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I find it interesting when Tanobe sensei deviates from his normal format. For example, his kao is normally at the end of his commentary. In some cases, his commentary takes up the entire omote of the shirasaya and continues to ura, so his kao is on the ura. On this Yukimitsu sayagaki, it first appears that everything is on the omote since it includes his kao. But the bulk of the commentary is actually on the ura. I suspect he did it this way because the blade and the koshirae are together on the same NBTHK origami, so he used the omote to reference both and then he used the ura to describe the blade.

@Lewis B @Hokke I think you are both right. I once asked someone close to Tanobe sensei why we see different lengths of sayagaki and why he sometimes uses specific terms. The answer I got was to not read too much into it--it depends on many things, including how much time he has, how poetic he is feeling in the moment, and his feelings about the blade, among others. His earlier sayagaki are briefer and more structured in their content and in his calligraphy. His later sayagaki are often more fluid in calligraphy and can be quite lengthy, yet the description typically follows a pattern.

I agree with @Jussi Ekholm's recommendation for taking the Keikyu Line train from Haneda Airport. You can take it to Shinagawa (a major station), at which you can transfer to the JR Yamanote Line. The JR Yamanote Line is a big loop, so staying anywhere near that line is very convenient for traveling around Tokyo by train. Among others, Big Echo is a large karaoke chain with lots of private rooms to sing your lungs out. They have locations throughout the city, and they are used to tourists. You must order at least one drink as part of the room rental. You won't have any trouble finding great sushi. I've found that even "budget" sushi places in Japan are better than and half the price of most sushi in the U.S. Try to visit the Japanese Sword Museum, if you can. The current exhibition looks great.

I’ve been very impressed with how receptive and responsive @Hoshi has been with suggestions and criticisms. This is clearly an important project to him, and we all benefit from his labor. Great work!

For reference, the Jūyō setsumei for this sword describes the kissaki as midare-komi, hakikake, kaen on the omote, and round turnback on the ura.

I believe the next shinsa scheduled in the U.S. is San Francisco in 2027.

I recommend contacting Robert Hughes. He lives in Kamakura and he’s @Keichodo.

That's how I understand it @Scogg.

@klee, I would say your boshi is kaen. I think part of the confusion comes from inconsistent use of terms. As it was taught to me, you might see both hakikake and kaen in the same boshi, with hakikake being anywhere along the boshi and kaen being hakikake focused in the tip of the boshi in a flame-like pattern.

I am looking forward to it. This will be my first time at the Orlando show. Thanks for the details @Curran!

Welcome to NMB @williu! It is hard to tell much from your photos. Please look at the third to last post in this thread about pictures that will help us: Photo tips

Welcome to NMB, @Harlekin2xs. If you like Soshu blades, I'm not sure that I'd be focused on the two you've identified. The Kaneuji is not the same as Shizu Kaneuji of Soshu den (Eirakudo's description is a bit confusing on that point) and its hamon looks very one-dimensional to me. Good quality Soshu has a three-dimensional hamon with lots of activity inside the hamon. What is your budget? Knowing that might help us point you toward blades that better fit your collecting interest. If you are new to this hobby, many advise to take your time before purchasing a sword. That's because many (myself included) have regretted our first sword purchase as we gained knowledge. Taking time to study swords, especially in person, and increasing your knowledge of swords is invaluable to making smart collecting decisions and finding what truly appeals to you. There are lots of swords out there, so you have plenty of time to find the right first purchase.

The US Supreme Court decision invalidated the tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. These tariffs are separate from the 15% tariff the US and Japan negotiated in their trade agreement following the issuance of the IEEPA tariffs. For now, that trade agreement stands and should continue to dictate the tariff collected on nihonto imported from Japan. One open question is whether Japan will continue to honor this trade agreement since it was based in large part on avoiding the higher (and now invalidated) IEEPA tariff on Japanese imports. @eternal_newbie is right. The situation has been inconsistent ever since the IEEPA tariffs were first announced. Shipping companies have different processes to collect tariffs (or refused shipments altogether), some sellers under-declare the value of a shipment—leading to less tariff collected, and customs agents vary in enforcement—one reason why some have been importing swords via their airline luggage. I expect all of this to continue for the foreseeable future.

I am not following your logic here. Ko-Hoki smiths were in Hoki province on Honshū, not on Kyūshū. And they were active in the Heian era, so well before Norishige was born. In any event, I like your Senjuin. It is a great example that Sōshū den was not the start of vigorous nie hataraki. Relatively, Sōshū den was a late bloomer, and it drew inspiration from some the best traits of many smiths who were active long before.

This is a great resource—thanks to all involved! For those who prefer a book, the Northern California Japanese Sword Club has volume 1 in a reorganized edition: Book on Lulu

Unfortunately, my books all show the much longer mei—nothing with only two kanji. But some of the Onizuka Yoshikuni mei in my books look very similar at least as to the two kanji on your sword and as to their location relative to the shinogi (ridge line). I am now seeing that you posted on NMB about this sword 13 years ago well before its restoration. It is great to see that you followed through with your original plan. Who did the polishing?

Thanks for posting the additional photos @acefighter66. This is a great heirloom. While there are some similarities between the chiseling of the kanji on your sword and some of the examples the polisher provided, only having a two-kanji mei is obviously quite different than the longer signature that the Onizuka Yoshikuni smiths typically used and as shown in the examples. Additional research on the mei is needed. If I have time, I'll see what I can find in my books. To echo what @Geraint, shinsa might be your best option for attribution.

Well, I’m pretty inexperienced with kantei, so I could be way off here. I’m thinking Yamato-den, perhaps Naminohira. It looks like there are some areas of ayasugi hada and I see shirake utsuri.

I like your sword @Zoglet! Thanks for sharing the photos. I am surprised that no one has yet offered a kantei bid.

Thanks for sharing your experience @ZH1980! How was the customs declaration/tariff process once you entered the U.S.?

It was my third year attending the Las Vegas show, and I had a great time. There is something for everyone there--items are at all price ranges. I always enjoy seeing friends and meeting other collectors. While it is still a relatively small show, more tables were occupied than last year. And there were some dealers I had not previously seen at this show, such as Ginza Seiyudo with a really nice Ayanokoji tachi and a couple of nice kabuto. As @Scogg mentioned, Brian Tchernega's presentation was very informative. Mike Yamasaki gave a short behind-the-scenes presentation about his work on Pawn Stars, and there was an entertaining iaijutsu demonstration. The large, adjoining antiques arms show is also worth seeing. Several dealers over there had nihonto, menpo, and kabuto, including a nice kawari kabuto.

There are quite a few familiar faces in this excellent NHK World feature in which @Keichodo has a starring role. View it here.

Great video and explanation for those unfamiliar with nihonto. But as I watched the curator bend the blade, I doubted that the strict prior Japanese curator would have approved.

Anything is possible, but if that is a shill bidder, it would not make much sense for that bidder to be the first bidder on less desireable items that may not draw other bids. Now if the auction closes with only mrtierney50's bid, and the item gets relisted for sale on Aoi's website, then you might have a case to make. Internet auctions can be unpredictable and participant intentions are unknown. We hope that everyone is participating in good faith, but that simply isn't always reality. There are shills, of course. Some people participate with no intention of winning the item--they like being part of the game and drive up the cost without collusion. Some get carried away and bid well more than something is worth due to competitiveness. Yet others win auctions with no intention of paying. All very frustrating to legit, rational bidders.

Having gotten a preview, I can say that @nulldevice’s project is going to be a great resource—especially for visual learners. Adding/correcting the data will be very worthwhile.