reinhard

This is not a work of THE Nagamitsu from Osafune in Bizen province. Outline of hamon and thin and constricted nioi-guchi are far from his style. Additional old papers, fake or not, won't change anything. reinhard

It is due to the efforts of three men after WWII that Nihon-To as a cultural heritage of Japan is still alive. At first pacific high command had decided, that all Japanese swords are potential weapons and had to be destroyed. Homma Junji and Sato Kanzan persuaded US liaison officer Col. C.V. Cadwell to intervene. It was Col. Cadwell who finally succeeded in persuading his superiors to acknowlede TRUE Nihon-to as cultural heritage of Japan and worth of preserving. I guess General MacArthur was busy with many other tasks and probably didn't care much about exotic swords. reinhard

It would be helpful to see both sides of the entire blade, i.e. with the nakago, in hi-res. What we are doing here is highly speculative and in not targeting. What I can tell for sure is that shobu-tsukuri is no option. Shobu-tsukuri is a sugata where the shinogi ends precisely at the very tip of the blade. This is not case here. reinhard

Naginata-naoshi blades are highly underrated in present day sword-business. It used to be different in the "old days". Rich and powerful daimyo and even the shogun himself were aware of the supreme quality of some of the old naginata and had them shortened to wear them as katana. If you can't afford buying a tachi by one of the top-rated smiths of the Kamakura-period, you might be able to afford a naginata-naoshi blade by one of those masters. You will be greatly rewarded owning and studiying the craftsmanship of a great master for a price much lower than that of a "regular" tachi. Off the battlefield Japanese women were trained to defend themselves, their homes and their children, during the absence of their husbands. Naginata was their weapon of choice. Being only an amateur historian, I imagine naginata's size and proportions were chosen to fit the lady's strenght and her personal preferences. reinhard

Hi Mya, The pictures of the blade you posted are definitely depicting a naginata shortened to be used as a wakizashi. BTW The term "nagamaki", is only refering to a mounting style of naginata. Excellent naginata were made by top-ranking smiths at all times. Shortening them later in Edo-period to use them as katana or wakizashi was common practice. As far as your particular example is concerned: Telling on the basis of your pictures, attribution is not possible. Nagato-Sa or not: It is impossible to tell. Without a mei and without seeing the blade in high-res (with the nakago) it is impossible to tell where and when the blade was made. It must be seen in hand by an experienced and knowledgeable specialist. You should see its attribution from 1981 critically. Times, and knowledge, have changed since. reinhard

Older blades, who lost their signature and were shortened later to be carried as katana, should be displayed as katana, i.e. with the cutting edge up. No mattter what their original shape and purpose were. reinhard

Mei seems to be within the perimeter of known Shintogo-mei. But even if it can be verified as genuine: The blade has been ground to its core and is at the end of its life-cycle. Imagine a demolished canvas with a famous signature still visible. Is that what you are looking for? reinhard

"You can make it about the objects. Beauty, rarity, historical importance - whatever is more attractive to you." (Kirill) Crucial points. In order to understand and appreciate the beauty and technical quality of a blade you need your own compass resulting from experience. You don't need to own masterpieces for studying and learning; only very few people can afford this method. As far as rarity is concerned, Homma Junji sensei was clear: Look for blades with typical features! Searching for mavericks will blur your vision. Historical importance is no reliable advisor for the average student. This belongs to the field of historians and Nihon-To researchers. An extreme example you can find is a Juyo Token by Sanjo Chikamura with the mei "Chikamura tatematsuru (same kanji as "kami"). The blade was retempered long ago and is a mere shadow of its former self. The mei however is of great importance, for it proofs another Sanjo blade to be gimei: A true Sanjo blade with the mei "Munechika mura-kami" which was always dubious. With the help of the retempered blade it was possible to proof the "Mune"-character was a later addition. Therefore its historical value and its designation as Juyo Token. It doesn't make sense a blade like this is in private possession. "% = (TJ+Jubi+Jubun+Kokuho+Gyobutsu)/Juyo Ko-Mihara Masaie: 37.5% Nanki Shigekuni: 28.6% Shodai Hizen Tadayoshi: 12.7% Ko-Bizen Tomonari: 257%" (Chris) This is what I mean when I say you need your own compass as far as quality is concerned. If you don't have one, you end up up with strange statistics like these. Comparing the handful of zaimei blades of Ko-Bizen Tomonari with the many works of shodai Tadayoshi or Nanki Shigekuni still existing is misleading. For those of you who sneer at the term "Sue-Bizen", f.e., I recommend to have a closer look at the blade recently designated TokubetsuJuyoToken by Ukyo-no-Suke Katsumitsu. It is described in detail in the latest "Token-Bijutsu"-magazine of the NBTHK. reinhard

