Mark S.

Thanks for commenting. Would you have a pic of the mei for comparison?

Thank you Steve. Weird though, nagasa is definitely 30cm.

And better sayagaki pics. Sorry about the order of pics.

Here are a few more in better resolution I hope.

Hi All, so this is the second of two blades I just picked up. Will be bringing to the Chicago Show for ‘in-hand’ evaluation. This second blade I’m a bit nervous about, but took a chance on what I hope is an earlier Bishu Kiyomitsu tanto as opposed to a bundle blade. Mei: Bishu ju Osafune Kiyomitsu. No info on other side of nakago. I know this is a general tip off of a bundle blade except on some earlier Kiyomitsu. I’m hoping blade activity points to earlier. Nagasa: 30.3cm Nakago: 11.6cm Sori: 2mm (almost straight). Motohabe: 2.6cm Motokasane: 6mm Sakikasane: 4mm Weight: 235g Hamon is a fairly thin hoso-suguha. A lot of activity in Hada on rest of blade. Blade came in shirasaya with sayagaki. I could use help with the translation. I think it is more of an ‘inventory’ sayagaki vs an evaluation. Any advice is always appreciated. I may have downsized the photos a little too much. I can try again if it helps.

Hi all, Just picked up two new blades. I’ll be bringing them to the Chicago Show for some ‘in hand’ advice, but figured I would start here for fun. First blade is a wide thick heavy wakizashi with the following information: Mei: Omi no Kami Hojoji Tachibana Masahiro is how I translate it. From what I could find on line, the way a couple of the mei are cut, I believe the mei points to the first generation? Any Masahiro experts want to weigh in on how comfortable they are with this mei? Nothing on other side of nakago. Nagasa: 52.23cm Nakago: 15.1cm Sori: 1cm Motohaba: 3.2cm Motokasane: 7mm Sakihaba: 2.3cm Sakikasane: 5mm Kissaki: 3.7cm Yokote: 1.4cm Weight: 541g Hamon appears wide suguha on first appearance, but abundant ashi give the effect of gunome within the suguha. Attached are a few quick pictures in the sun. There may be some reflections of trees, etc on the blade, but polish is fair. Thanks for any advice or comments.

This.

Not positive if these pics accurately reference what is being discussed, but hope they help. Blade is still awaiting Shinsa, so no verified background info yet.

I think this is the main point. Send it to whomever… top of the line polisher in Japan or Sam the butcher… and spend $1 or a million $… it’s not going to matter. There won’t be enough left to worry about. So throw away the money, but please post pictures of a toothpick made up of core steel if even that is left. Rather than fight with someone who doesn’t want to hear the benefits of proper polishing on a blade that can’t be properly saved/polished by someone who couldn’t properly polish it anyway, let him spend money on grinders who work on blades that aren’t worth it. That way, hopefully, he won’t buy blades and ruin them that ARE worth it. Let’s face it, he is spending $$$ on a $1 blade that will end up being worth $0. It’s hard to convince someone otherwise. Looking forward to pictures.

When a respectful period of time has passed, and the family is ready, I wonder if permission could be requested to have his blog articles archived here at NMB somehow for future collectors? Not sure how, or in what format, but there is so much valuable information that should be saved. I also think it would be an appropriate way to honor and remember such a leader in the nihonto community.

So shocking and so sad. May his family and friends find Peace in the days ahead.

I wasn’t going to ask in the last post, but I will ask it here. Why the hurry? Why not take some time, study a bit more, and get more comfortable with your purchases? While I’m sure no one minds helping, you seem to be completely relying on the Board to help you make quick purchases. And it seems you are rushing into blades you are unsure of or don’t speak to you other than you just ‘want one’. There will always be blades for sale. Why not spend a little more time figuring out what you want and why? The only thing worse than buying a blade you aren’t sure about is buying one you completely regret buying.

