Ray Singer

Hi all, having difficulty with one character in the attached mei. Soshu Ju Nobu___ Saku. Any help is greatly appreciated. If anyone recognizes the kao on the sayagaki that would be wonderful too... Thanks, Ray

I just returned from setting up the nihon-to section of this exhibit. Here is a list of the swords which will be on display. Display unit 1. KOTO - Early Kamakura ubu signed Hoju tachi - NTHK Bitchu Ko-Aoe kodachi - Tokubetsu Hozon Display unit 2. KOTO - Kamakura Ko-Enju tachi - Juyo Token Koshirae for Enju Display unit 3. KOTO - Late Kamakura/Early Nambokucho Etchu Norishige daito - Juyo Token / Honami kinzoganmei Shizu Saburo Kaneuji daito - Juyo Token / Honami kinzoganmei Display unit 4. KOTO - Nambokucho Osafune Masamitsu naginatanaoshi - Juyo Token Nobukuni naginatanaoshi - Tokubetsu Hozon Sa Hiroyuki daito - Honami kinzoganmei Nakajima Rai daito - Juyo Token Display unit 5. SHINTO Musashi (no) Daijo Korekazu katana - Tokubetsu Hozon Omi (no) Daijo Tadahiro wakizashi (sandai dai-mei) - Tokubetsu Hozon Display unit 6. SHINSHINTO Suishinshi Masahide daito - NTHK Yushu Saku As Pete and Jon said there will also be a wonderful group of tosogu on display. I hope that everyone who is able to attend will enjoy the exhibition this summer... - Ray

Not wanting to hijack the thread, but interesting to see the Yoshindo sayagaki on that one. It is the fifth Shigetsugu I have seen with one of his sayagaki, three of which were done at previous Tampa shows. I assume this is due to both Kuniie and Shigetsugu having the same school lineage. - Ray

Looks like the kao of Hon'ami Koyu. - Ray

I'm in agreement with Chris, this resembles some shinsakuto I have seen. Especially similar to one Enomoto family piece I owned. The kitae also greatly resembles a tachi I had which later papered to Ikkansai Yoshihiro. - Ray

Remarkable price considering that you can a papered and polished Shibata Ka daito for not a great deal more. The example below a special order blade and of the five ka I have personally handled, has the best jigane. http://www.ricecracker.com/inventory/11 ... ta_ka.html - Ray

It was this sword below? Jim Kurrasch had the Akihiro listed #1 in his article on important missing Nihontô. Really tragic to the extreme that it was finally rediscovered after all this time had passed, only to end up in the hands of an amateur polisher. http://www.sydneytokenkai.com/new-page-26.htm - Ray

No problem at all, greatly appreciate everyone's assistance with this. Best regards, Ray

Outstanding, thanks Markus! Best regards, Ray

I believe that it a different sword, the Yososaemon Sukesada. This is the full writeup on the Korekazu. I would still love confirmation either way if someway can find this issue in their library. No.2 Kantei To: Katana Mei: Korekazu Length: 2 shaku, 1sun, 2bu Sori: slightly more than 6 bu Construction: Shinogi tsukuri with iorimune Jihada: strong ko-itame hada and masame hada, ji-nie, midare utsuri Ha: Choji midare mixed with ko-gunome, small togariba, scattered small midare. The upper part has a high yakiba, with ashi, yo, and is in nioi. The lower part has sunagashi. Boshi: yokote yakikomi (at the yokote, the yakiba is wide), straight, with komaru The most distinctive thing about this sword is the variation of the choji midare hamon and ji-utsuri. The sword has a deep sori, but is not koshisori because this is a different shape from Kamakura period tachi. The tight nioiguchi inside of the ha does not have much hataraki, and from these characteristics, one can judge this is a Shinto Bizen-den sword, especially likely to be from the Ishido school. By the Keicho period, the Bizen-den style was dying out, but the Ishido school revived it, and this school was active in Edo, Osaka, Kishu, Fukuoka, etc. This sword is an example of the Edo Ishido school, and is the shodai Musashi daijo Korekazu’s sword. The shodai Korekazu’s jihada is all masame and the hamon is choji midare. This is his original style, and is different from the traditional style. His saka-ashi are not seen often, but the yakiba is small or narrow, and around the monouchi area the yakiba becomes high or wide, another charactestic of Korekazu’s style. Most people voted for Korekazu, but because of the deep sori and partly because of the wide hamon, some people voted for the Fukuoka Ishido smiths Koretsugu, and Moritsugu. Both smiths are Korekazu’s students and made similar style swords, but their yakiba are bigger or wider, and in places over the sword, a high yakiba can go into the shinogi-ji, producing a contrast with the high and low yakiba. These smiths also produced a peculiar diamond shaped choji or gunome hamon in some places, and the boshi is always midare komi. A boshi which is straight with a round return or kaeri, or with a shallow notare is a characteristic of Edo Ishido. Another vote was for Edo Ishido’s Mitsuhira, but he never produced a jihada which was completely masame, and his yakiba have more variation in their width, also suggesting old style work. Also, this sword has a niji-mei and no Musashi-daijo title, and so the mei is different from his usual one. Thus, this is a very rare sword which he made before receiving his musashi daijo title.

