Sunny

Please be careful buying from online forums. There have been a lot of fraudsters lately on SBG. I suggest that you ask for a creditable reference or buy from someone with history to their account. This message board is run pretty tight and most of the sword veterans are very friendly. Don't rush into it if you can. Happy hunting

Sent you a DM

Thanks for the additional info Mal

THIS ITEM IS NOW SOLD

SOLD for more info on these types of blades google Real-Life kantei-of swords , part 10: A real challenge : kantei Wakimono Swords BELOW is part of the continuation of that article on Koto pirate swords The Awa province on the island of Shikoku and particularly the Kaifu district is on the cross roads of several powerful Daimyos. To the south are Kyushu (Saikaido) Daimyo fiefdoms and to the north are the Honshu (Sanyodo) Daimyo fiefdoms. As Okada stated, the Lord of Kaifu needed a strong army to defend his territory and brought in sword expertise from the north and the south to develop what became known as the “Kaifu-To that were excellent in keenness and rich in individuality”. What this means for those of us studying Kaifu swords is that they possess a variety of styles and characteristics and in some cases could be considered experimental! Among the finer pieces it is not uncommon to see swords that look Yamato, others that could be mistaken for Soshu and some that could be considered Soden Bizen. As we enter into the Shinto era, many take on Sue-Bizen characteristics. In a NTHK REI Magazine article from 1992 it is mentioned that the smith Hikobei Sukesada migrated from Bizen to Awa and brought with him the Bizen tradition. We have also seen it stated several times that good Kaifu works can be mistaken for works by GO (Yoshihiro), or better Soshu works. This leads us to the question of why do we see so few Koto Kaifu swords? In reviewing the NBTHK Juyo results, we found only one Kaifu sword. This sword is signed Yasuyoshi and partially dated. A review of this sword will be done later in the article. An internet search (Japanese and English) found several Shinshinto and kata kiriba zukuri style Kaifu swords for sale or sold, but only a handful of Koto Kaifu for sale or sold. Signed Koto swords are even rarer. The oshigata books also have very few examples from this school. Why is this so? Obviously there were many swords produced to support the Kaifu army, where are they? We believe that many of the early Kaifu swords were mumei or had their signatures removed. Since Kaifu swords didn ́t possess a specific characteristic but borrowed from many traditions, it is likely that many are attributed to other schools or traditions. Perhaps, many had gimei signatures put on them for other traditions or schools as well?

agreed

Your thanks makes me very happy and welcome to share more. Thanks so much for your continued support Bruce. Your kind words are always appreciated.

Hello Thanks for your interest. This info below is what I have found on these types of blades. This blade is a great cutter and amazing for Tameshigiri. Neat fine detail silver crab and gold guild dew dotted plant leaf menuki I'm asking $1600 US shipped. if you are serious please DM your email for more pics. A small portion of the sale will be donated to the NMB MADE BY FAMOUS SMITH " UJIYOSHI " ( 氏吉 ) ??? BLADE STYLE : “片鎬造 KATUSHI NO KIDUKURI ( The has two different side one side is flat ) KOTO BLADE ??? Blade length :54 cm or 21 inches. Sori : 1.3cm 1/2 inches. Mekugi : 1 Width at the Hamachi : 3.3 cm or 1 7/8 inches. Kasane : 2.5 cm or 11/4 inches. Era : Early Edo to 17th century ??? Shape : KATUSHI NO KIDUKURI Kokan Nakayama in his book “The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords” describes wakimono swords (also called Majiwarimono ) as "swords made by schools that do not belong to the gokaden, as well other that mixed two or three gokaden". His book lists a large number of schools as wakimono, some of these schools more famous than others. Wakimono schools, such as Mihara, Enju, Uda and Fujishima are well known and appear in specialized publications that provide the reader the opportunity to learn about their smiths and the characteristics of their swords. However, others are rarely seen and may be underrated. In this article we will focus on one of the rarely seen and often maligned school from the province of Awa on the Island of Shikoku. The Kaifu School is often associated with Pirates, unique koshirae, kitchen knives and rustic swords. All of these associations are true, but they do not do justice to the school. Kaifu (sometimes said Kaibu) is a relatively new school in the realm of Nihonto. Kaifu smiths started appearing in records during the Oei era (1394). Many with names beginning with UJI or YASU such as Ujiyoshi, Ujiyasu, Ujihisa, Yasuyoshi, Yasuyoshi and Yasuuji , etc, are recorded. However, there is record of the school as far back as Korayku era (1379), where the schools legendary founder Taro Ujiyoshi is said to have worked in Kaifu. There is also a theory that the school was founded around the Oei era as two branches, one following a smith named Fuji from the Kyushu area and other following a smith named Yasuyoshi from the Kyoto area (who is also said to be the son of Taro Ujiyoshi). Little is formally written about the school, but in the AFU Quarterly from 1995, an article from the Token Shunju by Okada Ichiro in August 1994 was translated and published. This is the most comprehensive article we have seen on the school. Okada gives his reason for writing the article as, “the sword books commonly available seem to look with disfavor on swords made in Awa no Kuni, which is now Tokushima-ken on the island of Shikoku, and provide very little information about the smiths from there. It is for this reason that I have selected this article.” Normally all you find are references and anecdotal stories involving Kaifu swords, so thankfully Okada has provided a little more material. These include the often seen “kitchen knives” or swords made in the kata kiriba zukuri style, (they have a bevel on only one side like in a kogatana), various long hira zukuri wakizashi sometimes referred to as pirate swords, (Shikoku Island did a good business supplying Japanese pirates) and many Shinshinto swords made in the late Edo era. When attributing a sword to Kaifu, the NBTHK normally assigns a Shinto or Shinshinto designation to the attribution to help distinguish the category. What is rarely seen are Koto works, particularly signed ones. We will explore some theories on why we think this is so.

your price first looks like 270 000 then it says 2. decimal 700,00 not sure if you are aware cheers

Your words are very kind and thoughtful Geoff. I'm glad it found the right home. -Steven

Hit me in the DMs if you're serious about buying. It has complete koshirae and kozuka knife. the blade is pretty thick and it's signed.