I can’t tell you to cancel or not, nor do I want to get involved in a sale, especially if it involves someone here at the NMB. My only comment is to read a little on the subject and then decide for yourself. I added a couple links, but you can also search here at NMB for more reference material on papers.

To start, the most important thing is that you like the blade. My following comments are most certainly not a judgement of you, the blade, or what you like. Conventional wisdom is that green papers (kicho) are not considered to be valid judgment papers any longer. It doesn’t mean they are always wrong, they just can’t be relied upon to be right. You can find quite a bit of information on the NMB (and elsewhere) about this subject. For example: Green papers = no papers – The Cutting Edge Green Papers Pt. 2 – The Cutting Edge So, in my opinion, the first thing to do to ‘maximize’ this blade and to satisfy your ‘historical perspective’ need is to re-submit to Shinsa for new papers confirming what you have. Also, storage in shirasaya is the proper and best way to keep swords. This would be the case whether the sword originally came with koshirae or not. You would probably never recoup the money spent on a new made koshirae and even then, shirasaya is still the proper way to store.

Excellent information so far… thank you!

I got the feeling someone had a bad day, my innocent package made it worse somehow, and it was given a heel stomping! How do you deliver something (when that is your JOB) that looks like that with any source of pride? I think I just answered my own question.

I’ll apologize up front if asked or discussed before, but is there a thread or reference that discusses how the metal saya on gunto mounts were formed to match individual swords? Taking into account differences in length, sori (especially when older blades were pressed into service), wood inserts, etc, I’m just wondering if wooden blanks were made and the metal saya fitted around it? Interested in the process. This question popped into my head looking at the recent straight blade gunto and then thinking about the mass quantity and wide variety of metal saya needed that individually had to be ‘custom fit’, especially when it needed to be done quickly due to war-time expediency needs. And as Gunto are not my main area of study, I’m sorry if this is readily available info… I just don’t have much reference materials regarding Gunto. Thanks, Mark

So a little while ago, I purchased a tsuba from a member in Germany. Between DHL and USPS, it took a little over 3 weeks to get to Chicago. I post the following picture to just remind everyone… no matter how well you think you have packaged and protected items you are sending… ADD MORE PROTECTION! Thank goodness the person that sent me the tsuba added extra packing material and all was well. MODS: If this is in wrong section, please feel free to move.

THIS… training in a martial art (especially one with large sharp blades) without being under the watchful eye of a qualified and dedicated instructor can be dangerous… to you, those around you, and the blade. EDIT: I just found the other thread. My comments won’t help… it’s not what you want to hear. I’ll stop.

My initial reaction (and it is only an opinion, I have no references one way or the other to back it up), is that whether or not there were moral and/or superstitious beliefs, that there are always some motivated beyond morals and superstitions when profit is the end goal. There have always been battlefield profiteers, grave/tomb robbers, criminals, dirt-poor peasants trying to survive, etc that are willing to risk punishment and ‘eternal damnation’… whatever their motivations.

A huge sad blow to the Nihonto community. I still remember my first in-person Chicago Shinsa that I submitted a blade to. From a distance, I got to watch Miyano Sensei as he viewed item after item for a while. Even saw him handle my blade. My only thought was that I wished I could have sat behind him and just listened to (and understood) what he was discussing with the other Shinsa members. I could have done that for hours. He will be missed.

Now THAT would be information this group would find VERY interesting.

The hyōshigi is a simple Japanese musical instrument, consisting of two pieces of hardwood or bamboo often connected by a thin ornamental rope. The clappers are played together or on the floor to create a cracking sound. Sometimes they are struck slowly at first, then faster and faster. Also very prevalent in kabuki.

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it… I feel I barely know anything about blades but I am even more completely mystified by judgment of tsuba. I’ve bought a few that I like based on theme and my personal preference, but I wouldn’t know where to begin to start a ‘proper’ collection.

Good (well… bad) pictures and discussion of use/misuse of uchiko here: https://blog.yuhindo.com/uchiko-considered-harmful/