Thanks Chris. I get 6 bu as converting to 1.81 cm. Unfortunately Token Bijutsu does not specify how much over 6 bu their Korekazu's sori measures, but it seems a close match...

Would anyone here happen to have the November 2008 issue of the Token Bijutsu? I was reading through the online archives and noticed that kantei sword #2 seems to match the nijimei Korekazu below. If any of you have the issue handy and can check the oshigata can you confirm if it is the same sword? Kind regards, Ray http://www.touken.or.jp/english/translation/619.htm http://www.aoijapan.com/katana-korekazu-musashi-daijo

Yes, the Masazane did not have a boshi. A fact that was not described in the auction listing. Col. Hartley loaned the Masazane for display at the 1999 Florida Token Kai 'Meibutsu Room', where it was my favorite sword in a line-up which included an Akihiro tanto and a wonderful Tokubetsu Juyo shizu tachi. Here is the write-up for the Masazane. Unfortunately the kasane is not specified, I remember it was an unusually thick and heathly sword but don't recall the specific dimensions there. - Ray

Thank you both, greatly appreciate the feedback on this piece. Best regards, Ray

Hi all, would someone be able to assist with the mei on the attached tsuba? Many thanks, Ray

A gassaku by Sadayoshi and Tatsuyoshi Http://www.aoijapan.com/katana-gassan-a ... ssaku-kore - Ray

Not a Tatsuyoshi, but thought I would mention that there is currently a sword for sale by his father Sadayoshi. http://tsuruginoya.com/mn1_3/a00286.html

Here is the Compton example. A sayagaki from Dr. Homma is mentioned, but no papers listed.

Thanks again John, I finally got home and had a chance to put in a bit of legwork on this. Found similar references in Fujishiro and Nagayama to his/their work work in hitatsura and following the Soshu-den. I would have to agree that the mei is not a favourable match to most examples in my library, however appears (to my eyes) a closer match to the Compton Kunishige yari (volume 2, item 241, c. Keicho). - Ray

Yes, so I've heard. It's all fun and games, until they start dating. Thanks everyone for the kind words, and pls don't forget to look over the Kunishige mei. I believe that this would be the yondai Kunishige, rated jo-saku, if the mei is good. Best, Ray

A papa to-be twice over. Nara Singer is due in July. Missed seeing everyone, will get back on the show schedule next year for certain.

Thank you both. I took a self-imposed, three year hiatus on all collecting, while we purchased our first house and after the birth of our daughter. She recently saw the pained expression while I was window shopping online and decided something had to be done. Yes, very lucky and appreciative

Hi all, recently my wife and best friend (also a collector) conspired to get me a wakizashi for my anniversary. Beautiful piece done in soshu-den. Slightly suriage, but the mei is intact. I would love the group's opinion on this mei. Bitchu (no) Kuni Azai ju ōtsuki Saburōbeijō Kunishige Saku Keichō San Nen hachi Gatsu (1599) Thank you, Ray

Hi Jamie, I would recommend the following book which includes a chapter dedicated to his son Enju Nobutsugu and contains remembrances of Moriyoshi. Moriyoshi was among the better smiths who were pursuing Kiyomaro and I have always found his work to be consistently excellent. Like Chris and Ted, I think this sword is very well priced for his work. I primarily collect koto, but if I owned just one shinsakuto it would be a Moriyoshi. http://www.amazon.com/New-Generation-Ja ... wordsmiths - Ray

Thank you Kunitaro-san, I greatly appreciate your following up with Tanobe-san on my sword. This is the first I have heard this regarding the Ko-Bizen group being an inspiration for Norishige and Masamune. It is wonderful to have this insight from him. Most often I have heard that they were pursuing a revival of Ko-Hoki. I can see similarities in the hamon of this sword and a Ko-Aoe I own (which itself resembles Ko-Bizen) so I can understand what Tanobe-san is expressing with this comment. Best regards, Ray