Curran

Better attempt at Hikozo. The seppa dai is closer, but the feeling is otherwise off. Geometry is a bit out of whack. There was a papered den Hikozo up recently. Hikozo liked to experiment, especially with silver on his kinko works. It was one of the ugliest 'failed experiment' ones I had seen, -complete with some forging issues- and it was interesting because it went for a relatively cheap price. Genuine, but it defined the lowest end of what prices Hikozo gets. I'd say there is a $40,000 range from his Juyo to his barely papered examples. -Respect to Hikozo for experimenting with various metals and mixes like he did. A list member owns a suaka+silver Hikozo that was clearly an experiment and has a lot of tea house aesthetic appeal. I like it very much. The Hikozo with silver experimentation are often the most interesting, won't make Juyo, and therefore affordable.

I know. I have the Baur Collection book. If you are going to own a Nobuiye, that is one to own.

Indeed, Bravo. I'd pay a lot for that first Nobuiye of skulls.

Correct. Fairly classical later one. I'd go with the bronze one. I confess I am surprised it is going for $100. Usually they grab a small multiple of that.

I strongly doubt that. --Half a lifetime ago... maybe. But that was a long time ago. When it comes to these NMB kantei: Mauro often posts exactly what I am thinking. I've gotten in the habit of seeing if he has already answered it before I do.

Well, Italian isn't my mother-tongue, but I would reply, "cio non e' che cosa vouleva dire..." I learned by ear, and it has been a long time. Probably I butchered the conditional conjugation of the verb. Still, when I think on it- it is true that other organizations might go with some slightly different calls. The team members shift, and it is hard to know what the two sides of the NTHK might say these days. I do think Mauro is correct in his statistical approach to this. His records of NBTHK attributions are a great database I wish I had the time and brains to build myself.

I second Mauro's opinion that it would get Kyo-kanagushi from an organization like the NBTHK.

At least as early as Goto Yujo, considered the founder of the Goto school. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goto_Yujo Probably earlier, but I don't know how much earlier.

@AlphaRaider yall back at you, from Atlanta. Your images are quite good, and the initial impression is of a Koto blade probably from one of the Bizen schools. Given that we are dealing with 800-900 years of works, the checklist of things to review can be quite long. Example: Things like the kissaki (angular area at the tip of the blade) can reveal a fair amount from very little data, and rule for/against certain schools. Just be patient and post photos. There is also a shinsa (knowledgeable panel of Japanese coming over for an evaluation process) in Chicago soon. My focus is far more on fittings, but it does look like you probably got yourself a very nice blade in trade.

Aizu Shoami

Umetada Myoju tsuba. 1.68 M yen An artist of significant skill, but also great cultural relevance and influence. To put it one way, he was a great experimenter with artwork at a pivotal time in Japanese history. Given that this one is only TH and 1.68M, imagine what price his many Juyo tsuba fetch. I wouldn't call this one a masterpiece, but that authentic signature is worth a large amount. Tea aesthetic, but not my cup of tea. It seems relative to this thread. If unsigned and mistaken for a ko-kinko, it would fetch significantly less.

Some nice comments so far. A recent example: https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m1080865027 Very important name and signature. The aesthetics of this particular tsuba don't do much for me, though some of his other works do. That signature is a big part of the context of the value.

About 48 hours ago, I was just cleaning a counter and thought of Keith. He, Ted Tenold, and I just talking at great length at the Tampa Show that one year. I never again got to talk with him like that, and he passed right before everything went to hell in 2020. It does me some good to know others remember him three years later. I wish the best for his family.

Very happy with the two I wanted. I had a hard time not picking up that Akasaka too.

Yes. And not all works by a smith are created equal. Some of the most valuable shodai Shimizu (Jingo line) clock in above $100,000 - yet most of his non Juyo are in the $15`,000 or less category. The supply of these > $100,000 tsuba tends to be so limited that they almost always change hands privately. I never liked the idea that you needed connections and introductions to get access to such things, but that is how it works. Supply of Juyo level fittings is so much lower than Juyo level swords.

These are the two that I keep. -Old photo.

The one on Yahoo!Japan is not a Hikozo. Seppa dai is wrong. I didn't check the mimi, but it looks wrong too. The Den Hikozo is more interesting. I understand the reason for 'Den' on it. I like it, but don't love it. I won't be bidding.

Yes. There are many higher priced tsuba. Some get into the 6 figures rather easy.

Once upon a time I asked the National Gardening Association https://garden.org/ threads for help identifying the plant and flowers on a shodai Shimizu (Jingo). The wealth of information and response I got back is the only thing that has ever rivaled -possibly exceeded- NMB for depth of knowledge. Even as a former biologist, I was humbled with the response from the NGA crowd. It has been a while since I have logged on there, but you may get some surprising traction if you can take the time to post there and wait a little bit.

Here I was expecting a WWII pistol. That caught me a little off guard. @Bugyotsuji thanks for response. I didn't know the Japanese name for these. In one of the more recent Zatoichi films, one of the characters uses one of these pill-locks to discretely dispatch one or two other characters.

Still my favorite thread.

Many of these have museum numbers inside them and seem to have been fairly well preserved for a long time. I picked up 2 in my primary interest areas of Higo and Owari. I've got to stop there, but I keep waiting for someone to pick off JJ0002 = 4th or 5th gen Akasaka of good thickness and condition JJ0009 = usual and exceptional mokume gane signed Bushu Akasaka JJ0010 = Akasaka or Owari, great condition That is my honest personal opinion. The temptation is fairly strong, and I am glad someone picked off one of the other ones I was eyeing.

The living breathing database.

That is the one I was thinking about. I remember reading the UK Club notes and finding it an extremely interesting writeup. Also, the Han Bin Song collection was an interesting one. I did not remember that the one owned by Mr. Sinclair was by Ikkansai Shigetsugu. That makes me more eager to see it again, so I think I have to go digging through my older files.

This is what I was thinking before: https://eirakudo.shop/tosogu/menuki/detail/363556 Called "Shihode", which is described in one of my Goto books as a form of horse harness