Actual Papered (Th) Masamune For Sale

[Fuuten]

So gents, who has some funds laying around? Here i would recall that the worst Masamune is still a Masamune

 

http://www.nipponto.co.jp/swords3/KT327059.htm

 

[Jussi Ekholm]

It is not *The* Masamune but a Ko-Bizen smith, still remarkable sword in it's own right. *The* Masamune signed with 正宗 and this Masamune signed with 政宗. Of course you might already know this but not everyone knows the difference.

 

I think the condition explains why this is a signed Ko-Bizen sword so cheaply and also explains the paper level. I saw some pretty nice Ko-bizen swords at few Tokyo shops & museums but they are in different ballpark from this. Still that sword might suit a historical collector like myself (way way out of my league) who seeks a Ko-bizen sword on a budget and appreciates signature over condition. Highly collectable sword regardless of the condition, you just have to look past that and appreciate the good things on this sword.

 

I think this is quite opposite of the wakizashi sized Ko-Bizen sword posted a while ago. I remember it was in lot better condition but of course shortened and this one is signed. Still these less than perfect examples offer a chance to add a Ko-Bizen sword into collection if that is what you dream of because the good examples from this school cost a lot.

[Fuuten]

Apologies for the misleading title. Somewhere in my mind i knew

[ROKUJURO]

The NAKAGO is astonishingly well preserved and clean for that age. And the upper MEKUGI-ANA looks drilled, not punched. 

[TheGermanBastard]

Condition is not great but it is Ko Bizen and even signed.

[Ray Singer]

Much of the nakago may have been resurfaced as part of the suriage process, including the (relatively) fresh yasuri-mei that we are seeing.

 

 

The NAKAGO is astonishingly well preserved and clean for that age.  

[mywei]

I would add a caveat that the paper states ’と銘がある'（to mei ga aru), the significance of which has been discussed on the board before.

[Ray Singer]

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/14367-hozon-paper-translation/

[Jussi Ekholm]

Someone with access to something like jūyō index could check about this Masamune smith how rare his works are. As the reference example at Merin Sangyo is one that passed 12th jūyō-shinsa. This seems to be only mei example of this Masamune smith I have in my books as this one is also featured in Koto Meikan by Markus.

 

So it could be difficult for shinsa team to verify the signature 100% if the smith is very rare or something else unusual with the signature? I will quote Darcy, taken from his write up of Rai Kunitoshi tanto: http://www.nihonto.ca/rai-kunitoshi/

 

 

There is a rarely issued opinion of to mei ga aru that applies sometimes on very old blades. It indicates that the signature is accepted but but the NBTHK thinks it is unusual and an area for research (which I've attempted to provide). The NBTHK does not paper blades with false signatures. These will fail shinsa and are returned to the owner who must then remove the signature and submit it again for papers. Blades with this notation do pass Juyo and Tokubetsu Juyo.

 

[Jamie]

 

In almost all cases this would be dismissed as tired. However you can see some of the trademarks in it.

Nice old warrior. I really like ko bizen.

[Darcy]

There is only one Juyo and it's the one example they are showing in this reference. It is not uncommon to find these Ko-Bizen smiths with just one signed example left and sometimes the smith is completely unknown. They authorize it though because the signature is of the right age to be on the blade, that is the blade looks 700 to 1000 years old and the signature looks 700 to 1000 years old and there is no difference between the signature and the body of the nakago if you're trying to "carbon date" with your eyes. So it goes on as a valid signature on a valid blade except we just don't know the guy as he escaped being recorded. 

 

Learning example here.

 

Note on the paper (と銘がある) 

 

You need to know this. Because very few people will draw your attention to it. 

 

I have this on one of my blades and I indicate it and explain it (Norishige tanto).

 

This reads as "To mei ga aru" and basically says (there is a signature). If the NBTHK thought it was gimei they would not paper it. This wording indicates that the NBTHK thinks it is of the right time period but they are currently unsure if it should be entirely included into the representative signatures of the smith. So it is on the fringe, requires study, and maybe there is some disagreement among the judges.

 

You need to be able to recognize that on papers when it's there so you can make an informed decision. So this is a good example to look at and understand the context it is being used in. 

 

As for misunderstanding it as Soshu Masamune, be aware that there is a Ko-Bizen Norishige, a Ko-Bizen Yukimitsu, a Ko-Bizen Mitsutada and so forth. They covered a lot of ground in the names! Signed examples exist of all these guys so when you see one you need to check the rest of the description to be sure you know what the context is.

 

Another note, variations on "to mei ga aru" can be added to shumei and kinpunmei and kinzoganmei.

 

This means something similar but different, because it is not applying to the signature now but it is an implication toward the judgement that that signature represents. So, it is basically "there is an attribution to" instead of "there is a signature of" in terms of how you read it. 

 

In the first case they are not doubting the conclusion of where it is attributed, they are making their own attribution and then putting the signature in the grey area.

 

When there is a gold or lacquer signature, now they are putting the attribution in the grey area by using this phrase.

 

This indicates a degree of doubt about the judgment involved. There is a Juyo Masamune with Honami Koyu kinzoganmei and signature. NBTHK put (there is a gold inlaid signature). That then is them taking a half step away from this. The blade still passed as Masamune but if you see that note you need to dig into the paper and check the context. 

 

Context context context. 

 

If you encounter a Yukimitsu though that goes Tokuju and it looks like Sadamune and they say they're tentatively accepting an old judgment of Yukimitsu, but it is certainly one of the top Soshu smiths, you need to do the head math and see they are ruling in Sadamune as a possibility because Yukimitsu traditionally had a wider range in his use as an attribution target than he has now. If they say they have their doubts about Yukimitsu as a judgment and it bears some Yamato hallmarks elsewhere in the work now you need to do head math and see they are ruling in Taema as a possibility. 

 

Inside some of these Honami kinzogan mei type attributions, the commentary reflects on the attribution and how the judges feel about it. Sometimes this is leaning positive with doubt, sometimes negative with doubt. If you see "the attribution needs further study but it is certainly work of a high level Soshu smith" and this thing has a kinzoganmei Masamune on it you need to understand there is no direction up for that thing to go so the only direction is down. It means maybe Shizu, maybe Yukimitsu as more likely candidates. You need then to consult the style, because you could also go to Go, Norishige, Sadamune, depending on which direction the blade is taking you. If it is two steps from Masamune they'd just refuse to paper it. 

 

There is another Juyo example of Rai Kunitoshi in kinzogan and that blade the commentary says it is more likely Rai Kunimitsu.

 

On another the blade has kinzogan Kaneuji with no judge and they let that sit while papering it to Naoe Shizu. The handwaving involves there being multiple generations of Kaneuji so this then is directed toward the 2nd generation who is by way of not being the Shodai, one of the Naoe Shizu smiths.

 

They are leaving these in place because they are trying to act like the law when there are conflicting rights at work. They don't want to wipe out the Honami judgment as there is still some percentage chance that it is OK and they respect the fact that the Honami saw blades that we do not get to see today. But on the other hand they do not want to jump in with both feet and say that this is doubtlessly correct. So it exists in this grey area and you need to use your brain to factor in the various potentials and what that mean to you as a student or a buyer.

 

None of this says the blade is a bad blade, when it's used. They passed Juyo 59 times and this notation is on Juyo Bijutsuhin and on two Tokubetsu Juyo as well. It is found on some kodogu too.