Sansei

Impressive.

Brian, you are getting at something important, I think. One of my gripes is the lowering of standards in education (testing and grading for example) that I believe promotes incompetence. Education has become too "touchy, feely" imo, where no student fails. On this forum, I appreciate it more when advice is given bluntly and honestly - then, one knows where improvement is needed. An honest "F" sends a clear message; whereas a phony "B" does not.

If this is a more recent sword, and you are saying that you can determine just from these photos whether or not this is a Chinese reproduction, then MY eyes and knowledge are no where near your level. :-)

It looked suspicious even before Mike gave his final verdict, as you say. Mike said reproductions like this came out of China 15 years ago. Not that I would buy one but I wonder if the newer ones are better quality; enough to fool at least a Nihonto neophyte like me.

Brian, are there any preferred payment methods - bank draft, paypal, zelle, ACH transfer?

Well, this gets us into the difference between Tachi and Katana. I did not know about this. Historically, when did the Katana become more popular? Or did it. The Tachi came first, right?

The first blade (by Kiyondo) is being restored with new wood saya and tsuka; no completion date yet. It will also be sent to shinsa when restored.

I would be interested in a floor stand katana holder.

This is an update of No.2 (Motooki) of the three katana discussed in this post. Robert Benson sent it to Shinsa for me, but with the Covid outbreak everything was delayed. Better late than never. Here is the result:

Yikes!

Agree about the professional polisher - but it should be a MASTER polisher imo. Robert Benson took on my project which is still on-going. He said that there looked like there was enough metal there to do the polishing job. But, I took it to him and he EXAMINED it - NOT through pictures.

Much as we may decry the results of war, innovation has always been a part of war: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasions_of_Japan

All, yes the NHK drama was quite good, I thought. My mom (93) and I watched it. Although the ending did not depict his seppuku. I guess that's due to the government ban on "militarism"? As you know, Mishima Yukio depicted this quite graphically in his novella - Patriotism.

The ban on knives and swords is likely the result of a rise in terrorist and other attacks in places like London. https://nypost.com/2018/07/19/knife-attacks-and-murders-spike-in-the-uk/

All, The Motooki katana (2nd of three) is on its way to NBTHK Shinsa. RayM

Brian, This would be an example of a fake sword, I take it? Saw it on Ebay for $25,000. Hamon is etched it appears... RayM

Here are a few more closeups. Unfortunately we don't get a lot of sunny days here during this time of year: -RayM

Yes, will do. I think it's a well made sword...heavy...

All, Sorry to disappoint . The Third of Three was a trophy won by my dad at a kendo tournament in Hawaii (late nineteen thirties). Might be some sort of mass produced sword? Hamon looks to perfectly symmetric but my knowledge is limited as you know: -RayM

The Third of Three: Not as interesting perhaps as the first and second. This was a trophy sword won in a kendo tournament circa 1938-1939? It has no writing on Nakago. Hamon seems rather too perfectly symmetric? Could it have been done in some sort of mass production shop? We plan to keep this one as well:

Yes, couldn't help it. My Bad . We have decided to sell this Minamoto.

Couldn't help it. My bad . Anyway, we have decided to sell this Minamoto.

StevenM, Thanks. I will pass this information on to my mom. RayM

All, Re the second katana: Up to this point I have assumed that the officer had been killed in battle by the Filipinos. However, the physical evidence on the katana itself may point to a different scenario. That is, at his request with his own katana, the Japanese officer may have been executed by the Filipino after capture and trial. If you are a bit squeamish DO NOT READ FURTHER. One could imagine a scene where the Japanese officer is kneeling, blind folded, head bent over. The Filipino is standing just behind and on the officer’s left side; the Filipino being right-handed. The katana is swung down and slicing right to left, top to bottom, through the neck muscles just above the heavy spinal bone and through….BANZAI. This would have been consistent with the desire for a ritual death; in keeping with the samurai tradition. Afterwards, the Filipino had no desire to keep the sword; which is why my dad was able to buy it…cheap. If you look at the photos below, the visible blemishes have symmetry and correspond basically to the outer width of my own neck (4.5 inches wide) which would make that officer just about my height and weight. The two symmetric blemishes are only on one side of the katana; the bottom side, if the sword was swung by a right-handed person. That being said, I am not a forensic expert and people can have their own theories. My dad never documented this katana and is no longer here to confirm or deny…. RayM

Hello, Please help with translation on this katana. Thank you. - RayM