Toryu2020

Bruce - They are in sequential order by date - they are all by the first generation Masahide - he did not however use them in strict sequential order, there were times where he was using the third stamp and then the first... -tom

You would have to ask - most likely credit card only - they do have English speaking staff but he may not be on duty everyday... -t

Kokuin number Five

Kokuin number Four

Kokuin number Three

Kokuin number Two

Kokuin number one

Wish I had stacks of Masahide blades to show you, however I am happy to send scans from my references... -t

Bruce - I'm not sure I can help - I always assumed your world of stamps was for Showato and did not include kokuin. If I am wrong about that I apologize. Masahide used at least five different stamps all with just the characters Ni-Ten and all looking very much alike... -t

Bruce - The kokuin is a combination of the characters Hi (nichi) and Ten (Ama) Masahiide is the first to use it - he had as many as five different stamps with the same kanji over the course of his career. There were three generations of Masahide and they all used the stamp to my knowledge. Later in his career he styled himself Amahide using various combinations of kanji. Amahide (Showa) was a student of a student of, so was in the Masahide line and therefore used this same stamp on his swords. The particular form of Masa seen in your example is a short-hand version of the Sei (Sho) kanji... -t

George - Remember they don't put gimei on poor swords generally and it you want to gussy up a mumei blade it makes sense (cents) to put a Bizen name on a Bizen sword - stick with the workmanship as has been said ignore this signature... -t

Meirin Sangyo - One of the oldest suppliers of budogu in Japan - very reputable - very reasonable prices especially in their "reasonable Price" section as you might imagine. Tomano Sensei is head of the local (Osaka) branch of the NTHK... -t

Sorry - had to wait to get home and look at this on the tablet - I agree with Barry the tip is the most significant damage, that we can see. the question of restoration I think should go to a polisher - regardless of the validity of the mei - it would obviously be a labour of love since reshaping the kissaki would alter the original shape... -t

Please try - you never know what others might see...

Chris - Looks like Hizen (no) Kuni Yoshitsugu - cannot comment on the veracity of the mei. You want an opinion, my opinion is that many blades are worht restoration regardless of the signature - bad signatures can be removed. We really need to see more photos of the blade itself - especially close ups of the jigane just above the habaki and below the kissaki - from what little I can see I think it very much is worth restoration. -tom

Jim Kurrasch - grumpy as always...

The shape of the blade and the condition of the nakago suggest earlier manufacture - now was it made in the mid-1500s the time of Kanefusa? or was it made in the Edo period and then altered to appear older? To answer that you need hands on examination - me feeling is it is older and this is the one you should be considering to restore... -t

Thanks George

Yeah, I could not be more frustrated... -t

A message from the Nihon Token Hozon-kai To our members and loyal supporters – It is with deep regret that we announce the cancellation of the 2021 NTHK West Coast Shinsa. It makes me sick to my stomach to have to report this but while the shinsa team members are all vaccinated and ready to travel, the Japanese government has placed restrictions on their nationals abroad that represent a hardship for the team. We are making plans for a 2022 Shinsa and will share that with everyone once details are finalized. In the meantime if you have registered already, rest assured registration monies will be refunded in short order. -Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK *please note the San Francisco sword show will proceed as scheduled Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK https://nthkamerica.com

A message from the Nihon Token Hozon-kai To our members and loyal supporters – It is with deep regret that we announce the cancellation of the 2021 NTHK West Coast Shinsa. It makes me sick to my stomach to have to report this but while the shinsa team members are all vaccinated and ready to travel, the Japanese government has placed restrictions on their nationals abroad that represent a hardship for the team. We are making plans for a 2022 Shinsa and will share that with everyone once details are finalized. In the meantime if you have registered already, rest assured registration monies will be refunded in short order. -Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK *please note the San Francisco sword show will proceed as scheduled Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK https://nthkamerica.com

A message from the Nihon Token Hozon-kai To our members and loyal supporters – It is with deep regret that we announce the cancellation of the 2021 NTHK West Coast Shinsa. It makes me sick to my stomach to have to report this but while the shinsa team members are all vaccinated and ready to travel, the Japanese government has placed restrictions on their nationals abroad that represent a hardship for the team. We are making plans for a 2022 Shinsa and will share that with everyone once details are finalized. In the meantime if you have registered already, rest assured registration monies will be refunded in short order. -Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK *please note the San Francisco sword show will proceed as scheduled Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK https://nthkamerica.com

George - you don't know how much we were looking forward to August but then this happened... A message from the Nihon Token Hozon-kai To our members and loyal supporters – It is with deep regret that we announce the cancellation of the 2021 NTHK West Coast Shinsa. It makes me sick to my stomach to have to report this but while the shinsa team members are all vaccinated and ready to travel, the Japanese government has placed restrictions on their nationals abroad that represent a hardship for the team. We are making plans for a 2022 Shinsa and will share that with everyone once details are finalized. In the meantime if you have registered already, rest assured registration monies will be refunded in short order. -Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK *please note the San Francisco sword show will proceed as scheduled Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK https://nthkamerica.com

A message from the Nihon Token Hozon-kai To our members and loyal supporters – It is with deep regret that we announce the cancellation of the 2021 NTHK West Coast Shinsa. It makes me sick to my stomach to have to report this but while the shinsa team members are all vaccinated and ready to travel, the Japanese government has placed restrictions on their nationals abroad that represent a hardship for the team. We are making plans for a 2022 Shinsa and will share that with everyone once details are finalized. In the meantime if you have registered already, rest assured registration monies will be refunded in short order. -Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK *please note the San Francisco sword show will proceed as scheduled Thomas C Helm Hyogi-in NTHK https://nthkamerica.com

Eve et al - Different Tom here - proper judgement of a blade needs to be done in hand - that being said there are lots of folks that will try to tell you what you have from photographs - it really is an exercise in futility - but there are some things that can be said with certainty based on your photos. So here I go out on the limb. Based on what we can see - and I preface all of these comments with this - your first blade is signed Nobukuni but it is badly executed most likely a later addition most likely gimei - the shape and finish of the nakago are wrong for the smith and his time period - what we see of hamon and hada are not good - if it has hamon it looks to be saiha to my eye - combined with the deep curve you may be looking at a re-tempered blade. The next blade 2380 is signed Rai Kunihisa - the signature is badly cut, is in the wrong spot on the tang and is no match for this smith - the shape and finish of the tang are wrong - I would say the shape also suggests later manufacture - the hamon we can see looks like it was enhanced by some kind of acid application and I suspect is not a good match for Rai work. 2381 holds the most hope - the saya says Kanefusa but it is of course osuriage mumei - to my knowledge in its pristine shape this would have been an exceptionally long blade for this smith given his timeframe - the hada and hamon suggest that this blade can be polished and may make a fine restoration - barring any flaws we cannot see in the photos at hand - the hamon that we can see does not have the signature look of Kanefusa work but if this were an early work the trademark pattern may not have taken hold yet and this could be a piece inspired by earlier artists in his lineage. Whats curious is that they have all found their way into shirasaya but are in the worst possible state of preservation - they look more like they were sitting out in the sun, dirt and the dust rather than being stored away after a proper polish - would be interested to learn how they came to be this way. What you have is not garbage but not treasure either - if there is hope for these they need to be under the nose of someone with the knowledge to see what they were and what they can become... my humble opinion only, -t