cabowen

Most Japanese order newly made swords from smiths to their specifications and smiths, because of the costs involved, rarely carry any "inventory". I knew several smiths personally and have ordered many swords. I would be happy to help if you have any questions on what is involved.

Yes, Shinano no Kami Hirokane saku Three listed in the Meikan, one from Genwa, two from Kanbun. My money would be on Kanbun.....can't tell you if the mei is good or not for certain but the suriage wasn't the best....

You are welcome....

I can probably scare up a set or two if someone is interested. Price would probably be around $325 or so....Email me privately...

sayagaki says: Both large kanji say: Mino Seki ju Nin Niju San Dai Fujiwara Kanefusa Saku Made by the 23rd generation Fujiwara Kanefusa of Seki in Mino small kanji give the length...Maybe one of the Japanese members will be able to read this as it is mostly illegible to me....

Don't know what a cdr or an ai are but here you are: オザルク刀剣会

different ranks of police....

wakizashi mumei den Mino Nobuhide

Well, this is just the point, it insinuates that as per definition a Katana, 2 shaku at least, but shorter than 70 cm isn‘t a „real“ Nihonto...what is it than? There was no insinuation made that blades less than 60 cm are not "real" nihonto, simply that they do not carry the monetary value, everything else equal, of longer blades. Perhaps here is a historical reason: "...According to Bakugi Sanko [The referral to the official issues of the Shogunate] written by Matsudaira Shungaku, a late Edo period daimyo and the last Lord of Fukui prefecture (also a cousin to the then Shogun), the legal lengths of swords to be officially worn by high ranking samurai to appear in the Edo Castle were a) 2 shaku 3 sun (=69.69cm) for katana and b) 1 shaku 6 sun to 7 sun (=48.48cm to 51.51cm) as officially set forth by the Tokugawa Shogunate (Ogasawara, 1994a)" Thus the longer blades were to be worn by high ranking samurai, who, presumably, would have had the resources to afford better quality blades....maybe this is where the 2 shaku 3 sun length became the preferred nagasa.....???

kanji are: ari 有 uji 氏 to 刀 (which ironically means sword)

There are a few reasons why blades of length 70cm and greater have higher perceived value, all other things equal. One reason is purely emotional- it is thought that only samurai were allowed to carry blades of this length and thus it is a "real" samurai sword, not something that belonged to a mere merchant. Thus people tend to value them higher. The second reason is more practical. Generally, the longer the blade, the more difficult it is to make. It is much more difficult to get an even heat with a longer blade (and thus an even yakiba). Clearly, the more forged steel, the more opportunity for forging flaws as well. I have a Yasukuni blade by Kajiyama Yasunori that is 81cm long and flawless-the consistent workmanship throughout speaks loudly to the skill of this smith in a way a 60 cm blade does not...

This is not Sa Nobumitsu.....

Of course Morita san is correct. The last kanji visible is ju, not saku...My mistake....

Bishu Kuni Kaneyoshi saku ? Toku (possibly the beginning of a date) the rest lost when the blade was shortened. Pictures seem to show Yamashita....

It seemed to me that there are some glaring differences, but I don't have the blade in hand....

I have seen several blades by this smith and they have all had rather awkwardly cut mei, sometimes, as in this example, on the blade proper. I believe this smith was a student of Minamoto Kanenori but other than that info is scarce....

I have seen many Satsuma Shinto and Shinshinto works at kantei and I would say that the hamon and nakago are wrong. I vote gimei....

That is not necessarily true. Many lower ranked smiths have been faked exactly because people think that only the big names are faked...$17K for a sword is plenty of motive to make a fake... The nakago on your sword is quite different in shape than that in the example posted....I would check it carefully...

Could you post a close up of the mei?

With the Haito rei edict outlawing the wearing of swords in public, the demand for new swords went straight into the toilet. There was still a market, albeit a small one, for tanto as they were used for ceremony so that is the majority of what we see from the Meiji, Taisho, and early Showa periods....

They meant less and less and as time went on and by Meiji time had certainly went on.....

The Meikan doesn't add much- from Higo, Masahide group (probably Naotane's student with the Naomune mei), and that he did a lot of research on forging....

Are you sure he was a Masahide student and not a Naotane student???

I think you heard correctly. No offense meant....just trying to keep you from chasing your tail......

While the above post should clarify this particular situation, in general, while there is no doubt that the daimei practice occurred, it is very rare for there to be info that identifies known "understudies" signing the master's name (daimei), especially when looking at koto smiths. In Shinto, there are a few, like Oya Kunisada and Shinkai, but it is still rare to know the characteristics that define these daimei works such that they are attributable to particular students and not just called gimei. Fair or not, without these "known" traits, almost without fail all such signatures are judged to be gimei.....