://sanmei.com/contents/media/I21966_W2771_PUP.html I think the thought of owning Jūyō and getting the sword upgraded is tempting thought but I don't stress about that as it is so far away from my reach. However I think that there is nothing wrong with owning a good sword that will not make "to the next level". Yes the better papers are usually an upgrade as far as value goes and they add certain amount of prestige but in the end the sword itself remains the same. There are different levels of collecting and I am happy to stay at the "basic" level but I understand that many seek higher and more expensive stuff to their collections. Darcy wrote a good blog post about that: https://www.nihonto.ca/ha/?p=320#more-320I know that daimyō swords will be out of my league, so I will try to collect few good utilitarian swords that fulfill my collecting intrests. Then there is always the fact that with c.2M yen budget there are so many possible options around the world. I lost the line of thought bit towards the end as it is getting so late in here.

Someone with access to something like jūyō index could check about this Masamune smith how rare his works are. As the reference example at Merin Sangyo is one that passed 12th jūyō-shinsa. This seems to be only mei example of this Masamune smith I have in my books as this one is also featured in Koto Meikan by Markus. So it could be difficult for shinsa team to verify the signature 100% if the smith is very rare or something else unusual with the signature? I will quote Darcy, taken from his write up of Rai Kunitoshi tanto: http://www.nihonto.ca/rai-kunitoshi/

Do you have more pictures of it? I think it might be a really good buy for 25$'s. You normally won't get even stainless steel wakizashi replicas that cheaply.

Ah yes sorry Matt I was so brief, happy that Curran gave you more detailed info. I was in bit of a hurry when I posted so I just did translation part. I try to focus on older swords so I am not too good with these "new" smiths (it's relative when you talk about 1600's). However to me the signature looks different from published examples by him. Like Curran said earlier I think you have good genuine Japanese sword, it just happens to have false signature of very famous maker. I hope you will have fun time researching the swords you inherited and you might catch the bug for this hobby.

It is not *The* Masamune but a Ko-Bizen smith, still remarkable sword in it's own right. *The* Masamune signed with 正宗 and this Masamune signed with 政宗. Of course you might already know this but not everyone knows the difference. I think the condition explains why this is a signed Ko-Bizen sword so cheaply and also explains the paper level. I saw some pretty nice Ko-bizen swords at few Tokyo shops & museums but they are in different ballpark from this. Still that sword might suit a historical collector like myself (way way out of my league) who seeks a Ko-bizen sword on a budget and appreciates signature over condition. Highly collectable sword regardless of the condition, you just have to look past that and appreciate the good things on this sword. I think this is quite opposite of the wakizashi sized Ko-Bizen sword posted a while ago. I remember it was in lot better condition but of course shortened and this one is signed. Still these less than perfect examples offer a chance to add a Ko-Bizen sword into collection if that is what you dream of because the good examples from this school cost a lot.

I visited Sakamoto Ryōma exhibition in Edo-Tokyo museum this summer. I was surprised how popular figure he is among Japanese people. He is among favorite samurai of my friend and she took me to the exhibition. https://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/en/s-exhibition/special/15055/%E6%B2%A1%E5%BE%8C150%E5%B9%B4%E3%80%80%E5%9D%82%E6%9C%AC%E9%BE%8D%E9%A6%AC/ The scroll was on display (among lots of other written documents) but it was bit too difficult for me to fully enjoy the exhibition as so little info in English and my Japanese is not up to par, my friend gave me little info on what some interesting texts were (letters etc.). Also the exhibition was really crowded, so it was very difficult for me to try to read the old written texts.

津田越前守助広 - Tsuda Echizen no Kami Sukehiro , 延宝三年八月日 - Enpō sannen hachi gatsu hi. See example here: http://www.tsuruginoya.com/mn1_3/f00197.html