waljamada

Tom and Brian, I lord and love over three pups and a cat. We got Kiki (the smallest and my golden child but I don't let the others know), Lela and Luna. Then there is Forrest Boots. All the dogs are chihuahua mixes, a chorkie, a chipin and a pomchi. I found Forrest Boots as a kitten in the forest behind my house and he has the Hemingway paws and maybe some maine coon from a generation or so back.

Jon, thank you and the dog thrives! Also forgot to upload the gunto shot pre-polish. Here's that photo.

Additional photo dump.

Greetings all, I purchased my first Tokubetsu Hozon Katana signed Bitchu no Kuni Matsuyama ju Akamatsu Kotobuki Minamoto Ujisada Saku Bunkyo 4 Gatsu Hi (1864 February) I must say after spending some time with it, I now have a real life reference for what a Tokubetsu Hozon blade can be/is and this is an absolutely beautiful blade. I get it now....It is in shirasaya with silver cat scratch/rain habaki and was sent to Japan to be polished/shinsa by the previous owner during which it obtained Tokubetsu Hozon. The seller originally found the blade in gunto mounts which when sent to Japan for polish were not returned sadly. I also attached a photo of the blade as it was originally in its gunto mounts before polish. Sadly, I know almost nothing of the smith and the owner didn't have much info on him specifically. He gracefully did share all he knew and his own tale with the blade which was much appreciated. I want to keep even the modern histories alive with a blade whenever I can. Any additional assistance in learning about the smith is greatly appreciated! https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/UJI138 Either way gentleman, for your amusement and thoughts I present my first tokubetsu hozon katana! Also a quick little shakey because it's hard video of the blade:

First off gentleman thank you for your help identifying the maker! Great to have his identity confirmed, again thank you SteveM and Kyushu. I'll try and find other works by him if possible just to see what he was up to. Valric, yeah during the mid 1800's Mercedes had a go at the luxury Carshirae market =|;^) Alex, yeah the blade Im hoping it will fit has a tsuba that would clash with the more modern sleek design of that koshirae. Already started looking up copper tsubas. Thanks Brian.

Good buy, interesting little bohi, good enough condition to appreciate. Does look muromachi. Interesting that the tsuba was black and the raising looks colored if that's not just aged grime. If I had seen that it's one I would have taken a stab at.

My first foray into a lone koshirae and fittings and went out on a limb purchasing a Wakizashi koshirae (no tsuba and some missing inlays) because honestly I like the look of it and do have a blade that would be a great upgrade for it if all the stars align to have it fit. A Google search didn't provide anything on Matsuyama Junin TOSHINOBU whom signed the koshirae. I also ended up getting a Kozuka lot (one will just be a shelf or inside drawer decoration) to work towards completing some Koshirae I already have I would classify these as "beginner" pieces, and you get what you pay for, but thought I'd share a humble little haul and of course always open to hear thoughts/feedback and if anyone knows the koshirae artist that would be amazing. *the photos got uploaded in a weird order but koshirae description is in between kozuka images.

This is one of my problems....I collect a lot of things. Original comic book art (https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=200036), old paperback book original art, Mark Twain 1st editions (I don't go for pure 1st printings as they get too pricey and they are the same books...just not the first off the press), bronze statues, antique political cartoon art, antique lithographs, other random 1st editions of books I enjoy, Uncle Sam art, Lady Justice art, Mark Twain/Lincoln busts and any bust by Robert Berks, certain graphic novels, Weird one but statues or medical models involving hands or eyes, scrimshaw but I've only come across one piece I felt was actual art rather than touristy, some folk art, antiques regarding John Law the Scottish financiers and gambler from the late 1700s, don't know why but Napolean III coins and really old theater tokens, Don Quixote statues and books, used to collect and still have lots of old video games but those got expensive so I moved on at least 12 years ago....there's more and I might start collecting something new tomorrow for all I know.

Still have my first mumei kanbun shinto 27.5" nagasa in early type 98 higher end gunto fittings with rust damage on the top 3" of the blade. Has a name carved onto the tsuba. I will always love her. Its got an amazing blue hue to it's metal and carries its flaws decently well. But that's me looking at it with a "parents" eye. I will keep it as long as I collect nihonto. Got to the point now where, kind of like Gakusee, I will probably make a rule to sell one if I buy one. Will make for some tough choices down the line.

Found a NMB forum on the blade so this can be deleted. Sorry mods. Appears an authentic blade and it was fun reading about the smith and the other last yasukuni shrine smiths.

