Ray Singer

I will dig through my backups Stephen. Unfortunately it looks like this one did not have the photos automatically archived online. If I can locate some images on disk I will definitely send them your way... http://web.archive.org/web/20101230064231/http://www.swordsofjapan.com/Yoshimune.htm Take care, Ray

Since my last posting I have added a number of new items to my site. Please see below for a listing of all swords currently for sale. http://swordsofjapan.com Bizen Osafune Norimitsu, dated Kansho 2 (1461) Sagami (no) Kami Kunitsuna katana Mino Kaneaki (gendaito) Kaneyasu (gendaito) Chikuzen Munehiro (gendaito) - 2 swords by this smith Hosokaya Masayoshi kodachi Mino Jumyo katana in koshirae (shinshinto) Chikuzen Moritsugu Norisada (gendaito) Sagami (no) kami Masatsune yari Sagami (no) Kami Yasuyuki katana Shitahara Yasushige wakizashi Shitahara Hiroshige naginata Shitahara Hiroshige wakizashi Hizen Masatsugu (gendaito) Any questions, please email raymondsinger@gmail.com Kind regards, Ray

Did anyone happen to see the second mumei Kiyomaro which was listed for sale last night and pulled shortly afterwards? http://www.aoijapan.com/wakizashi-mumei-den-kiyomaro Best, Ray

There were no bids at auction, so I assume someone made an offer after the auction closed. http://www.sword-auction.jp/en/content/as16327-%E5%A4%AA%E5%88%80%EF%BC%9A%E5%82%99%E5%89%8D%E5%9B%BD%E9%95%B7%E8%88%B9%E4%BD%8F%E4%BA%BA%E5%B7%A6%E9%A6%AC%E5%85%81%E7%9C%9F%E5%AE%88%E9%80%A0%E7%AC%AC23%E5%9B%9E%E7%89%B9%E5%88%A5%E9%87%8D%E8%A6%81%E5%88%80%E5%89%A3-katana-bizen-koku-osafune-junin-samamosuke-sanemori-zo Best regards, Ray

An interesting question and perhaps worth spinning off in its own discussion thread. The last sword I submitted passed in its first attempt. I did not knowingly pay a tip at that time and have never done so unless one was factored into the agent fees. Best regards, Ray

Considering two swords I own with such papers: 1). It was not long ago that Tokubetsu Kicho was still a valid prerequisite to submit for Juyo. In the case of an early Kamakura tachi I own with Tokubetsu Kicho to Ko-Aoe, it was submitted for Juyo and Tanobe-san gave a sayagaki at that time reaffirming the attribution. The sword did not pass Juyo in its first submission, so I still have the original papers. I cannot imagine destroying them as I feel they have both authority (issued from the Tokyo office at the time Dr Homma was there, who also helped arrange restoration by Fujishiro Matsuo) and sentimental value (having been issued to a close personal friend and decades long mentor). If I decide to resubmit for Juyo in the future, while I unfortunately would now be required to put it back through the process of Hozon > Tokubetsu Hozon, I would still keep the original kanteisho. 2). Another of my swords was previously owned by Masayuki "John" Yumoto. When I purchased it nearly 20 years ago it came with a Koshu Tokubetsu Kicho kanteisho that was issued to him. As a mumei Muromachi period sword it would make no sense to discard the original papers and invest in submitting again simply to receive Hozon. I feel fortunate that the sword has an established provenance to an individual who contributed so much to Japanese Sword collecting and scholarship in this country. I also personally agree with the attribution. With both of these swords I would hope that the next caretakers also have enough appreciation to retain the old kanteisho as part of the sword's history, regardless of what papers are considered the new standard at that time. Best regards, Ray

English language version. Add an '_E' to any listing URL. http://sanmei.com/contents/media/A69044_S1290_PUP_E.htm - Ray

http://nihontoclub.com/smiths/TER17 Best regards, Ray

Yasushige, a Yasukuni-to (sword made at Yasukuni shrine) and dated a lucky day in July, 1940. Attached is the write-up from Tom Kishida's book on Yasukuni-to. Best regards Ray

Interesting. Is that the only naginata-naoshi attributed to Masamune? I recall that there was a Norishige naginata-naoshi Ju-to offered by Seikeido a few years back, but I don't recall ever seeing an example placed with Masamune. Is the Akihiro which passed the former Juyo Bijitsuhin that was discussed here last year? Best, Ray

Does the blade have ubu-ba? - Ray

Scroll down to the section featuring Kani (no) tsume. https://markussesko.com/page/6/ There is an oshigata under:'3.2 Hataraki and conditions of the hamon' Best regards, Ray

I would guess from the nakago jiri that there was a threaded extension to fit into some type of military koshirae. Best regards Ray

Agree with Grey on this. Sadamune is a frequently seen gimei. I recall two laying out in tables in Tampa this year. FWIW, the mei does not appear well signed to me. Best regards, Ray

The lost Juyo Bijitsuhin Soshu Akihiro (first in the published list of missing important Japanese Swords) was found in a pawn shop just a couple of years ago. An ubu signed Bitchu Aoe tanto sat on eBay for months and months at a low Buy It Now. I had arranged to meet the owner at the Tampa Show, but the tanto was sold to a dealer before I arrived and is now Juyo. A friend found another signed koto tanto on eBay which later went Juyo to a Yamato smith. Great swords are still out there and continue to emerge. Jim Kurrasch used to say that there is an unrecognized (potential) Juto sitting on the table at every show, waiting to be found if you know what to look for. I can think of a number of great swords which were bought of the floor at shows in just the last few years (Shodai Kanenaga, Mutsu (no) Kami Tadayoshi, Kenjo Kanenaga, Nidai Nobukuni, etc), all at relatively low prices by collectors who knew what to look for in terms of quality. - Ray

http://www.bugei.com/oshigata-kanenaga-700-prd1.htm Best regards, Ray

Minamoto Nobukuni Heishiro Yoshimasa. Best regards, Ray

Will be withdrawn at the end of this week. Anyone interested, please email raymondsinger@gmail.com. Best regards, Ray

Forgive the crude markup done on my phone.

The short middle stroke does appear to be there, angled slightly downwards to the left. The top of the right stroke is lost or obscured due to corrosion. There appear to be two horizontal strokes in the left radical, which is specific to TOSHI. MURA has only one horizontal stroke in the left radical (middle stroke is present, top stroke absent compared with TOSHI). The location of corrosion has made it less obvious overall where FUNE ends and the next kanji begins.

利 宗

I read as Toshimune. Best regards, Ray

There was a large, thin book published which I bought when Tanobe-sensei came to the 2003 Tampa Sword Show. I do not recall seeing an electronic copy, but a member here may have a copy of the spiral bound book for sale. Best regards, Ray

The kitae ware should be mostly or fully covered by the habaki. This may be the reason that the sword is its current length (if osuriage, the shortening may have been just enough to conceal the kizu). I would not consider this to be a fatal flaw. A friend owned an exceptionally nice Juyo Yamato blade with a very large and deep rust pit which was similarly positioned. There was also a great osuriage mumei wakizashi that passed at 77 points to Uda Kunifusa in Tampa, also having a large flaw concealed by the habaki. Best regards, Ray

One thing to keep in mind here is that the munemachi may sit higher or lower in the habaki depending on how the habaki is made. I have seen a few where the munemachi was quite low, which would create more distance between the mekugi-ana and the habaki. The mekugi-ana is still implausably high up the nakago though, as others have said. Best, Ray