sabiji

Both time and money can be wasted without any problems. It's always a question of point of view.

If you start to view your collection as an investment, this will inevitably lead to disappointment.

Beautiful blade! For me, Taima is the most beautiful representative of the Yamato-Den. Also note the typical Taima hada in the boshi!

Hello Minh, I think your urge to explore is very good. However, it's always better to research first and then buy. Unfortunately, the reverse is most common. Well, you seem to be a young beginner, and then you really want to own something, even if you get advice to the contrary. But I can completely understand you. A homework assignment for you now could be to find out about the history and stylistic working methods of the various Nobukuni branches. What are the special characteristics of the (legendary) first two generations (there is still a lot of controversy and mystery here)? What are the special features of the Oei-Nobukuni? When did a change of style to Bizen-Den begin? When did Nobukuni swordsmiths move to Kyushu, especially to Buzen and Chikuzen, and why? Did this have an impact on the way they worked, and if so, what was it? Are there any differences between Buzen and Chikuzen? What possible connections and interactions are there with the immediate neighbors in Bungo-Takada? When and why did the Buzen Nobukuni disband? Did the remaining representatives possibly move to Chikuzen or Bungo? Why did the Chikuzen Nobukuni survive until the end of the Edo period? Isn't that a project? Look at so many Nobukuni blades of various branches with your own eyes. Collect information, photos, Oshigata, and learn to draw Oshigata yourself. And in 2, 3 or even 10 years, you may be able to provide us with valuable information. You will help others here who are not familiar with the Buzen-Nobukuni to see unknown schools in a different light. That's how it works, and no other way, if you take a serious look at the subject. Let's go!

No, I'm not surprised. Have a look at Tsuruta-San, there are some Ko-Mihara, Ko-Uda, Enju, even Kyo-Mono with TH, which reach up to just under 1.5 million yen, all of which have their irregularities, faults and shortcomings. Sometimes he has blades from this environment and price segment that show a really good and even jihada and also the Nioiguchi is right from front to back and promises good quality. Unfortunately, others also seem to have a good eye. In any case, such blades are sold quite quickly.

Let's not kid ourselves: would a healthy blade with intact hada, with this length, from this time, from this school, cost the price quoted here at a Japanese dealer? It would realistically start at least three times the price. It is an old, worn and tired warrior that may have had a quite decent basic quality in its younger years.

Looks like a very old, but also very worn blade. I hope the spots on one side of the monouchi are not umgane, but just loose welds. It's really hard to see.

Honestly - and I'm sure I'm not making any friends - but I can count the really good Sue Bizen works I've seen in recent years on one hand. I know that Sukesada & Co can do it and then I think, holy sh..., what a great blade! But most of what you find, including the linked swords, are (in my eyes) weapons, nothing more. Robust swords with a sharp edge, conceptless hada with rough weld seams and conceptless hamon, a hardening that often looks rather uncontrolled. One should not try to see anything artistic in this. Of course you can find something like this interesting and collect it, that is completely legitimate. And if dealers are asking such prices, then there seems to be a corresponding clientele.

We've been through this before: even if there is some machiokuri, the Nakago is still ubu!

Okay, and since in the "Suriage definition" the tapering and the material thickness of the Nagako are adjusted by grinding - even if the Mei and the original Yasurime are retained at least partially on one side, it explains the Kanji 磨 for me.

My mistake! There is nothing in the text about changing the tip. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that some material is missing from the Kissaki. Under the “ubu” it is noted that the (nakago) tip has been cut off and is kurijiri. So ubu and suriage? It will be a point that I will make a note of and ask about in Japan in the fall.

...and where did I translate something wrong?

Nathaniel, in the Juyo Nado Zufu, ultimately only the Oshigata and the Setsumei are depicted, i.e. what you (or Tsuruta-San) are depicting here. And in the Setsumei it says Naginata, and the Mei has been cut off in the date. Of course, the setsumei also states that the saki has been cut. Perhaps Jaques has another Zufu...

Yes, the Kissaki has been reshaped! You can actually see that the mune slopes down towards the Ha. It also says in the origami that the moto saki has been “cut”.

iiiiiiidesuneeee!

Oh God Thomas, what have you done? Now I have to buy an extra suitcase! Many thanks for the tip! The offers on their homepage look very promising!

Brian, in 2019 I picked up my daughter in Tokyo after she had spent a year mainly in Kyushu. Although our hotel was in Jinbocho, the few days were so full of appointments that I actually only made it to Isseido once - just before closing time. I was in Japan with my wife in 2022. In order not to burden her with too much “sword stuff”, I was only able to make two short visits to the NBTHK Museum and the National Museum. In the latter I was only in the Honkan, while in the Heiseikan (I think it was in the Heiseikan) the anniversary exhibition of the National Treasure Blades was on display. And I walked past it because my wife wanted to go somewhere else. (I only noticed it when I was back from Japan...) This year I'm traveling alone, so the focus is only on my hobby! And if I turn every single bookshop upside down this time...

Thank you very much! I remember the “Book Cafe Work”. Then I will definitely find the small bookshop mentioned.

