sanjuro

I agree with Thomas. Hard to nail something down to a narrow 60 year period with Number three, but it has all the look of a Nambokucho piece.

Mods. Isnt it time to lock this thread? Its going nowhere fast. On the other hand, we could of course keep it open to see who can formulate the best veiled insults.

Peter. I must say that looks to be quite a handsome iron habaki. Are you sure this blade is Shinto?????? Despite the mei, it looks to be an older nakago. What I'm saying here is that more pics are needed........ full blade, kissaki et al :D ....... You know the drill.

Adrian. You may find that your rather peremptory demands for the exact information you want, coupled with your somewhat boorish dismissal of information given to you on the grounds that it is not in the format you desire or not in the order in which you would like it presented, is beginning to wear a little on those who are trying to help you. Just an observation which I think is of use to those newbies who might follow you. Thus might this slight deviation in topic be an object lesson.

Jacques. Thanks for posting this quote. So.....Essentially its old style polish for old blades and new style polish (relative terminology) for more modern blades, except under the circumstances given. I cannot disagree with this philosophy nor the insight into Western versus Eastern tastes. Nor would I, given the source of these insights.

Chris. Just picking up on a statement of yours, and I apologise for the partial quote. Would you care to expand on this a little and explain why this is so? Is it purely on the basis of demand or is there a technical reason?

Piers. Just to enlarge on my statement. Kebori or rather as in this case Katakiri, is reputed to be an imitation of the style of the kano painters. The incisions need to flow like brush strokes and any stilting in the flow as around the claw of the dragon on this fuchi, detracts from the overall effect. The incisions are accents as well as delimiters of shape. It is very difficult to do artistically in a medium such as metal using a chisel and tagane.

The design is good but the execution is a little crude in some places. JMHO

............And kesho may be likened to showing an X-ray of a naked girl. :D Sometimes all the information is too much information. What is worse, kesho is all too often a re-touched X-ray.

Chris. Personal opinion here: I own swords in both kinds of polish. I am fairly confident in knowing how to look at a sword. However, I tend to be more accepting of a kesho polish on swords of later vintage. Shinto and Shin shinto blades seem to be improved by the kesho finish. Koto blades on the other hand to me always look better in sashikomi. Both the ha and hada being seen 'in period' as it were. Perhaps this is an idiosyncracy of my own, - I am a traditionalist after all.

I'm no expert on polishing by any means. However, I think it is an unfortunately sad fact that today's collectors of so called 'art swords' (Whatever your perception of the term might be) are to blame for the artificiality of some polishing jobs. There seems to be this desire on the part of many modern collectors to peer into every aspect of the steel's nature, every nuance of its structure. This is all well and good, but in an effort to provide this window into the steel as it were, the togishi treads a fine line between showing the sword to its best advantage on the one hand and totally misrepresenting the ha and hada on the other. I am not a fan of hadori polish on a koto blade. Come to think of it, based on the bad examples one sees, I'm actually not a fan of a modern version of a hadori polish at all. Too much that is simply not there can be 'painted' on, and subtle hada can be masked or made overt to the point of ugliness. :D To borrow a previous analogy, an old whore can look good in the right light with the right makeup. Equally, many a subtle beauty can be ruined by the same makeup in the clearer light of day.

Peter. Iron habaki were used on old tachi blades originally, and one needs to go back to the Heian and Kamakura periods to find them used commonly. Since your sword is a Shinto example, my guess is that your iron habaki has been made and fitted to a comparatively newer blade as the result of a special order, possibly to accompany a koshirae of an antiquarian nature. Without the sword or any koshirae to refer to pictorially, its a bit difficult to do anything but guess of course, but yes, it seems you have a blade that raises one or two fascinating questions.

The banana looks yummy!!!!! It appears that there is a sizeable bit missing on the tip of the kissaki. This may be a big problem in that the ha is lost (if you're thinking of bringing this back to life).

Chris has a good point, but if you insist on tachi I have found it better to get one in old polish. Hadori polish means recent and maybe the last of the blade's life has been ground away. Whatever you get its going to be a balance of how tired the blade is against how old it is. Its a different prospect to a shinto or shinshinto blade.

Alex. At 10k in big blades like Nambo examples, expect some small kitae ware. Mesame hada particularly as has been discussed elsewhere, is particularly prone and is to be expected. Also, if there has been machi okuri and only a small suriage, it is OK as the sword has almost certainly been remounted. Look for classical nakago shapes if possible. There are also a few Sengoku blades around that are worth a look despite the fact they do not have a good reputation. It may be that this is where you will find something worth buying. Given your keen interest in these blades I'm pretty sure you will know what to look for. Be prepared to spend a little over your 10k ..Good Luck!!!!

Did I mention they aren't cheap. Probably not........ So I'll mention it now. They aren't cheap. No koshirae either.......

Alex. In thirty years of collecting koto tachi, I have only four. I will not buy Osuriage tachi because they have been significantly altered and are no longer tachi. Signed ubu tachi from the Nambokucho period or the Sengoku jidai are to say the least, not common. Patience is the key word here....... Occasionally, a blade that is ubu and not polished to death becomes available. :D

I would add, 'or has a black lacquered shirasaya'. And that my friends, just about says it all. :D

I cant find a mon like this in any of my computer files on Kamon. What is it that is piercing the gourd on the OP mon? is it an arrow?

I could be wrong here, but wasnt this one of the battle flag/Sashimono emblems of the ikko ikki forces ?

Jacques. I think Jean was merely expressing a personal opinion, not issuing a kantei certificate. Personal opinions are a liberty to which we are all entitled. Since Jean isn't exactly a dummy when it comes to nihonto, in the spirit in which it was given, I respect both the opinion and his right to express it.

Jacques. In your usual rush to find fault with something, in fact anything that someone has stated, you have missed a rather crucial part of what Jean has said. The entire sentence from which you have quoted appears below. 'WERE IT NOT FOR THE KISU AT THE YOKOTE LEVEL', seems to have been lost in your reading. I could be wrong of course, but It seems that the entire quote leaves your statement rather flat and redundant.

Micko This was listed on ebay a couple of months back. Surely there cannot be two small Japanese swords 'w/shief' and including 'harry' knives, owned by the same seller in Oregon? If not knowledgeable he certainly is persistent. Do they put something strange in the water in Oregon?????? I love the fact that his 'buy now' price is ten grand more than his starting price which is about $89,000 dollars more than its real value.

Adrian. My apologies indeed! You are so obviously erudite, worldly and intelligent, not to mention all knowing, that you could not possibly make the same mistakes that hundreds of newbies who think just like you have fallen foul of. You have totally missed the point of any advice given to you. Now, since you equally obviously dont need any advice whatsoever regarding nihonto, why the hell did you bother asking for it?????? Dont bother replying...... I'm done with both you and this thread.

More likely, probably not! Given that you claim to have only just begun in this extremely complex world of nihonto, and to make a statement like this, really says 'I dont know what I dont know' and 'I dont even appreciate how much there is to know'. In a sense, at the moment you are most likely your own worst enemy in regards to acquiring a reasonable sword without the benefit of advice from some sort of mentor. :D