Hello and impulse ebay purchase

[SPM]

Hello to all from Western Australia and thank you for the informative forum

 

 

I am new to Japanese swords and have been trying to educate myself on the subject through a variety of sources which is an ongoing process I imagine till the day one dies.

Anyway I made an impulse purchase for my first acquisition on eBay and yes I know my folly but anyway I was wondering if I could ask for help in the way of an experienced opinion of the sword, I have yet to hold this sword in my hand and after reading here about Tokubetsu kicho papers being dubious I have been wondering how silly I have been considering the price i paid $2800usd.

 

Thank you in advance for any help and a very good day to you all.

 

Steve

[JH Lee]

Papers or not, it looks really gorgeous.  The whole package.  I would've paid 2800+ if I had the money.

[Brian]

Forget the papers, the price was ok for a sword without papers or signature. You did ok, a nice package.

[16k]

Nice sword. Very good first purchase. Congrats!

[Geraint]

Dear Steve.

 

As you say you have embarked on a lifelong journey of discovery and learning, this sword will give you plenty to work on.  It's in polish so you will be able to see what the sword has to offer and as everyone else has said the koshirae is very nice.  One observation is that with three seppa it is possible that at some time the tsuba has been swapped out, the present one looks like a sanmai tsuba, something to look into when it arrives.  Enjoy the moment of opening the parcel!

 

All the best.

[Shugyosha]

I think the papers give it to Shitahara Terushige - there were a couple of these working at the end of the Muromachi period and into the early shinto period. I don't think they're obvious targets for forgery so there's a reasonable chance that it's a genuine signature. They worked in the Soshu tradition and you can see the remains of the Soshu-style nakago though altered for the suriage.

 

Looks like a decent start to your collection.

[SPM]

Thank you all for the replies it has reassured me that I was not as foolish as I suspected  I was.

It certainly seemed to choose me after endless looking on sites all over the internet, I suspect I will be bitten by the collecting bug once I hold this sword.

How many swords will be enough is now the worry.

 

Regards

Steve

[DoTanuki yokai]

How long is this ? Looks like a wakizashi to me.

 

[vajo]

Nice sword. Congrats!

 

It's a wakizashi Christian.

[SPM]

Waki it is the dimensions given are

Blade length: 49.6cm/ 19.56 inches
Curvature: 0.9cm / 0.35 inches
Total length: 70.0cm/ 27.55 inches
Blade Weight: 469.0g
Total Weight: 862.0g
Age: Muromachi era

 

Please enlighten me further on christian and excuse my ignorance I am in my infancy when it comes to understanding Japanese swords, my head is spinning trying to retain and organize all that I am learning.

[SPM]

From these replies I continue to learn so thank you again

[DoTanuki yokai]

Ohh I see, I could have read it on the paper 

But in my opinion and it’s only my opinion I would expect a longer kissaki from this smith and hahada. 

 
 

[DMNK]

It's a good blade! I Like it, but didn't they usually sign " Bushu Shitahara..." ? Of course no rules without exceptions. I'm just curious. Any references? Please enlighten me.

[Michaelr]

 Very nice, congratulations. I like it a lot. Thank you for sharing. You have come to the right place to learn

   MikeR

[Yasaka Azuma]

It is a rare case, but not entirely unheard of.
Please discount that the credibility of the terushige I have shown the reference image is not always certain.

http://kako.nipponto.co.jp/swords2/KT221701.htm

[Infinite_Wisdumb]

Correct.  Forget the papers, Tokubetsu kichu are notorious for not being valid on blades.

 

https://blog.yuhindo.com/green-papers-no-papers/

 

[Infinite_Wisdumb]

And agree, its a nice piece!