Rare Miyairi Akihira war era blade with Tokubetsu Hozon

[cabowen]

Gendai collectors may enjoy seeing this:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WW2-GENDAITO-MIYAIRI-AKIHIRA-YUKIHIRA-1943-Japanese-Samurai-Sword-Tsuba-/271674481847?pt=Asian_Antiques&hash=item3f410f9cb7

 

I have owned 2 and seen perhaps 6 war era Miyairi blades; he didn't make all that many blades during the war because he worked very slowly, being a perfectionist. Hopefully the seller will post pictures of the blade soon....

 

I am not affiliated with the seller or auction in any way. Just posting this as an FYI......

[w.y.chan]

Almost certain I've seen this sword before.

 

Wah

[cabowen]

Was purchased at the Dai Token Ichi, so may have been on a Japanese dealer's web site???

[w.y.chan]

I remember now.

 

Wah

[Soshin]

Hi Chris,

 

I know the seller and we talked mid October he was planning to attend DTI this year. This fine sword must have been something he picked up at DTI. Nice sword thanks for sharing.

[zentsuji2]

Lot of money Chris.

We're the swords you owned worthy of this price tag?

I only have oshigata to go by.

What style did he use,and was he better than sadakazu, Shigetsugu.

I know his rating but have never seen one up close.

It's a question for education on what made him the cream of the crop.

Regards

Ian Bellis

[Jean]

Ian,

 

You have to understand that to be educational you have to compare at least ten swords by each quoted smiths by handling them. Words cannot substitute to the real thing. Education is made by handling swords.

He worked in Kiyomaro style, it is written in the link provided by Chris. Once again to be educational you have had to handle several Kiyomaro and several Miyairi blades to compare.

[cabowen]

Miyairi san was a Ningen Kokuho, unlike Sadakatsu or Shigetsugu. He is very famous (and was very well liked). These are important factors in regards to the price. His war era work is quite rare as I mentioned and it doesn't hurt that his work is very good. His war era work is thus valued quite highly, though not as highly as his post war and post Ningen Kokuho nomination work. Personally, I don't think his war era work is any better than Gassan or Kasama san's work, nor many others. One pays something extra for the name and fame...

 

He worked primarily in Bizen-den and Soden Bizen, like his teachers, during the war. He is of course in the Kasama den. After the war he often worked in Soden Bizen and also worked in the style of Kiyomaro. Remember they were both from Shinshu!

 

Usually, in my experience, the work done AFTER one becomes Ningen Kokuho is more valuable and in much greater demand than the work done prior. If you study prices of work done pre and post of a wide variety of artists, not just swordsmiths, you will notice this trend. Incidentally, buying the work of a smith who you think will become a Ningen Kokuho as an investment is usually not a winning ticket (unless of course you manage to find a very good deal and buy it below market for that smith). With little doubt this sword was purchased in Japan at Japanese retail and the Ebay price is well in excess of Japanese retail. I would call this a case of buying high and gambling you can sell higher...One always has to consider the seller. If you do some research you will find he usually attaches very large price tags, clearly a believer in PT Barnum's maxim. Keeping in mind the fact that one can always come down, but never go up, why not shoot for the stars??? You will notice though that the price is coming down....

 

As I said above, I have owned two war era Miyairi blades. Both Bizen den. The first I bought on Ebay and sold for about half of what is being asked for the current item. The second I bought in Japan through the back door for $6000 and I have no plans to sell it. Neither of mine had/have kantei-sho but they are both very good and representative of his war era work. The 5-6 others I have seen for sale in Japan over the years were priced at $10K-$15K as best I can remember. I have also seen a few Takahashi Sadatsugu (another NIngen Kokuho) war era blades over the years for sale. These were around $15K-$18K but also had horimono.