This is one of the cleanest cutting blades I have ever used for Tameshigiri

Real-Life kantei-of swords , part 10: A real challenge : kantei Wakimono Swords W.B. Tanner and F.A.B. Coutinho 1) Introduction Kokan Nakayama in his book “The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords” describes wakimono swords (also called Majiwarimono ) as "swords made by schools that do not belong to the gokaden, as well other that mixed two or three gokaden". His book lists a large number of schools as wakimono, some of these schools more famous than others. Wakimono schools, such as Mihara, Enju, Uda and Fujishima are well known and appear in specialized publications that provide the reader the opportunity to learn about their smiths and the characteristics of their swords. However, others are rarely seen and may be underrated. In this article we will focus on one of the rarely seen and often maligned school from the province of Awa on the Island of Shikoku. The Kaifu School is often associated with Pirates, unique koshirae, kitchen knives and rustic swords. All of these associations are true, but they do not do justice to the school. Kaifu (sometimes said Kaibu) is a relatively new school in the realm of Nihonto. Kaifu smiths started appearing in records during the Oei era (1394). Many with names beginning with UJI or YASU such as Ujiyoshi, Ujiyasu, Ujihisa, Yasuyoshi, Yasuyoshi and Yasuuji , etc, are recorded. However, there is record of the school as far back as Korayku era (1379), where the schools legendary founder Taro Ujiyoshi is said to have worked in Kaifu. There is also a theory that the school was founded around the Oei era as two branches, one following a smith named Fuji from the Kyushu area and other following a smith named Yasuyoshi from the Kyoto area (who is also said to be the son of Taro Ujiyoshi). Little is formally written about the school, but in the AFU Quarterly from 1995, an article from the Token Shunju by Okada Ichiro in August 1994 was translated and published. This is the most comprehensive article we have seen on the school. Okada gives his reason for writing the article as, “the sword books commonly available seem to look with disfavor on swords made in Awa no Kuni, which is now Tokushima-ken on the island of Shikoku, and provide very little information about the smiths from there. It is for this reason that I have selected this article.” Normally all you find are references and anecdotal stories involving Kaifu swords, so thankfully Okada has provided a little more material. These include the often seen “kitchen knives” or swords made in the kata kiriba zukuri style, (they have a bevel on only one side like in a kogatana), various long hira zukuri wakizashi sometimes referred to as pirate swords, (Shikoku Island did a good business supplying Japanese pirates) and many Shinshinto swords made in the late Edo era. When attributing a sword to Kaifu, the NBTHK normally assigns a Shinto or Shinshinto designation to the attribution to help distinguish the category. What is rarely seen are Koto works, particularly signed ones. We will explore some theories on why we think this is so.

I have a Samurai pirate long wakizashi if you are interested Made by a known pirate sword maker Ujiyoshi.

I thought you may like this one

WWOOOOAAAAHHHHH this tsuba is amazing holy smokes I'm gasping right now the quality is outstanding.

I'm very glad. I had a good feeling once we chatted that it would be appreciated. I just left the post office. emailed you the tracking.

That's very poetic of you Bruce and it actually soothes the pain a little more.

Looks like this item found a new home.... I'm sad about it. This sword held up close behind serious blades known for cutting when it came to tameshigiri. Has a lot of weight to it though which helps. Made a small donation to the house. thanks again for your guidance Bruce.

I just sent you a donation from my sale .... I know it's not much but hopefully I shall be able to contribute more soon. Thanks again

This item is now sold

Just like you I a wanted a fair example of a WW2 sword for my collection for the time being. Something else has caught my eye though for a more than fair price. I have a wakizashi in military dress but the sword in the fittings is a suriage blade of high quality from the Kamakura period and that one I am going to hold onto. Thanks so much for keeping me in thought for your documentation. It's greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the link I too saw this in the Japanese Sword Index of smiths and signature examples but wasn't sure and didn't want to mislead someone if i was wrong. I'm still very new to WW2 and modern smiths. Thanks again for all your time Bruce.

oohhh that's great Bruce I wasn't aware of that. Just so you know there was a pair.....one was a wakizashi for a smaller military dress Koshirae. Do you think I should keep this sword ? If you are putting together a book or documentary /journal / article may I please be mentioned for the photo ? If not it's cool. I just thought it would be neat. Thank you so much for letting me know though. If you would like a photo with a cleaner background please let me know.

Nagasa: 66.4 cm. Sori: 1.5 cm. Moto-haba: 3.1 cm. Saki-haba: 2.2 cm. Moto-gasane: 0.7 cm. Saki-gasane: 0.5 cm signature is on the right side of the tang mei like an old tachi mei