Looking for opinions on another one of my wakizashi

[Tin Tin]

I purchased this wakizashi recently. The blade looks to be in very nice condition. The hamon and the veins in the blade look to be authentic as with the hamon. 

 

I have 2 main concerns.

 

1) the signature is hi-shu kawachi-no-kami Fujiwara Masahiro. When I googled this name, most of the signatures with this name were hizen hishu. Is this a cause for concern? Resolved! Upon second glance, there are actually quite a few that are listed as Hishu rather than Hizen

 

2) this item came with nbthk tokubetsu kicho paperwork. Although the blade does look very nice with virtually no scratches and only one very tiny very light line of black rust which I showed in a picture, I heard that one should always be wary of any swords with this type of paperwork. 

 

For refence, I paid $1500 usd. There is still a return policy in place so I wanted to make sure that what I have looks good to everyone else. This has been keeping me up all night. Maybe it's just jitters. Hopefully you guys can help me clarify.

 

 

Due to the size of the photos, I uploaded some of the pictures onto ibb photo hosting.

 

 

 

https://ibb.co/Vp08dkz

https://ibb.co/R24BYcp

https://ibb.co/JyKsnDn

https://ibb.co/RchpZ3L

[Tin Tin]

For reference, the blade edge is 55.1 cm with 1.7 cm curvature.

[Alex A]

Hi Nathan, its always a concern when you think something don't quite fit.

 

You say "most" have Hizen, did you see mei without ?. Don't have time now but I'm sure others will check the books.

 

You need to check that the work matches that of the smith at that time,  shape, nakago, hada, hamon etc etc etc. Anything a miss could be an indicator of  gimei.

 

The price seems cheap, that's my concern at the moment. As this come from Japan ?

[Tin Tin]

Yes this shipped out from Japan. The seller indicated that it was done by 4th generation masahiro but there is almost no information and I could not find anything to compare it to. That being said, maybe I just dont know where to look.

 

I did resolve the Hizen vs Hishu thing though as it seems like some of the earlier masahiro generations also did sign with hishu.

[Alex A]

4th generation here, no doubt you seen it. A MASAHIRO WAKIZASHI « Unique Japan

 

Would see about getting the papers confirmed with NBTHK. Read a few times that this is not a straight forward task though.

 

Need a real clear shot of the mei, come to think about it and sword.

 

Some info Masahiro - MAS176 | Nihonto Club

 

This is all best done BEFORE a purchase.

 

Just to add, comparing the mei. From what i see, im not liking the comparison.

 

 

[sabiji]

It is relatively common for Hizen swords of the main line, as well as the secondary lines, to use "Hizen" for katana, and the variant "Hishu" for wakizashi.

[Jacques D.]

Yondai Masahiro was granted of the title of Kawachi no Daîjo, not Kawachi no kami.

[Tin Tin]

So I did more research and 4th gen masahiro actually had 3 signatures (source: https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/MAS176)

 

Signatures:

肥前國河内大掾藤原正廣

hizen kuni kawachi daijo fujiwara masahiro

河内守藤原正廣

kawachi kami fujiwara masahiro

肥州河内大掾藤原正廣

hishu kawachi daijo fujiwara masahiro

 

 

The 2nd signature is a match to the one on my wakizashi. (with exception of location missing)

 

The seller also sent me this page as confirmation. Unfortunately I can't read but  it looks like everything checks out when I compare the characters. I guess it looks like as far as the mei is concerned, everything is order? 

 

[Alex A]

Not so much as a thanks, to anyone.

 

You did not listen.

 

My last piece of advice to you is ask the seller to provide proof from the NBTHK.

[Tin Tin]

Sorry if you thought that I was rude. I am grateful for all the help that everyone has provided. I was busy trying to examine the question brought up by Jacques to see if his comments would raise serious concern which is why I researched that first.

 

Regarding NBTHK, I am seeing mixed results/responses from people on this forum and other forums. I was not able to see a clear path forward on this matter since there are no direct instructions on how to raise concerns with NBTHK apart from the posts talking about submitting the blade back to them in Japan which might not actually be worth it in this case. I found one person talking about finding an agent to talk to NBTHK just to check the cert number at least but apparently the forums were mentioning that this is not usually successful for the older retired certifications. It seems that they would want you to re-submit for a new cert. I would assume the cost of getting an agent to submit on my behalf + shipping expense both ways + certification expense will probably greatly outweigh the benefit. 

 

Regarding asking the seller to provide proof from NBTHK, do you know what style of proof they would provide? 

 

Regarding your request to see the entirety of the blade, please see the attached. My camera is not so good so instead I am using the seller's photos.

 

Thanks,

Nathan

[Jacques D.]

Sorry Nathan some times my memory is not perfect. I consulted the nihonto meikan and it confirms that the yondai did indeed have the title of no kami.

[Bazza]

Sticking my neck out - Nathan, if you add up all the component costs of polish, shirasaya, habaki, packaging, postage from Japan and incidentals, for a modest price you have a nice looking REAL NIHONTOU in better than good condition.  Rather than return it at an expense can I suggest you keep it for some time to remind you of the best way to collect.  Look for NBTHK current certificate format of HOZON and TOKUBETSU HOZON.

 

BaZZa.

[Tin Tin]

Yes I quite like it. After all the comments, I think I will be keeping it. In the future, I will definitely look towards the newer NBTHK certificates for more certainty. Thank you everyone for your help!

[lonely panet]

At $1500,  this was or is a very afforable education in duing all your research before buying. 

 

but at the end of the day its not ugly.  has a good shirasaya and neat habaki.  IMHO keep it study and learn from it and then catch and release.

 

many long term students of nihonto will not openly admit to over paying but im sure we have all done it.  i have i got cought up in the Yasukuni Hype 20 years ago and paid top dollar for a out of polish kotani yasunori.

[jt nesbitt]

Hey Nathan-

 It's a Great buy because it has led you down a rabbit hole that you wouldn't have otherwise travelled. A great teaching tool, and a beautiful sword as well. I wouldn't worry about chasing down NBTHK, just enjoy it! I have a few of these type of inexpensive and questionable blades that I really love, and I have come up with a formula that has worked out great as a guide for buying them...GET READY FOR THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS with authentic-but-inexpensive Nihonto collecting - THE $300.00 RULE!

Nice hada - $300

Nice overall sugata - $300

Nice hamon - $300

Nice habaki - $300

Nice shirasaya - $300

Nice mei - $300

Nice polish - $300

Some kind of papers - $300

Since your sword check All of these boxes - you saved $900!!! A SAGE and SALUBRIOUS purchase! If you want to sell it, I would be happy to give you the $1,500 that you have invested, just DM me! -- JT