I wanted to ask if anyone has experience in which antiquarian bookshops in Jinbocho you can find sword literature? I was last there in 2019, and can only remember Isseido, which had a larger art book section, but I had to stop due to time constraints.

I am extremely inexperienced, especially when it comes to Koshirae, but very curious. I also suspect that Tsuruta-San meant Higo style rather than Tensho style. On the other hand, Tensho and Higo-Koshirae are quite related in terms of evolution. The mount has some features that are more common in early koshirae - which doesn't automatically make it an early koshirae. The koiguchi is somewhat raised, and I also think that the kurigate is positioned quite close to the koiguchi. However, the tsuka has only a minimal hourglass shape and the fuchi is wide and has no tapering at all. This makes the saya-koiguchi-tsuba-fuchi transition look rather incongruous. Something is not right. At least as far as I can tell from the photos. And the high price is more likely to relate to the blade. Osumi jo Masahiro is a well-known Horikawa swordsmith.

Please excuse me, my English is miserable. It is generally assumed that Kinju was active in the Nanbokucho period. The most important argument is 1. the sugata of the works attributed to him, and 2. the typical Soshu style mix of that period. In my opinion, there are no existing dated works (except your dagger), at least not among the registered juyo. All dates are from oshigata of blades that either no longer exist or whose whereabouts are unknown. These dates cover the period between 1346 and 1369. The life dates from the Koto Meizukushi Taizen place Kinju much earlier and do not match the dates documented in Oshigata at all. However, there is a record of the Sanami school from 1450 (Seki Kaji no Koto) which states that the (legendary) Motoshige came to Mino in 1319/20. This dating is plausible insofar as Kaneuji also moved to Fuwa/Mino for the first time at this time, close to the Mino kokubunji there. This is exactly the time when the migration of Yamato swordsmiths began. At that time it was still in anticipation of the impending conflict between Go Daigo and his supporters (Mino -> Toki clan) and the Hojo regents and their vassals. Kaneuji, for example, changed the kanji Kane in his name after moving to Mino. Why wouldn't Motoshige have done the same and changed his name to Kaneshige? It is perfectly normal for swordsmiths to change their names at certain stages of their lives. But the Motoshige = Kinju (Shodai) variant is just my theory. There is no evidence for it.

If it were all that simple... I was lucky enough to acquire a Kaneyuki (Ko-Wakizashi) from a German member of the NBTHK-EB, who is also represented here in the forum. Kaneyuki is often traded as the son or younger brother of Kinju. Both blades, that of Kaneyuki and that of my Kinju, are noticeably different in character. Kaneyuki's hada is also very dense, but it shows considerably more nagare and is more hadatatsu - just as you would imagine a good portion of soshu to be. My Kinju's hataraki are finer and more subtle, while Kaneyuki's are more obvious and clear. There are also stylistic differences within the blades attributed to Kinju. The Fine Hada of Dmitry's Kinju is very similar to my Kinju. Other works, also frequently found in Tanto, show a pronounced Itame-Nagare. 1. one must not forget one thing: among the juyo there are only 5 or 6 signed works by Kinju. One is a tachi, the rest are tanto or ko-waki. As far as I know, there are no signed works by Kaneyuki. The majority are pure attributions to the best of our knowledge and belief with the current status. 2 In the Nanbokucho, an incredible number of swordsmiths immigrated to the provinces of Kaga, Etchu, Echizen and Mino. The majority were swordsmiths of the Yamato tradition, but also the successors of the Rai school and so on. Then there was the influence of Soshu-Den, which was spread throughout Japan by the so-called Masamune students. So it was also a very diverse, experimental time! It is therefore very difficult to say that certain schools or swordsmiths had just one style. Shizu blades differ, Norishige blades differ, Tametsugu blades differ, etc...

Here is a picture of the Hada of a Kinju judged O-Suriage Waki. From today's perspective, Kinju is considered the founder of the Mino-Seki tradition. But first and foremost he came from the Yamato-Senjuin tradition. Early Mino should therefore first be viewed from the Yamato tradition, in which Soshu characteristics were more or less strongly and experimentally interwoven. The question of various generations of Kinju is a separate field of research and would lead too far here. Personally, I subscribe to the idea that the original legendary seki founder Motoshige and Shodai Kinju are one and the same person, and that the nidai was essentially created in the middle Nanbokucho.

If you are in Tokyo ‘at the end of the month’, I would recommend the antique market in Kawagoe, which always takes place on the 28th of the month. I've already been to a few flea markets in Kyoto, Tokyo and the surrounding area, but I've never discovered any really nice tsuba (at least for my taste). Once there were really better pieces to be found at a dealer, but I could have bought them in Ginza for the prices they were asking. And that's how I've done it so far, by buying from the well-known dealers in their shops. You have the advantage of being able to compare favourites directly, and you usually get a discount if you pay cash.

I think this was originally a little over 2 shaku long. The sword is somewhat machiokuri, so the nakago was also shorter, and it will have been a classic katate uchigatana.