Aoijapan's Masuda Yasuaki blade

Gendai blades are an area I have spent the least amount of time on. I did see one that I found interesting and wondering on opinions. Masuda Yasuaki forged blades in the ww2 era and after the war did not return to making swords I believe until the 1970s. He was a Yasukuni shrine Smith and I read somewhere there are not that many examples of his work especially at the shrine. This blade has no papers or any documentation with it so can only go off photos. I attached photos and wondering what people's thoughts are on this smith and if this appears a genuine work by him? I also attached one photo with another mei from an aoijapan blade sold by him for comparison.

Here are some screenshots I had kept.

Well...this I would like to see. Feel free to post pics here or DM me. Just googled Ujiyoshi and will read up on him.

Received the statue and I do believe it to be bronze, but you can tell the casting wasn't done to an extreme quality. Did not find a signature so my opinion now is it may be from the 50s/60s...could be Meiji but seems newer than that to me. The detail is good but you can see evidence of its casting (missing a few finishing touches of high quality pieces) and some areas where it seems like it was done after the mold was older and a bit worn down. Still for $250 bucks (not a steal but didn't get burned either), bronze and 17" tall I'm happy with it.

Here is the sword its to. The "authentication paper" attributes it to Kaneyoshi Mino Muroumachi era. That's all I know. I'm tempted by it bwcause it's katana length (25" nagasa) and mostly because I have two wakizashi with the same bohi design and same-ish time frames...so I can put together a poor man's daisho. Price is about $2.5k. Any opinions? We'll pretend the 銃砲刀剣研究会 (Jūhō Tōken Kenkyūkai) Guns and Swords Research Association (thanks Steve M) "authentication" paper doesn't exist in the deal.

Steve, When I Google both the romanji and kanji of the group's name I don't really see any references or direct website. Is this kind of an island group of dealers and aficionados? Know of any credence is given to the groups papers? If not thank you for identifying the group. Makes me curious actually about the politics and factions of these types of groups. The drama of it if you will.

Could someone help me identify these papers? Is this an independent shinsa paper? From an organization? Just an older design? I don't recognize it's format/style from my small circle of known authentication papers.

Geraint, Thank you for your response. I've once before seen what I thought to be a crack/hagire that runs parallel (can hagire run parallel or are they only perpendicular?) to the boshi in a blade. I see what looks like the same issue in this sword and I'm still not sure in either case if it would be a "crack", scratch or simply clean hairline opening. This blade happens to have the line on the boshi and a correlating mark on the other side in the same spot. Could just be coincidence, could be two separate mostly cosmetic issues, artifacts from photography etc...not familiar enough yet with flaws and their many iterations.

Thank you so much Steve! I really appreciate your assistance to myself and others! While looking at the pictures closer, does this appear to be hagire to anyone else?

Hoping to understand what this is/says on an edo period blade and also the mei translation. Thank you for any answers in advance, it is much appreciated. Edited to add this pic of the kanji. Saw it after I posted but underneath the photo it did say this is a torso cutting test inscription. Is that accurate?

Started going through my sword photos and screenshots folder. Here's some more "odd in a good way" examples. *Both the o-kissaki and nagamaki naoshi katana had this naginata style bohi. Not sure of the correct term for it. (The naginata-hi, thanks Francois!)

John, The classic faux attribution into fawning sale pitch. Yeah, I would agree, they rolled with the laquer bohi and religious symbol on tsuba. The concept and existence of religious swords or swords decorated with purpose are definitely "odd in a good way" so if anyone has one for sale.... This reminded me of this other example of "odd in a good way" wakizashi I saw sell like 6 month back. I just found I took screenshot of it and it's one that I think back to sometimes as a missed opportunity. Some may find it gaudy....

Piers, that blade was a mumei and not in the best of shape. Still a blade with some character but doesn't seem any kind of specific high quality note. It's mounts are also pretty basic. That blade ended up selling for $645 plus $100 shipping so $745ish. Here's the YouTube video of it and I'll post its description below if you're interested. The honoto or "votive" concept is pretty interesting to me and sounds like beyond some kind of clear documentation there would be no way to identify such a blade. Perhaps blade decoration could signal such a blade?

Saw this one with the term votive sword as one used by a shrine for religious purposes. No idea if that's accurate for this sword but a votive sword is an example of "odd in a good way". Any votive blades for sale out there? Adam