Katsujinken

And boy is it back! Some really lovely blades for sale at the moment.

Mike Yamasaki can certainly help with a project like this.

Doing this a bit out of order as I have a few threads going, but wanted to drop into this thread and say hello.

I've been interested in Japanese culture, history, and martial arts for a long time, so my research into and appreciation for nihonto was a long time coming.

Recently I decided to go from NMB lurker to poster. On most evenings you can find me in the dojo studying Aikido or Battodo. I've traveled to Japan a couple of times and recently acquired my first nihonto.

I'm a big fan of NMB and will do my best to be a productive and constructive contributor.

Thanks!

Yes, I'm curious about how the iron from the meteorite was mixed with the tamahagane. There's obviously no way a meteorite provided enough iron for the entire blade given how much of the starting material is eliminated during forging, etc.

Who knows... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

From my last visit to the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi. I wish I had more detailed photographs, but thought this might be worth sharing. The board is rotating my photo of the description – sorry about that.

Not sure about Shinto, but certainly not gendai.

Gotcha. I'll get more photos (and hopefully some time in person with the blade) and will keep you posted. Thanks Joe!

It's gimei hizento, not Gendaito.

So you mean the signature is gimei, but the blade is shinto? Someone trying to pass this off as Tadayoshi school at the time or perhaps the mei was added later?

Actually, check out this gendaito: http://www.katana.giheiya.com/shouhin_list/japanese_sword/iaiyoushinken/01-1344.html

"Swordsmith Hizen no Kuni Yoshihiro 肥前國吉廣, real name Fukuda Yoshikazu was born in 1934 and learned under the famed swordsmith Miyairi Akihira who was an intangible national treasure and Mukansaka."

The style of the strokes are not all the same though, to be fair. Thoughts?

Well, given that the -ZEN kanji is improperly formed for a Hizento I would say gimei...

 

BaZZa.

Yes, I see that extra stroke in the top-middle of the character. So I guess the next step in any case is figure out how old the blade is, even if the mei is false. Haven't seen it in person yet, but will keep folks posted if this continues to be interesting.

Thanks Bazza.

I think NOT Hizento.

 

BaZZa.

I'm leaning that way too, but the Keio period Yoshihiro signed 肥前國義廣... so... gimei?

Here's a mumei blade that went Juyo to Niji Kunitoshi from Darcy's site: http://www.nihonto.ca/niji-kunitoshi-2/

There is however an example oshigata there with a verified signature for comparison. To my eye it looks quite different, but this board is filled with other more knowledgeable folks who may weigh in.

A friend bought a blade for not a whole lot of money at a charity auction a long time ago. It's either a big wakizashi or short katana – it is right on the edge.

Looking at the mei, I see Hizen no Kuni Yoshihiro. The signature is katana-mei.

But I'm a bit stumped, because the only Yoshihiro I can find that signs with five characters like this apparently uses a different character for the "yoshi" and is from the late 19th century right before Meiji.

I found a Hizen Yoshihiro that does use these same characters for Yoshihiro who worked in the early Edo period, but his signature is hizen kuni ju ise daijo fujiwara yoshihiro – not the simple five character signature you see here.

Which leads to me ask: might this signature be gimei?

Following up on this for all who may be interested (due to the database rollback).

Naoe Shizu Enbun goro

直江志津 延文比

磨り上げ 刃長二尺三寸四分余

Suriage Hacho-ni shaku san sun yon bu amari (2 shaku 3 sun 4 bu)

昭和癸亥年神無月

Showa mizunoto i kanatzuki (October 1983)

And of course this sayagaki is by Dr. Honma Junji (本間順治, 1904-1991), who used the gô Kunzan (薫山).

Received mine yesterday. Thanks for the heads up on this!

I received a nihonto just recently via FedEx. It was a domestic shipment though.

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster. Thanks for all you do here.

If anyone has the time and inclination, I would be grateful for a translation of this sayagaki by Honma sensei. I'm afraid all I am qualified to recognize is the blade itself – Naoe Shizu – and Honma sensei's signature. Any help with the meat in between would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,

M