AlexiG

Hi Eric, are you asking why the price jumped of a specific tanto you are interested in? Or are you asking why a tanto you like is expensive? My cursory look as of late is that only prices in USD jumped as the USD/JPY exchange rate changed substantially over the last month, but the prices in yen are still the same, from what I can tell. As you probably know, a tanto from a well-known smith/school may cost you very dearly depending on quality and condition. It indicates you have a good taste Best, Alexi

I have bought couple of blades from Tsuruta San and am I currently contemplating another purchase. I visit the site multiple times a day Not the only Japanese shop I have bought from. Communication is prompt and very professional. Prices reflect what they have and if you follow their pieces (I do for the things I care about) they sell, so the prices are not way off fair market value. Just my 2c. Best, Alexi

Much obliged! Thanks! Alexi

To answer my own question, based on this post which has a certificate associated with Yoshikawa Kentaro Sensei, Yoshikawa Kentaro was part of the shinsa team above since both seals on the Gassan Sadakazu certificate are on mine as well (bottom and third from the bottom). I will keep digging.... Alexi P.S. After some more digging, and actually looking at the kanji in the seal, it seems that the bottom seal is Yoshikawa Kentaro sensei's. If Anyone figures out the other seals, let me know.

This may be a bit esoteric, but I figured I'd ask before I start emailing NTHK. I am interested in identifying the judges that stamped this kanteisho certificate. At least the senior member of the group. Any resource that will allow me to link the seals to names? This belongs to a signed, ubu, sword I own, so it is not a "should-I-buy-this-sword" thread. Just trying to understand who appraised. If my only recourse is to reach out to NTHK please let me know. The certificate was issued in 1996 (heisei 8), I assume in Japan since this is where the sword was. Thanks, Alexi

Yep. The author argued in one of the many articles that there was a lot of piracy and illegal imports. One trick was to use iron as "ballast" on the ships in one direction and replace with something else that was heavy in the other direction, so they did not have to declare the iron as imported goods it. Supposedly a new shipwreck was found, and a lot of iron was on board, which the author used as a further evidence of the theory. The theory could make sense, but yes more data will be nice. Best, Alexi

It is a bit difficult to see, but may be kitae ware (The Katana Kizu: A flaw of the Japanese Sword | Tozando). Likely not fatal, just cosmetic. I assume you are referring to what appears as a gap in the lamination running parallel to the edge at the hamon boundary (picture below). Something is off about the patina on the nakago but maybe it's just me.

I have not found a ton in English but have had a lot of fun reading these articles and links there-in. Google translate does an OK job. Names and sword nomenclature are a bit tricky but with a bit of effort I found these articles quite interesting and illuminating. I think they will be divisive as according to the author, before Shinto most (but not all) steel was imported, and before Shinto most but not all swords were of maru-kitae construction. Some of that was mentioned on another post here and here but the Cu and Ti data seem credible (Continental/Korean steal has high Cu content, Japanese has very low Cu content). Base material of Japanese swords Iron Market in Medieval Japan Here is a link to a technical paper on utsuri (A Hypothesis for the Mechanism that Produces the Utsuri Pattern on Japanese Swords). Have not gotten that article yet so cannot comment on how useful it is in understanding utsuri. Best, Alexi

Hi Paul, Robert Benson can also mediate sending your sword for shinsa. He helped me with mine. The total cost was ~ 1k per sword, and it took 6-9months to get my blades back, at least that was my experience sending 3 swords for Hozon/ Tokubetsu Hozon shinsa in 2023. You can find schedule here (https://www.touken.or.jp/shinsa/schedule.html). If you target 2025, June, August, September, November and Dec may be viable options. All the best, Alexi

Hi Charlie, I find the uniform thickness at moto-kasane and saki-kasane a bit troubling. In my limited experience, have not seen a traditional katana without taper and would indicate that it is very tip heavy and potentially harder to control (but could be a beast of a cutter, as Koichi mentioned). The one detail is how is it measured. There is a design where the koshinogi widens as it meets the mune. If measured there it may appear as if there is no taper, although overall there is. I have two swords like that from Bugei (decent Chinese manufacture). Its called mune-saki (or matsuba-saki). Is the sword of interest like that? For the record the Bugei swords still taper by 1mm when measured at the widest of the saki-kasane. Depending on your level of experience, 900g may be on the heavy side. Consult with your sensei. Best, Alexi

The Kapp book was referenced in the Sesko article but here is the actual text from the book. Yoshindo Yoshihara is one of the modern smiths that can produce utsure and so can his student Oho Yoshimitsu (technically Yoshimitsu was his brother's student). The theory is heating the blade in distinct thermal bands along the edge given appropriate steel composition. FYI in case it helps the conversation. Best, alexi

Very sad to hear! I only knew him from his posts here. I share his obsession with masame hada. His post of the Norikatsu tanto made me start paying attention to the Mito smiths. It is a loss for the community. Alexi

Hi Hiadir, I will offer an oversimplified answer based on few references. Carbon content varies in tamahagane. Part of the mastery of swordsmiths is to separate the pieces based on carbon content and select the appropriate pieces that meet their needs before they start forging. There are methods to both increase and decrease carbon content during forging to get the desired results. I have seen good descriptions of the process in English from Yoshindo Yoshihara's books published with Leaon and Hiroko Kapp. (The Craft of the Japanese sword) If memory serves me right, he starts at about 1.2% carbon and wants to end at 0.7 % at the time of quenching. His brother though, supposedly preferred ~0.6% carbon. My guess is that these values refer to the outer, edge steel. I assume that varies from maker to maker and school to school. How to the smiths "know" the carbon content without modern gadgets? Great question. I think how brittle the tamahagane is initially gives some indication for sorting. Beyond that I imagine it is about experience and how the steel responds to forging. I am speculating here I hope this helps. Alexi

