Lewis B

This is not a tanto I'm planning to purchase. It was offered to me for 800,000 yen but I had my doubts from the getgo regarding the style and application. As you remarked John, the style is quite atypical. Of particular concern is the bottom kanji with the right curve element being made of two individual gold pieces. I would expect a single piece of gold with file marks. In my experience this is not a good sign. I initially saw the jiba and found it very fine and attractive with possibly influence of Norishige.

Signed early Koto swords are thin on the ground and often carry a very hefty price. Obviously if as a collector you're not fixated on Kamakura/Nanbo, which I am, then the options expand tremendously.

Agreed, but this shouldn't affect the desirability if its done well and there are no issues exposed, at least thats what I read and hear from Japanese collectors/dealers. It was likely done centuries ago.

Good eye. Lot to like there and if you can get it for around the starting bid you will be making an excellent 1st purchase, assuming it fits with your collecting aims. It has to speak to you and from what you say it appears to have made an impression. Positives. NBTHK TH, obviously very healthy, characteristic Nanbokucho era sugata, very little kitae ware and in what appears to be good polish. Cherry on the cake is the very low registration number and date of Feb 1951 which means this was once owned by a Daimyo family. I would recommend you see if Tsuruta san can ask Tanobe sensei write a sayagaki. They are well worth the stipend IMHO. Oli makes a good suggestion too, but Koto blades were thin on the ground in 2024.

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Synthetic stones are great for certain jobs early in the process, but I think it's generally accepted they don't perform as well as the natural stones at least for finishing in the final stages of the polish. Synthetics are better at abrading metal, but naturals produce a naturalistic finish, hence the use of fingerstones. (One might compare to digital vs analog Audiovisual technology. I've always found watching CRT images more pleasing than digital. Same for vinyl). One advantage of the natural sourced material is that the particles change form as they're being worked on the metal surface generating an increasingly finer polish. Synthetic particles stay uniform.

Does anyone recognise the Kinzogan Mei Kao and attribute it to a specific appraiser. The style seems quite unique. On the Omote side there is Uda Kunifusa Kinzogan mei

Coincidentally I was just looking at a tanto by his big brother Kunifusa. Their father was Uda Kunimitsu. Kunifusa was said to have been a student of Etchu Norishige, not sure if Kunimune studied with the Master. The jihada shows some similarities. Does this blade have papers?

I have a few high quality Jnat stones for polishing and sharpening kitchen knives. Before I graduated to Nihonto I collected mainly Japanese kitchen knives. Good quality stones are becoming increasingly difficult to find although if you know the right people the high quality ones, especially those used by the top togishi are still obtainable although the price can be into the 1000's of $. My top stones are from Nakayama, Shoubudani. Ohira and Okudo. The red dots is Renge and highly prized in a stone. And from each of those mines stones are extracted from multiple layers as they are sedimentary rocks. The tricky bit is getting clean stones that have a predictable grinding/polishing action as there are often 'toxic' lines caused by sand deposits extending through the rock that will mare and scratch the steel. And as they are sedimentary the polishing performance can change as the upper layers are removed. Here are a few of my stones. The righthand image is a Nakayama Tomae. The lines are not 'toxic' but all 4 illustrate the difficulty in extracting very clear stones from the different layers. I believe for final nihonto polishing the togishi uses Uchigumori and these are becoming harder to find in the size and quality demanded by the top polishers. The cost of these range from $500 -1K. For the top examples you can expect to pay $2-3K

Am I seeing some utsuri? Does the sword have a Bizen origin?

oops. You're right, my bad. Yes, I would like to see that one too. It should be a rule that anyone with a nice sword has to learn how to take nice pics

Mid-late Kamakura? I like the proportions and have a softspot for a well executed bo-hi.

Did you receive your Ichimonji? Would love to see some images of what I can imagine is a wonderful blade.

Go to the Post Office everyday? Thats my definition of masochism. Only a lost Masamune would make me do that.

Thats the spirit. Never say die. I assume you have seen this webpage. File a complaint, phone customer service, write to as many emails as you can find. Someone knows something. Its just a matter of shaking the tree. ...... https://aide.laposte...-or-file-a-complaint

Yes, sad fact of life and we can only protect ourselves the best we can. I don't think anyone on the NMB has indicated that they include an airtag in the box but its becoming more common in general when travelling with suitcases and for high value shipments as an extra layer of security. If you can trace the location you could get the authorities involved. Hopefully the tanto was fully insured. You should also be able to claim back the customs duty if the package is lost in transit. And you're right, the only obligation the carrier has is to the contracted person ie the sender in this case, unless you paid the carrier directly. Has the shipper in Japan opened up a claim? Some retailers allow you to pay with a credit card (most don't it seems) so that could be another avenue to pursue, if applicable. Was a signature required upon delivery? If yes and there is no signature then the finger has to point at a specific person in the French Postal Service. Good luck and I hope it eventually materializes.

Many advocate including an airtag in packages to assist with tracking. They aren't very expensive but could prove really good for pinpointing the movements of the box and the last person to have control.

Can't be too many 'Italian Togishi'. Could be Massimo Rossi. Might be worth reaching out and asking. He would surely remember the Kinzogan Mei if he did in fact polish the blade.

So sorry to hear this. Daimyo family history with early registration from 1951 too. Can we get a few more details like who the carrier was? I assume EMS. Were there any scans after it left Customs such as the local delivery office? It's situations like this that makes me think it's safer to ship papers separately. At least then you have some documentation in hand in case ownership has to be proved. Another suggestion is to pay the customs fees at the time of handover. For Fedex this can be paid in cash at the destination address or the local hub where a debit card is acceptable.

Would this be another example?

IMO it's where a habaki was once located prior to a previous suriage event.

Sam, thats probably where you're going wrong. A proper digital camera with full control of the exposure, aperture and speed, on a tripod, with appropriate lighting (depending what activity you want to highlight) and last but not least, a macro lens. Then you'll probably improve your stats.

It really helps to load large high rez images. I find Google Drive to be a decent hosting site. Or use what Brano uses ie Zonerama.com

Those koshirae are probably the most tasteful/classy pieces I've seen yet. I love the design on the saya's. Timeless. Yes, there are spectacular gold urushi koshirae but I personally find them gawdy and shouty.

Thats a nice set and the price is super fair given the quality of the koshirae and fittings. Although I'm not that keen on Satsuma blades. Price has been reduced so there may be some negotiation possible.