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@Mushin Thank you for the great bits of insight ! Can I ask a question since you collect sue bizen as well ? Is it reasonable to assume a particular smith made a blade according to the time period in the meikan and also Markus Sesskos version ? I ask because I like to collect Kiyomitsu and I bought a piece at the end of last year dated Eisho 10. According to the Meikan and Sessko, there is only one Kiyomitsu at the time. Is associating the blade to a smith a reasonable assumption based on this ? The dealer says yes but im sure it s probably a lot of "dealer speak " Another thing that makes it difficult is that the blade is signed "Bishu Osafune Kiyomitsu Saku"and the meikan states that he did sign this way on some pieces instead of using his actual name. Im not sure if there are Katsumitus that fall in this category Thank you for your Insight -Kevin L

Thomas I love Sue Bizen blades ( esp Kiyomitsu ) and I 100% I agree with your view. I love the time period and the practical nature of their blades and I always enjoyed finding the few good ones out of the many rough samples. My most prized possession is a Tokubetsu Hozon kiyomitsu I purchased last year for roughly the same price as the ones above. It s just so surprising for me to see ones like above being priced in the same range as Tokubetsu Hozon Late Kamakura/Nanbokucho works. I am both happy to see that people find the appeal in them but also bummed at how high the prices are lol. One thing I can understand is the appeal of Ubu signed koto works. For some reason mumei suriage/O-suriage blade has started to bother me a bit lately. I think it s the idea of something being greatly altered and never being 100% certain of it s maker/school. Thank you for your input on the thread 🙏 -Kevin L

Good Afternoon I ve always enjoyed collecting Muromachi/Sue Bizen blades and I know they are usually associated with being less desirable compared to older koto blades. However, I ve noticed this year that Sue Bizen blades are being priced very high and I notice they tend to get bought fairly quickly. Here are 3 I found that are currently listed. https://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/katana/1722/00.html https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_tachi&katana_A010125.html https://www.toukenkomachi.com/index_en_tachi&katana_A051124.html They have all been listed this year, all Hozon and I dont know why they are priced around 1 million yen. Am I missing something ??? Hozon Sue Bizen blades were nowhere this price range when I purchased my last Kiyomitsu last year. - Kevin L

Good Afternoon I was very curious to learn more about a blade on Aoi ( not that I can ever afford it ) to see if I could gain some knowledge. https://www.aoijapan.com/katanamumei-kanemitsu18th-nbthk-tokubetsu-juyo-token/ The blade is a Toku Juyo Kanemitsu. It s obviously stunning but the entirety of one side looks like mokume while the other side is entierly ko itame. And the hamon on either side looks very different to me on the oshigata. Both jigane and hamon look beautiful on either side but also very different. What could cause this. I assume one side isnt all core steel if it has Toku Juyo -Kevin L

Hi Anthony ! Sent you a PM

Bump

Thank you for the insight Jussi 🙏🙏🙏 !

Good morning I was wondering if anyone had or if there s a source for a definitive time frame for the Hokke school. I ve always admired their blades whenever I see one so I was hoping to learn a little more. Their blades seem to be a less elegant Mihara but with a far more powerful and practical atmosphere which I prefer. I know that it is an offshoot of Mihara but there seems to be a lot of contradicting dates of origin and end. Many citing it was started in late kamakura by Sukekuni and some saying late nanbokucho/ early muromachi. Also have seen different suggestions for an end date with some citing pre 1500 and some saying they lasted all the way to Momoyama period. I ve seen Hokke with NBTHK certificates saying just " Hokke" and some specifically saying " Hokke-Nanbokucho " but im not sure if it s a way to separate muromachi and nanbokucho blade like they do with Ko Mihara and Mihara attributions Thank you for any info -Kevin L

Forgot to add accepting resonable offers as well. Thank you -Kevin L

Thank you Jacques for providing the term. Made it a whole lot easier find and look at other examples

Hello Im looking and considering this Mihara Masanobu ( end of nanbokucho ) and wanted to ask for some opinions on this bo hi . I ve never purchased blades with a bo hi so im not very fond of them but this ones seems awfully close to the kissaki border. My first thought was that the kissaki has been reshaped significantly in the past but the boshi looks very healthy and similar to other ko mihara blades i ve seen. Thank you -Kevin L

Final price change to $2900 USD . Free shipping within the USA Thank You - Kevin

Additional photos https://www.kozmopho...-Kongo-Hyoe/n-dvT5g3 Thank you -Kevin L

Price change to $3200 USD (Shipping Included ) Thank you -Kevin L

Few more in daylight. Seriously underestimated how hard it is to photograph nihonto lol

Good Evening I am looking to part ways with one of my blades. The blade is mumei and attributed to Ko-Kongo-Hyoe by the NBTHK. It was my first Late Kamakura / Nanbokucho blade and I hope it can be enjoyed the same was by the next caretaker. I will try to upload more photos as it s a real pain to upload with the size restrictions but please feel free to message me for any additional info or images and I will do my best to provide them. Thank you - Kevin Type (Tachi, Katana, Wakizashi, Tanto, Naginata, Other) : Katana Ubu, Suriage or O-Suriage : O-suriage Mei : (Mumei, Signature) : mumei Papered or not and by whom? : NBTHK Hozon 2021 Era/Age : Late Kamakura / Nanbokucho Shirasaya, Koshirae or Bare Blade? : Shirasaya Nagasa/Blade Length : 68.5cm Sori : 1.2 cm Hamon Type : Hosho Suguha Jihada : itame/mokume with masame near the Ha Other Hataraki Visible : Flaws : none Sword Location : US Will ship to : US Payment Methods Accepted : paypal Price and Currency : $3500.00 USD ( includes shipping )

Good afternoon I was wondering if anyone had a copy available for purchase or anyone that sells them ? " Sword Smiths Of The Kongobyoe School & The Warrior Monks of Chikuzen" The JSSC seemingly has them but they have not responded when I inquired Thank you all in advance -Kevin L

Hi Kirill The sword and seller is in Japan. Unfortunately I cant quite find a good image of the boshi. There are images that i think shows mokume. And I agree the sugata is strange. It reminds me of kongo hyoe blade and a bit of naminohira. Looking forward to seeing it in hand

Good Evening Recently purchased a very cheap blade and was wondering if some of the forum members would take a guess what it may be. The pictures are from the seller and not super detailed. Mumei: 71 cm . Mokume ? Again, a very cheap blade with no papers so I have zero expectations. Just curiosity.

Unrelated question but are these horizontal micro scratches from handling/cleaning or just part of the polish. They are not visible unless direct light hits it a certain way. Was curious since it seems like absolutely everything and anything will scratch tamahagane lol