 

Interestingly, the one I sold I had once brought to a NTHK-NPO Taikai, along with a blade by Ota Chikahide, and they were both displayed. Miyano sensei, the head of the NTHK-NPO, not knowing they were mine, was behind me as we went through the long display of swords. The two I brought were at the end of the line, the Ota blade the last one. He spent a long time looking at it and when he put it down he said to me, "These two gendai are really nice but that last blade really surprised me! I have never seen that smiths work but it is as good as these shinshinto!" The shinshinto work he referred to were several blades by Koyama Munetsugu who is one of the top shinshinto smiths. I was quite happy obviously to hear such an unsolicited opinion from someone with Miyano sensei's experience and knowledge. One should keep this in mind: there were many talented but rather unknown smiths from this period and learning to recognize quality, rather than chasing names, will allow one to assemble a high quality collection without paying a premium.

 

Back to the blade under discussion, I will conclude by saying no doubt this is a good sword and quite rare. The market will decide what it is worth....

[w.y.chan]

Chris offer some interesting observation about swords in particular how the market place value of swords by a smith pre and post Ningen Kokuho. I recall an interview by Kawachi Kunihira in which he claims swordsmiths are at their best when they are in their 40s and 50s. While I accept it is case by case but in general I believe Kawachi san's assessment to be generally correct for most smiths. When I choose a shinsakuto I judge the blade based on its own merit first and then based on the age of the smith which I think when he was at his prime. Even if a smith becomes Ningen Kokuho if he is in his 70s there is every chance his work may not be as good as when he was at his best when he was in his 40s and 50s even though the market may decide his post LNT sword as more valuable.

 

I think Okimasa is just as good if not better than Akihira during their respective active years but the latter became LNT so all his early pre LNT swords had a price hike.

 

 

Wah

[cabowen]

Truly hard to say when a smith is in his prime as everyone is an individual. Some are better in their 20's than others ever are! And some do remarkable work into their 70's and 80's. These days, with the limits on output and the use of machinery, smiths' bodies don't see the wear and tear they did previously and thus, conceivably, they should be able to work at a high level longer.

 

I agree completely with your excellent observation that work done after receiving the LNT designation may well not be the best of one's oeuvre on an absolute basis and only valued higher due to the status that the designation LNT confers...

 

I agree that Tsukamoto Okimasa was at least as good, if not better. I would even say better, at least at the time of his death. He was rated much higher during the war and won many more awards. Miyairi san really came into his own with the boom in the sword market which unfortunately for Okimasa, occurred about 10 years or so after his death. I have no doubt that Tsukamoto was on the path to become a Ningen Kokuho and would probably have if not for his untimely death...He is my personal favorite so I am a bit biased....

[w.y.chan]

With age I believe the eyesight is a serious impediment in critical judging and when doing yaki-ire. It still amazes me how some smiths in their 70s move like a teenager, most people at that age has difficulty making a cuppa.

 

I thought Okimasa was denied the chance to be the first LNT because he made fake masterpieces that fooled a few experts and punished for it?

 

 

Wah

[cabowen]

True, eyesight is very important but they make some serious eyewear these days! I remember watching Enomoto Sadayoshi make swords at 90+ years of age. I asked him if his age was a factor and he told me he had done this so much for so long he could do it in his sleep!

 

I think we see experience and knowledge making up for a loss in physical skills in many fields. No doubt at some point though they are not enough to compensate and the work declines...

 

There are a lot of rumors about Okimasa (and most other well known smiths for that matter)....It is hard to separate fact from fiction but if we look at how connected he was at the time of his death, his students, the prizes he won, the buzz around him (the movie, magazine article), etc., it is a safe bet that as one of the most famous smiths of his day, he was on the path....Becoming a Ningen Kokuho depends on many things and without a doubt politics is one of the biggest factors. He was a rather brash person who was very confident in his abilities and not afraid to say so. But bottom line, he backed it up. I have heard time and again from old collectors and sensei that he would have been a LNT if he had lived longer. It is an oft expressed opinion. Seemingly he had everything required. Whether or not he had the political clout is a matter that can't ever be known....