Lexvdjagt

Weirdly enough I saw this exact Yoroi get sold on Catawiki by a French seller for 2K euros a few weeks back. I don't have the link to it anymore.

Hello Franco, Thank you for your response and explanation. Thank you for the article, that must have been an interesting Ko-nio blade you studied. I unfortunately do not see the Ladder Utsuri on this katana. This would make more sense as the TH attribution is for NIO, not Ko-NIO. Would you agree that my NIO blade is a late Kamakura Jidai katana? Or rather Nanbokucho? Greetings, Lex van der jagt

Thanks to everyone for responding. Thank you, Geraint for the clarification on the Hamon activity. This makes a lot more sense indeed. Thank you Dee for your reply. I agree with @vajo and @Lewis B the boshi is hard to photograph because it is very thin. I believe your question was answered but I can still take a few pictures if you'd like? Thank you Chris for your time. I did not realize it was reshaped. Thank you so much for this information. I must say that I generally do not pay as much attention to the boshi as I should. I personally really only care about good Jigane activity. I will be looking closer at the kissaki in the future as well. Hello Franco, Thank you for your reply. I believe you are right about the swept sands. Thank you for your input. I believe I can only faintly observe some Bo utsuri. I am not sure what Ladder Utsuri is, could you possibly explain it to me? Greetings, Lex van der Jagt

Hello NMB, I wanted to show you my recently acquired Mumei Osuriage Nio katana with Tokubetsu Hozon papers. The blade to the second picture's left next to my Ko-Mihara Nanbokucho jidai katana. The blade features a 74CM nagasa, and a 2.8CM sori. It was attributed to Nio, and has (in my opinion) the characteristics of the Ko-Nio school. The seller told me it's Late Kamakura jidai, which I would agree with. The blade has a few imperfections on the Shinogi-ji, and features a Homare Kizu on the mune close to the kissaki. The beautiful hada is mostly why I purchased this sword, I have always wanted a sword that had its jigane flow through to the hamon. I have tried my best with the pictures here using Jean's advice. I have a question about one certain point of activity on the hamon, (encircled on the image). The seller told me this piece of hamon is Mt Fuji, it has a distinct shape that resembles the Mt Fuji-type hamon that I have seen in my books. Would you agree? The boshi was particularly hard to photograph. I would like to hear your insights on this blade. Any questions are welcome.

I find the blade overpriced for a late koto unsigned katana attributed to Shimosaka (on the newly issued Hozon papers). Shimosaka is generally not a desirable attribution. Furthermore, the blade is in an older polish, with all kinds of scratches and damage. I would suggest buying a different Katana at this price point. I will send you a few suggestions in your DM. Greetings, Lex

5 months for export approval? I have never heard it could take that long. I hope your purchase will be with you soon.

Dear NMB, I will pick up a few Nihonto by the end of February by plane through Kansai (KIX) airport in Osaka. My question is if anyone has any experience with physically exporting nihonto (with the correct paperwork) through KIX. I have gone through the process before with a blade through NRT but this will be my first time using KIX. Greetings, Lex

Happens quite often: https://www.aoijapan.com/search/?_sfm_paper=保存刀剣&_sfm_price=1000000+20000000 Just to show a few examples. Many expensive Hozon blades were made by famous smiths. Some Muramasa tanto can go for up to 3 million yen or more. Greetings, Lex

Thank you for your comments Piers. To answer your question, I only really want to impress myself. I like antiques, I would never buy a reproduction yoroi, but I am not willing to spend 6K on a Yoroi. I have no problem taking criticism, this is quite usual here on the board. Some people will definitely find this armor bad or below average in quality. But I really do not mind, I want to own a piece that I can enjoy myself. Its just like with Nihonto, just because it's a momoyama wakizashi with many flaws and no papers doesn't mean nobody should buy it (as long as you take proper care of it). Thank you for your comments Uwe. Thanks for the hints! Just a question, is Yahoo auctions the right place to be? Or would it be more wise to buy from a dealer at this price point? If so then I would like to know which dealers deal in Yoroi. Thank you for your comments Uwe, I appreciate the help!