It all depends on the composition of the steel. There was a video of working on a billet of tamahagane steel and it is malleable and foldable at a given Japanese forge temperature, while western steel was very brittle with the same process. Bugei use a mix of T-10 and 1055 steels for their swords and they are managing multiple folds OK. Many Japanese smiths have forged pieces with western steel successfully. Not sure how they managed it but my suspicion is that they worked at higher temperature. Some of that is in this thread:

@Peter Bleed @Vermithrax16 Checking if new information has surfaced regarding the mid-Kunikane generations since 2010 (the date of the quote from Peter below). My specific question is as follows: Does anyone have examples of papered blades from Kunikane 4-9? The books I have do not list any (Sendai Mekan and Sendai Han no Meicou Kunikane 仙台藩の名工 国包), yet Sesko lists signatures for gen 4 and 5 (奥州仙台住国包). I have only seen papered examples of Gen 2 with that signature. If in your research you have seen any papered examples of gens 4-9 please share. What information did Sesko find that allowed him to list signatures for Gens 4 and 5? The context for this is another "Shinsa story" but that is for another thread. Best, Alexi

As of late I have become fascinated with Norikatsu's work and while looking for information I found this article which I personally found very interesting so sharing here. I used google translate mostly so apologies for the poor translation. It seems that the construction is 3 plates (high carbon in the middle, and two composite plates on the side). At first I thought it was kobuse but does not seem to be. Also fascinated to read the 4 levels of testing to demonstrate suitability for practical use. Happy reading, Alexi Link: 水戸の豪刀・勝村徳勝の刀身構造

Hi Kim, I have had similar learning opportunities Make the best of it. I should have noticed the kanji in the signature was "友" Best, Alexi

The koshirae may be legit navy gunto with poorly re-wrapped tsuka. Example. The one I have is identical to the example. There are flags with the sword and unfortunately Nobody is likely correct. There are more knowledgeable folks here that can chime in but my 2c are below: The steel of the sword looks "wrong" for lack of a better word. It is very gaudy and atypical for nihonto but commonly observed in Chinese swords. There are Japanese sword makers that make flashy jigane (Nakayama Yoshimitchi, for example) but it still does not look like the sword above. The file marks on the nakago are slopy and inconsistent. the signature is not well executed. I cannot find a reference for Ishida Yoshiichi (石田由一) swordsmith. Sesko lists 由 as "Yoshi" and there is no "由一" that I can find in Volume III of "Swordsmiths of Japan". Google search for "石田由一 刀工" also does not give me any credible hits, let alone papered swords to compare your sword to. All of these observations lead to increasing suspicions that the work may not be Japanese. I hope this helps, Alexi

Here is another sword with the same signature but arguably different execution (strokes look different to me): link (藤原大道直房入道). No papers so take with grain of salt The google translation from the site: "This is an introduction to the sword made by the renowned blacksmith Fujiwara Daido Naofusa, who was the official swordsmith for the lord of the Higo Kumamoto domain, Hosokawa Tadaoki. It measures 2 shaku 2 sun and is a rare and precious sword with a signature that resembles an ancient work. Fujiwara Daido Naofusa created a remarkable copy of the famous sword "Horikiri Morimitsu," which was owned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and is now housed at the Izumi Shrine, featuring intricate carvings of Kurikara. The sword "Wakizashi, signed Daido Naofusa" was displayed in the second chapter of the 2022 early spring exhibition "Gathering of the Famous Swords of Hosokawa - National Treasures from the Eisei Bunko -". Although Daido Naofusa was highly valued by the Hosokawa family, existing swords made by him are extremely rare. This piece, responding to the request of Lord Hosokawa, is an unknown masterpiece that resembles an ancient work. Dimensions: Base width: approximately 3 cm, Base thickness: approximately 7 mm, Tip width: approximately 2 cm, Tip thickness: approximately 5 mm, Blade weight: approximately 686 g." Another example, suriage, again no paper. Link to smith page: NAO6. I Think JohnC also pointed to the same smith.

I got mine from amazon Japan (Amazon.co.jp: THE Japanese SWORD - THE YAMATO TRADITION (English edition) : Tanobe Michihiro, Markus Sesko: Japanese Books) They also have the Bizen one (Amazon.co.jp: 日本刀五ヶ伝 備前編 長船鍛冶の黄金期 : 田野邉道宏: Japanese Books) Alexi

Yes, they did unblock the book for me after I contacted them. They were quite fast about it (less than 24h). Good to know that approach generally works. Best, Alexi

That worked! Found it under books and bought it. Better price too. Not sure why that listing did not show up before. Thanks, alexi

Thanks for the suggestion! I just sent them an inquiry. I will update if I hear anything. Alexi

Hi all, I wonder if someone has figured out a work around this issue. Some books on Yahoo! Japan are listed in the "Katana & tachi sword" section. When I try to purchase/bid through Buyee it tells me "You cannot bid on this auction because it contains a prohibited item." Example: 仙台藩の名工　国包　國包 令和２年　鹽竈神社博物館④ /【Buyee】 Buyee - Japanese Proxy Service | Buy from Japan! Apparently books are as dangerous as swords.... Has anyone figured out a way to deal with this other than have someone in Japan buy and ship for them. Thanks for any suggestions. If anyone finds this book on regular bookstore websites, please share. I have not been successful. Best, Alexi

Thanks for sharing! It was nice to see this at length and compare to what others do. Would have loved to see the blade after proper polishing. Not sure the sword pieces add much but it is also done in other crafts. Some bonsai potters also used pieces of antique broken pots in their clay mix. Alexi