Ray Singer Posted June 10, 2020 Report Posted June 10, 2020 Credit to Paul Martin for sharing this post. "According to today’s Sankei Shinbun, Kondo Isami’s (Shinsengumi) beloved ‘Kotetsu’ may have been discovered. The blade is apparently a gimei Okimasa (2nd Gen. Kotetsu), but the possibility that it was Kondo’s is high." 8 Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted June 10, 2020 Report Posted June 10, 2020 How in the world can they tie a specific blade to a person, if it hasn't been in a clan's holdings? 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted June 10, 2020 Report Posted June 10, 2020 Ken, the whole story is explained in some detail in the article but it’s so fuzzy I gave up in the middle. Someone bought it on a net auction for 950,000 yen, and then asked the Shinsengumi society to investigate. Running a search https://special.sankei.com/a/life/article/20200608/0001.html 2 Quote
lonely panet Posted June 10, 2020 Report Posted June 10, 2020 Wasn't the blade badly damaged or bent from a fighting?? From what i read in the book 1 Quote
Baka Gaijin Posted June 10, 2020 Report Posted June 10, 2020 Shinsengumi seems to be flavour of the week, here's a blade in Koshirae with a stated link to Souji Okita, currently at a prestigious gallery in London: https://japanesegallery.com/katana-mumei-attributed-kashu-kiyomitsu-with-hozon-token 2 Quote
Ken-Hawaii Posted June 10, 2020 Report Posted June 10, 2020 They were nasty buggers, but got the job done. Be good if both blades were correctly attributed. 1 Quote
francois2605 Posted June 10, 2020 Report Posted June 10, 2020 On 6/10/2020 at 7:31 AM, Grim Reaper said: Shinsengumi seems to be flavour of the week, here's a blade in Koshirae with a stated link to Souji Okita, currently at a prestigious gallery in London: https://japanesegallery.com/katana-mumei-attributed-kashu-kiyomitsu-with-hozon-token Indeed, I was reading about this blade earlier this week. I'm (maybe wrongly) amazed that such an historical artifact can be found outside Japan. 4 Quote
16k Posted June 10, 2020 Report Posted June 10, 2020 Great link François! I wish we had more details about Kondo's blade and how it was authenticated. 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted June 11, 2020 Report Posted June 11, 2020 Regarding François’s interesting link above, the expression Bukotsu 無骨 today generally means rustic, rough and ready. In the context of the sword there is a set phrase 人間無骨 Ningen Mukotsu, which goes back to the inscription on a famous Jumonji Yari wielded by Mori Nagayasu, cutting through bodies as if they had no bones. Izumi no Kami Kanésada 5 Quote
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