Gerry

Oh my, they confiscated a Yasukuni-to based on the same in the tsuka? Gosh, I'm very sorry to hear that. Was there any way for you to appeal their decision, or was it non-negotiable?

Oh, the sword was actually quite nicely repacked, and I couldn't find any signs of damage to the fittings or sword. I was initially concerned that they would have lost the NTHK origami, but those were included in the inner box as well.

Hi Everyone, I was pleasantly surprised 30 minutes ago by a ring on my doorbell from the USPS, with what looked to be a very long box. Lo and behold, my shingunto surprisingly made it to my doorstep, despite the USPS tracking data showing no updates. Inside, there was "US Fish and Wildlife" tape all over the contents, and for some reason, it seems like the fish and wildlife department had my sword for 2 weeks. Not sure why that was so, and I'm just glad that the sword made it to me in one piece.

I appreciate everyone's encouragement and pointers on how to deal with my lost sword. I've created a case with the USPS Inspector General's office, and also left a message for the USPS Chicago Consumer Center about my missing sword. With regards to using UPS for shipping swords to Japan, I have used them before without issue, but it's actually dependent on whether the sword dealer/shipper is registered to use UPS. Unfortunately, not many sword dealers are, so EMS has become the more common choice of courier service from Japan.

Great, and I'll try this route also. Thanks!

Hi Mark, I've opened 2 USPS service requests, and also done 2 missing item searches, and filed a US Postal Inspection Service theft report. Were there any other ways of contacting USPS about your missing package besides what I've already tried? Thanks.

Hi Conway, thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but it was actually the USPS search team themselves who told me they couldn't find my package, and to go ahead and file my insurance claim.

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that a shingunto enroute to me from Japan has been stolen from the USPS Chicago Distribution Center on April 20, 2026. The package left US Customs on April 20 at 9.16am, and into the USPS Chicago Distribution Center. Progress with the delivery stopped after that, and the USPS isn't able to find my package after over a week. What's ironic is that this sword was ordered before the Trump tariffs of April 2025, and was stuck in Japan due to EMS being down for the last year. So I've been waiting for it since then, and my first sword delivery since EMS resumption gets stolen at USPS. So, I ask if you could all keep an eye out for a long 28.5" mumei shingunto with papers to Dotanuki. The sword description and photos are as follow: Nagasa = 72.42cm or 28.51" Base width: approx. 2.9 cm Base thickness: approx. 0.6 cm Tip width: approx. 1.9 cm Tip thickness: approx. 0.4 cm Blade weight: 703.4 g Curvature: 1.21 cm The hamon is a subtle wavy gunome, and the tang has 2 mekugi ana. Most importantly, the seppa and tsuba all have a kanji eleven "十一" numbering on them. It also comes with a gold foil 2 piece habaki. Please inform the police that this is stolen property if you encounter this sword on an online listing on being sold in a store or trade show.

I was just at the 2nd phase of the Jubi exhibition at the NBTHK museum this week, and it was quite a treat to see so many Kamakura era ubu zaimei tachi. The standout to me was the 96.3cm signed Tomonari tachi below: There was also a Norishige tanto with a gorgeous jigane, but it was was odd that the mekugi ana were both punched straight through the characters of the mei: There was also a Tsunahiro hirazukuri wakizashi with a flamboyant hamon: And also a Masamune, which I honestly didn't find to be that outstanding: There were lots of koto blades with prominent utsuri, such as this Muneyoshi: And a few blades had the hamon on the kissaki running very close to the edge: One very interesting sword to me was a Kaneyoshi that was signed and dated both on the same side of the nakago:

I'm always surprised by how popular koa isshin mantetsu swords are in Japan. Considering that they aren't even traditionally made, and were mass produced, It's incredulous as to why anyone would pay 4.2M yen for this one listed below in tachi mounts. You can easily get a pretty good Juyo level sword for that price. https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1226389024

I think one of the senior forum members here recently purchased a sword from them that went on to paper for TH.

Just goes to show that not all swords owned by Daimyo were good swords.

Just thought it'd be interesting to share... This listing just came up for a "Sa" blade, and it has a daimyo torokusho registration number of 24, which is the lowest I've seen yet. https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1227331676

This Yahoo Japan listing purportedly shows General Yamashita's shingunto, with a Yasunori blade. I'm not sure how authentic this listing is, since the blade doesn't look like a Yasukunito to me. https://www.jauce.com/auction/m1223043675

My bad...I meant the sword was recent-ish NTHK papers.