Advice On An Important Mukansa Nihonto

[Widowmaker]

Hello, guys. 

 

I recently plan to buy a Mukansa level nihonto and I found this one. 

 

http://imgur.com/BDpYQXa

 

I want to know your opinions or critics on this sword. Especially what are the flaws of this sword.  For me, the only thing which disturb me is the width at the Hassaki which is a little bit thin compare to the average (2,65cm compare to 3cm). Also the price is around

1 000 000 JPY. Do you think it is worth it ? By the way the sword doesn't have any tosogu. I have to ship it to a Japanese craftman so that he can make a scabbard and tsuka for me.

 

Thank you very much. 

[Ray Singer]

There are several kitae-ware in the shinogi-ji, including a longer one in the kissaki area. Depending on how fussy someone is about having a perfect shinsakuto, that might be an issue. The sword looks like a very nice piece through and this smith produces excellent work. I see in your other post that you are asking whether this would be a good sword for tameshigiri. The blade has more delicate proportions. I am not by any means a martial arts practitioner, but if so it most likely would not be my first choice to use such a high quality gendaito in top (mukansa?) polish for tameshigiri. Another option would be to commission one made for that purpose and made to your exact specifications. Someone such as Paul Martin might be able to help with that process if there were an interest.

 

Best regards,

Ray

[Ray Singer]

It comes to mind that there was a shinsakuto available at one point by the Mukansa smith Enomoto Sadayoshi, made specifically for tameshigiri. That sword has a wide mihaba, thick kasane and a longer nakago with shinobi ana.

 

Best regards,

Ray

[SwordGuyJoe]

What do you like about it? What are you looking to do? Collect or practice? The sword itself is nice, but I agree with Ray on the ware. I'd not spend that much on a newer sword that isn't as close to perfect as possible.

[Stephen]

Ok you young guys with good eyes point out the ware please, i only see one image and its very dark above the ji, is it the ones with small white flecks/lines?

[Ray Singer]

See below for a photo of the kitae-ware I referred to. The Yukihira is pretty close to perfect, my question is more whether this is perfect for the buyer's needs. Depending on what kodogu are selected and the cost to craft the koshirae this endeavor could easily be 1,300,000 JPY or more. There are quite a lot of options for high quality gendaito at that price, but I will admit to being more than a bit concerned by the thought of this sword or one at that level being used for cutting.

 

BTW, it is interesting to read the chapter on the mukansa swordsmith Ohno Yoshimitsu (New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths) where he discusses a commission he received for swords to be used by martial arts practitioners, and how the requirements forced him to take a different approach to insure that the swords fulfilled his customer's needs. One of his swords made for martial arts usage was offered for sale at one point and it looked quite different from his typical art swords.

 

Best regards,

Ray

[SwordGuyJoe]

My opinion is that this sword was forged for a collector, not a practitioner. If the end use is cutting, then there are hundreds of less expensive options that already have koshirae. Here is a site I frequent and their selection of swords for iaido: http://www.e-sword.jp/iai.htm

[Ken-Hawaii]

Ruoyu, may I suggest that you take your questions over to http://e-budo.com, where you will find many of us who train in & teach tameshigiri, & who will be happy to point you to suitable shinken.

 

Ken

 

[tony edmunds]

As an aside (apologies to OP) was fortunate to attend an exhibition of Miyairi Yukihira in Tokyo this year and to meet he smith, a very charming gentleman.

His swords really appealed to me and  funds permitting I would be delighted to own one. His nie deki hamon are especially spectacular.

[stevel48]

On 12/10/2016 at 3:52 PM, Ray Singer said:

See below for a photo of the kitae-ware I referred to. The Yukihira is pretty close to perfect, my question is more whether this is perfect for the buyer's needs. Depending on what kodogu are selected and the cost to craft the koshirae this endeavor could easily be 1,300,000 JPY or more. There are quite a lot of options for high quality gendaito at that price, but I will admit to being more than a bit concerned by the thought of this sword or one at that level being used for cutting.

 

BTW, it is interesting to read the chapter on the mukansa swordsmith Ohno Yoshimitsu (New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths) where he discusses a commission he received for swords to be used by martial arts practitioners, and how the requirements forced him to take a different approach to insure that the swords fulfilled his customer's needs. One of his swords made for martial arts usage was offered for sale at one point and it looked quite different from his typical art swords.

 

Best regards,

Ray

 

 

Ray, where might i find this chapter on Ono Yoshimitsu?

Thanks