Kolekt-To Posted October 7, 2021 Report Posted October 7, 2021 Hi guys, Not sure if I should post this here, or in the Translation section. Since I'm exclusively (for now anyway) a Gunto nerd, I almost always post in this section and I'll start here. So, I recently purchased a Type 97 from this guy and I really like my new Kai Gunto - more will be revealed about that in a future post. However, I just learned that he has another of his grandfather's swords that he is willing to part with and this time it's a Type 98. The mounts are nice, but the blade is a little beat up with some very noticeable nicks on the cutting edge. It could have a traditionally-made blade and I'll explore that later. Right now, I just want the kanji on the nakago translated. Perhaps this is the work of a Seki smith? An RJT smith? A smith from an older era? And, the date may be chiseled on the other side of the nakago - there is kanji on both sides as we typically see with gunto. Attached are some photos of the nakago. Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted October 7, 2021 Report Posted October 7, 2021 Hi Geoff, Mei looks like Bizen No Kuni Osafune ?????, probably Sukesada. This would put it in the Muromachi period, looks like there is a date as well. Can we get some pictures of the mounts? Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted October 7, 2021 Report Posted October 7, 2021 So, Dai-ei 1521 + 6 - 1 = 1526 August Once you have the date kanji, Thanks Trystan!, you can go to Japaneseswordindex.com Date Translation page for the era, then do the math to get the year. Quote
Kolekt-To Posted October 7, 2021 Author Report Posted October 7, 2021 Thanks guys! So, Osafune, of the Bizen school, would be the smith and August 1526 is the date? Or is Sukesada most likely the name of the smith? Here are more photos: Quote
Kolekt-To Posted October 7, 2021 Author Report Posted October 7, 2021 More photos of this Bizen blade in Type 98 mounts: Quote
Kolekt-To Posted October 7, 2021 Author Report Posted October 7, 2021 So, the sword is of the Osafune Bizen school style and the swordsmith name is most likely Sukesada? Quote
Brian Posted October 7, 2021 Report Posted October 7, 2021 Osafune....the town. Sukesada, the smith name. There were MANY Sukesada. 1 Quote
Bruce Pennington Posted October 7, 2021 Report Posted October 7, 2021 Quite gorgeous Geoff! Hope you get it! 1 Quote
Kolekt-To Posted October 7, 2021 Author Report Posted October 7, 2021 I'm in negotiations now. I don't believe the seller is aware of the sword's value - he just believes it's one of his grandfather's old war souvenirs. But I'm not out to take advantage of anyone and I let him know that it is indeed, an older blade, and from the highly reputed Bizen school. I want him to get a fair price and, of course, I want a good deal. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for the help! Quote
PNSSHOGUN Posted October 7, 2021 Report Posted October 7, 2021 Good quality early mounts and Mon, very nice. The Bizen school during that time produced a prodigious amount of swords of varying quality, 'highly reputed' is perhaps a bit dramatic for collectors today. 1 Quote
Kolekt-To Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Posted October 9, 2021 Well, he want's $5K USD for the sword, so that's a bit above my price range, currently. I may help him sell it. Or, if it goes unsold long enough, and he's willing to come down on price, then I may have a shot at it. The one draw back for me, other than price, is that the blade has some serious nicks to the cutting edge and the full extent of those were not revealed in the photos I posted. Anyway, we'll see what happens. Quote
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