Dear NMB, I have wanted to buy a Yoroi for display along with my Nihonto collection for a while now. And now I finally want to look into my possibilities. I do not have a very high budget, as swords are my primary interest with a budget of around 3000 USD at most. Now I have been spending some time online to look at some possibilities, but quickly realised that Katchu is just as big of a minefield online as Nihonto. So I wanted to ask your opinions. I am not looking for anything that is all original parts or Momoyama period. I want a nice authentic Yoroi for in my study room. I have been looking at Yoroi like this one: https://buyee.jp/ite.../auction/r1167976348 https://buyee.jp/ite.../auction/j1168396092 Please also feel free to give me any recommendations or tips! Greetings, L. van der Jagt

Unfortunately, auctions like these by this particular seller (and many more like it) will almost always get pulled, unless it comes close to the desired price. I think the BIN price gives quite an indication of what the seller is hoping to get from the sword

It has been reposted. Now with a Buy it now price of 5.5M yen: https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1166009952

This is a Japanese reseller, they copy the listings from Japanese dealers and sell them at a premium. This sword is from the inventory of https://www.nipponto.co.jp greetings, Lex

Thank you for your response. I agree with your opinion, and think it is best to display a blade like this as a katana.

Thank you Ray, I believe I phrased my question incorrectly. I meant to ask if it would be seen as rude or inappropriate to for example display this Nio katana as a Tachi, as in edge side up. thank you for the info and replies! Greetings, Lex

Thank you @Ray Singer I just noticed after doing some more digging on the board that there was a very similar thread before mine. This means my first question is definitely answered. I am however interested in your opinions on treating a koto katana as a Tachi. I have seen many examples of mumei katana being sold as Tachi or being displayed as such. And was thus wondering what the opinions of the board members are

Dear NMB, I am currently in Japan and found my probable next purchase a few days ago. I mainly collect Yamato den early koto pieces. I stumbled upon a Katana I truly liked, it is attributed to Nio and has Tokubetsu hozon papers. It has a beautiful sori of 2.8 cm, and a Nagasa of 74 cm. It was shortened in the muromachi period and newly polished. Now onto my question, how does the NBTHK identify a blade like this as either a Tachi or a Katana? I have seen many mumei papered Tachi which have very similar attributes. Is there something I am missing? and one additional question, would it be acceptable to display this Nio katana as a Tachi? As it was originally created as one, and it still has quite a long nagasa? I am still learning any input would be extremely helpful. below a picture of the Nio katana, before the polish. Greetings, Lex

I would opt for the quality option. I collect mainly early Koto blades. Having bought cheaper Muromachi blades in the past, I really lose my interest in them more quickly. There is (in my opinion) just a lot more to look at when you buy a higher end blade. I would rather have one blade that I could look at for ages than 20 with mediocre details. I believe it really depends on your budget. And I completely agree with @lonely panet on his recommended approach. Slowly upgrading to a piece you really never want to get rid of. I think both sides have solid arguments, and it eventually all boils down to personal preference. Greetings, Lex

I viewed this sword physically in Tokyo a few days back just before the auction ended. The boshi is visible on one side, and (at least as far as I could see) near to no boshi on the other side. The blade is still stunning with beautiful jigane and a nice Koshirae.

As a Koto collector who owned a sword that had been used to cut mats before, the damage is more severe then you think I had bought this sword, taken a good look at it, and only realized at home, it was covered in very small and sometimes minor scratches. But also some damage to the cutting edge, maybe 1/4 of MM. But this pained me to look at, the blade was early Koto, and extremely beautiful, even papered. Please never use these swords as a cutting instrument, it makes future collectors like me very sad and lowers the value of the blade significantly. Greetings, Lex

What a stunning blade! I would definitely have been interested if only I did not already have a similar Ko-Mihara in my collection. I really like the Hada on your blade. It is stunning!

Sub groups are okay as well, Yamato influence is sufficient.

Hello NMB, I am in the market for a Tokubetsu Hozon Katana or Tachi made under the Yamato tradition. I have been looking around many Japanese dealers, but have not been able to make up my mind yet. So that is why I wanted to inquire on NMB as well. I am looking for: -Tokubetsu Hozon -Yamato den -Nagasa preferably +70cm -Ko-itame hada preferably ( I am a big fan of very vibrant Jigane) -Preferably in fresh polish, no stains or rust -Kamakura to Muromachi Jidai, earlier preferred. No later than 1400. -Mumei is OK, signed is a BIG bonus Koshirae is a plus of course! I also don't mind the sword being O-suriage, as long as it has decent sori to compensate. My budget is around 7000 euro = 7500USD = 1.1 Million yen Feel free to ask any questions! Greetings, Lex van der Jagt

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