TenguSan

If this was a cut from something other than combat what would be the logic of keeping it? I.E. you could cut it shorter and have no mark on it. The current length is 62.4 cm, which I believe is rather long for a wakizashi. Also the bohi extends only to the habaki, not through the nakago, so whoever had it shortened must have added that to make it a little lighter since it’s on the longer side for a wakizashi. Unless the original bohi extended only around 3/4 of the length of the blade with seems fairly unlikely I think with this style. So it seems as if it would make more sense from a financial standpoint to make it shorter for resale than keep the damage. That combined with the rather nice (I think) habaki which they had made would lead me to believe the wound was of some significance to the owner.

Adam, I don’t have an image of the entire blade at the moment but here are some shots of the nakago and the other side of the cut

Hello All, I was told that this cut is not a flaw but classified as honorable, or Homare Kizu (誉疵). The blade is suriage and is believed to be koto with edo koshirae. The irregular shape of the habaki fits very nicely over the damage, with the wave concealing most of it. It’s easy to imagine someone had a sentimental attachment to this piece given the size of the wound and what I imagine must have been some cost and effort to have it repolished with the damaged portions straightened and a habaki made to cover the wound while keeping as much of the original length as possible. Not to mention the fact that I would guess from the position and angle this was a defensive wound, and could have saved the owners life, although we’ll never know of course. In looking for similar pieces out of curiosity I have not encountered any as of yet with a cut of this size being saved. I was curious if anyone has input on these types of damages and repairs in history and whether such an issue would preclude it from being accepted at shinsa. regards, John

Thank you very much Xiayang and Koichi! It has papers with NTHK attributing it to early Edo, although the seller was certain that Honami Koson was right that it is late muromachi.

Thank you Jean and Brian!

Was in Japan recently and was told that a seller, who presented their swords as traditionally made nihonto, did not deal in any registered swords to avoid the hassle, and that purchased items could be taken away in hand the day of purchase. Can this be true?

Hello, I recently purchased a katana with a shirasaya which has a sayagaki from Honami Koson. I got that much from the kao and some other similar posts here, but am not having much luck otherwise. Any assistance is appreciated. best regards and thanks in advance

Thanks all! here are a few more pictures including without the habaki

Hello All, 1st post here. I recently acquired this blade and am wondering what others think of age, manufacture, legitimacy, etc Any info is appreciated. John