CSM101

#1 = Tanto; mumei, Juyo Bijutsuhin attributed to Masamune; known as Hachisuka Masamune #2 = Katana, shumei Rai Kunimitsu #3 = Tachi, signed Sanekage (Ko-Hoki) #4 = Wakizashi; signed Hizen Tadahiro #5 = Katana signed Gassan Sadatoshi, dated Heisei 30 = 2018 Uwe G.

Yes. Uwe G.

For comparison: some photos. Uwe G.

Quick answer: They don´t know you, they don´t trust you. Okay, it is a little bit more complicated. But in the end you won´t get any good shots. Time and light are the most important factors. Here is a different location with better light but less time: Uwe G.

It´s a piece that comes from a serious collector. But here is another one. A little bit blurred. Sorry! Uwe G.

My guess would be gimei. Uwe G.

No. You had a better chance to make close ups when you used a mobile phone. In some cases the dealers jumped in the way: "No photos!" So, that´s all I got. Uwe G.

A few impressions: https://www.nihontophoto.com/dai-token-ichi-2019 Uwe G.

Dear Barry, zentosho.com used to offer a translation. But not for the last three years. So, as a compensation: some photos. Uwe G.

For comparison: Owari. Uwe G.

I hope that you sit and a doctor is near by: The Kato Teruaki was sold for 19.000 EUR netto. And the rest was kind of insane too. Uwe G.

Sorry Brian, I came back with more than 6.000 photos. You can ask me in two months again. Uwe G.

And the rest: Uwe G.

More photos: Uwe G.

If you come to Tokyo and you are looking for Japanese sword dealers you can ask Professor Dr. Google. In my case I wanted to be prepared. So, I made a map with all the important locations in Ginza. All the other dealers like Japanese Swords-Inami, Aoi and so on are not in the map. If you want a better version from the map, please send me a PM. Be careful: Tsutaya books is in the Ginza 6 Shopping Mall, sixth floor; Seiyoudo you can find at Gin5za second floor and Sokendo is in the basement of the Imperial Hotel. Uwe G.

The catalogue is online: https://www.hermann-historica.de/de/auctions/detail/id/459 Now you have a chance to see the details. and on 21.November comes the rest: https://www.hermann-historica.de/de/auctions/detail/id/465 Uwe G.

A white balance card is okay. But then you need a calibrated monitor with 99 % AdobeRGB. And for god´s sake not a mobile phone! Uwe G.

In a few days there will be a better online-catalogue. So you can zoom in for details. I made only a few photos for my personel tsuba archive. Enjoy! Uwe G.

I don´t know. It used to be a 30 sec. walk. But since they moved their location... Will you be there? Uwe G.

Antique Arms and Armor 15.11.2019. A lot of tsuba. Best way is you start with page 128: https://www.hermann-historica.de/upload/80/A80-AW/ Uwe G.

Another Rai Kunitoshi. Uwe G.

Hi Tom, if I had to describe the Akihiro I would write: blade, inscribed Akihiro, late 19. century. And I am not convinced that the blade was made with tamahagane. Felt more like aluminum. Uwe G.

So, here is a photo from #22 - Akihiro. But the photo is better than reality. A word about the Kageyasu. There are two signed tachi by Rai Kunimitsu, both kokuho, The condition is better for one and one the condition is worse. But even with this information in mind I would rather pick the Kageyasu than the Rai Kunimitsu. And I am not a Bizen fan at all. Just personal taste. I will do something like that again in the future. But i t takes time. Uwe G.