"There will always be a steady flow of Tadayoshi, Ko-Mihara, Bungo Takeda, Shinto Waks, Uda, etc. These aren't going anywhere, they constitute the majority of the items exchanged. The pressure concentrates at the top of the field, this is normal and healthy." This is where ignorance and misunderstanding of nihon-to starts. A masterpiece of shodai Tadayoshi of Hizen, a masterpiece of Ko-Mihara Masaie, a wakizashi-masterpiece of Nanki Shigekuni can equal and even surpass a blade by Ko-Bizen Tomonari in quality and in even in market price. What matters is the quality of the individual blade and its condition. Those who can't tell the difference might better focus on used cars as a field of investing money. BTW Whining about the fact, that there are no Leonardos or Caravaggios to find online in Italy for a "reasonable" price is.... reinhard

Hi Sam, When one gets stuck in kantei after having inspected sugata, hada and hamon, it is often helpful to have a close look at the boshi. It is often the most individual feature on a blade otherwise hard to pin down. Telling from your pics I see a pretty clear hakkikake/ kaen boshi. reinhard

I was wondering about this thread from the beginning. Somebody is dropping by, telling he is willing to spend 15K on a sword without knowing basics. A test...a joke...or just a bored guy with a lot of money to spend? Supposed this thread is meant seriously, silly name-dropping a la Rivkin won't help. Nihon-to are not to be treated like second-hand cars. There are no price lists for "Oei" or "Ichimonji". Each blade must be judged by its individual qualities, even those made by the same maker. For once I agree with Jacques: Don't buy a sword on the basis of pixels. You need to see it in your hand. reinhard

PM sent. reinhard

Torokusho states: a wakizashi (written in hiragana), nagasa (blade length without nakago) is 44cm, sori (curvature) is 1.8cm, 1 mekugi-ana. Signature is: Kanda (no) Ju Kane 囗. (empty box meaning: kanji is illegible) The best known town named Kanda was in Musashi province. The last kanji of the mei is definitely not "tsune" and probably not "sada". reinhard

Definitely not the mei (signature) of famous Horikawa Kunihiro. reinhard

Thanks Tyler, That's good news. Chandler's translation is correct and the style of engraving is in accordance with Nobuhide's work. Good luck and take good care (of the blade and of yourself). reinhard

I'm wondering nobody asked for a picture of the opposite side of the nakago yet. Kurihara Nobuhide always engraved a nengo ("date") on the sashi ura of his long blades. So Tyler, could you please provide us with a pic of the reverse side of the tang? reinhard

What I was saying was: The horimono is WITHIN RANGE of SOME of Kurihara Nobuhide's works. His horimono include a wide variety of subjects and he never executed the same horimono in the exact same style twice. The horimono in question shows many elements of different dragon-horimono he made. All in all the blade is interesting and should not be easily disregarded. reinhard

You don't need to like it. The horimono is in accordance with some of Kurihara Nobuhide's works. reinhard

I agree with Thomas. Most likely a twisted version of "Kane". reinhard

Maybe we can agree on this: The blade in question is of high quality, way above most of the blades discussed here, and shows many features associated with Yamaura-school. Judgement on the basis of pictures/pixels is difficult. Perspective/camera-angle make judgement even more difficult. Let's wait for judgement of true experts, and I don't mean NMB, to narrow the question of the possible maker. reinhard

Hi Yoshi, EMS worked perfectly fine with me and my Japanese associates until some years ago. All of a sudden EMS refused to ship swords to Switzerland, claiming problems with SWISS airlines. That was and is actually not true. Asking SWISS cargo they confirmed that they will transport antique blades without a problem. Asking again in Japan it turned out the problem was more likely to be located at inner Japanese traffic. A blade sent from any place in Japan eventually has to take its way to another airport in Japan before leaving the country. That's where Japanese regulations start to become a problem for EMS. Anyway, the blade in question made its way to Switzerland with Fedex without any problems. reinhard

Supposed the nakago is mumei but in original shape, i.e. the blade was made in "naginata-naoshi-style", you are correct. Supposed the blade was originally made a naginata and was shortened later (naginata-naoshi) you are not. reinhard

Hi Artur, Sorry to tell you, but the tsuba you are showing are not pre-mid Edo period. Designs are stiff and awkward, most of them unprecedented. Execution is amateurish and very poor. All in all they look pretty young. I suggest you study reliable sources about quality tsuba before further acquiring. reinhard

Bonji on blades are often easy to identify, but sometimes they are not as simple as they seem. Just for consideration: reinhard

The famous Hosokawa-Mon is always consisting of nine round luminaries. A bigger one in the middle and eight smaller ones circling around it. Not one more, not one less. reinhard