Dear members, Better you take a seat. Take a deep breath. And remember what I wrote before: Don´t take this too serious. This is just an experiment. Whatever your judgement is, it is not important. You never had the chance to hold one of these blades in your hand. All you got was a single photo with a part of a blade. So, here we go… Seems so, that I forgot a very important single word. The name of the game was indeed Find the Tokubetsu Juyo Token…(plural). Means, there was not just one Tokubetsu Juyo Token in the gallery but three. Bad news first: since it was only an experiment I deleted the gallery. But why comes later. Here is THE LIST: 1. Katana, unsigned, attributed to Tametsugu – Juyo Token 2. Tachi, signed Nobukuni - Tokubetsu Juyo Token; thanks to Markus Sesko you can find more information about the blade here: https://markussesko.com/2016/05/30/kantei-4-yamashiro-26-nobukuni-%E4%BF%A1%E5%9B%BD-school-1/ Picture 7 3. Katana, unsigned, attributed to Rai Kunitoshi - Juyo Token 4. Katana , signed Koyama Munetsugu - Juyo Token 5. Katana, unsigned, attributed to Sa Kunihiro - Juyo Token 6. Katana, unsigned, attributed to Hosho - Tokubetsu Hozon Token 7. Wakizashi, kinzogan mei Akihiro, attributed to Nobukuni - with Fujishiro papers 8. Katana, unsigned, attributed to Rai Kunitoshi - Juyo Token 9. Katana, signed Awataguchi Omi no Kami Tadatsuna - Tokubetsu Hozon token 10. Tachi, signed Bishu Osafune Nagashige - no papers (if I remember correct) 11. Katana, signed Hizen Kuni Tadayoshi - Tokubetsu Hozon Token 12. Wakizashi, unsigned, attributed to Wakasa no Kami Ujifusa - Hozon Token 13. Katana, unsigned, attributed to Ukai Unji - Juyo Token 14. Katana, unsigned, attributed to Ko-Bizen Kageyasu - Tokubetsu Juyo Token http://www.japanesesword.de/?site=sword&id=68 15. Wakizashi, signed Bizen Kuni Morimitsu - Tokubetsu Kicho Token 16. Katana, signed, Tamba no Kami Yoshimichi - Tokubetsu Hozon Token 17. Katana, signed Shinano no Kami Fujiwara Daido - Tokubetsu Hozon Token 18. Wakizashi, unsigned, attributed to Kongobei - Tokubetsu Hozon Token 19. Katana, unsigned, attributed to Shiga Seki - Hozon Token 20. Katana, Kinzogan mei, attributed to Rai Kunimitsu - Tokubetsu Juyo Token https://www.nihontophoto.com/arbeitenfuermuseen 21. Wakizashi, unsigned, attributed to Enju - Tokubetsu Hozon Token 22. Tanto, signed Akihiro - no papers and the worst tourist crap I have ever seen So, why did I do that? Well, mostly fun. And I didn´t want to do another kantei. It was an experiment: Can I make a photo that shows all the qualities in a blade when I only show a part and are you able to make a conclusion about the status? And the simple answer is: “No! No way!” Because the better the sword the harder it is to show all the details. And the way I do it is maybe technically correct. But if you want to see the beauty in a blade, than you should take a long and close look at Darcy Brockbank photos. And so the answer to Chris question about finding the Tokubetsu Juyo Token is “You can´t!” You can make some educated guesses. But that´s it. On the other hand, if there is no quality at all you can hide that fact with a photo. See #22. Years ago Michael Hagenbusch did almost the same. He presented 6 blades and you should judge the quality of the blades. A gimei Muramasa, a saiha, only the core left, kizu en masse and one Juyo blade. So the correct answer was one 1 and 5 x 6 (or one A and 5 x F). And I failed big. But it was a good experience. A few words about some of the swords. The Juyo and Tokubetsu Juyo blades + the Hizen Kuni Tadayoshi and the Nagashige are all in the possession of the Samurai Art Museum Berlin. You have three blades by Rai. And #3 is my personal favorite when it comes to Rai. Sometimes I guide a group of people (not very often) and I always ask: “What is in your eyes the best sword?” 4 meter distance and you can only judge by shape. 30 seconds to pick a sword and the answer is always #8. Rai Kunitoshi. This year a catalogue about armor will come out. Maybe October/November. And next year swords and tosogu. And here you will find all the blades. An overall view and some detailed photos. So you have a chance to see all the photos again. And more. I will post some photos of the other blades in the evening. I hope you liked the experience. Conclusion is: You have to hold a sword in your hands to make a correct statement. Don´t let yourself fool you by a photo. Especially not when it comes from me! And so I say Good Bye for the moment. Hope you enjoyed it. I have to go to jail (Don´t worry, I am the First Royal Bavarian Legal Officer and I work sometimes there. But for what I do with photos I should better stay there). Uwe G.

Taikai Naotane Uwe G.