I bought a Tachi. 'Hogen-era' says the Sayagaki. 'Ko-Naminohira' only says the Tokubetsu Hozen paper. Is it late Heian - or (early, mid, late) Kamakura

[Saint-Just]

Dear New Friends,  I am new to this forum.  After long waiting and saving, I bought a Ko Naminohira Tachi.  The Sayagaki (from 1952) says: Hogen- era (late Heian, 1156). So say the sellers - both in Japan and here in Holland.  Other people with knowledge maintain, though, the Tachi (which has one almost unreadable 'An' character near the peg hole) is of later date: Kamakura. Not necessarily based on the nakago - in the National Museum in Tokio there are a few Heian tachi's who don't have the characteristic Heian 'Pheasant Leg' but a nakago similar as mine ('chestnut')  The Tachi is ubi, 77 cm cutting egde, 99 cm in total, has a relatively low waist - but you please judge it yourself - and weights a little 623 grams. It has its Tokobetsu Hozon and is judged als Jidda: Hogen in 1952.  Is there anyone who is at home with the newest insights?

For details, please see: https://kyodaiorigin...satsuma-by-yasuyuki/

Many thanks, robert

[Ray Singer]

Hi Robert, you may know already but the NBTHK papers themselves just indicate that there is an unreadable mei. Unlike the previous posting for the Narishige, where there was enough of a kanji remnant to determine its reading, in this case they did not find the mei to be readable at all. 

[Jussi Ekholm]

Congratulations on a fine sword. I remember eyeing at the Japanese dealer but it was way above my level of collecting.

 

I do have it saved as Kamakura period work in my files. Unfortunately I am not a home during this weekend so I don't have access to all of my data. Ko-Naminohira attribution spans from late Heian into late Nanbokucho period. Late Heian - early Kamakura Ko-Naminohira work is very rare (as so early swords usually are). The Japanese dealer who had it online is often quite optimistic in age attributions.

 

Also I believe the sayagaki would be by Honami Nisshū (本阿弥日洲) and to me the date would be Heisei 2 (平成二) 1990. I am bit curious who told 1952 to you? I am not well versed in Nisshū sayagaki but I would compare it to other examples.

 

You do have very nice tachi and I hope you will enjoy it. I can write better post next week when I am at home. I have c. 100 Ko-Naminohira swords recorded so I think I can dig up few similarish ones.

[Saint-Just]

Thank you RAY SINGER, thank you Jussi Ekholm. I am new on fora and quite a digibete, so I hoop this message is reaching you. Yes, Ray, google translate told me the mei is unreadable. The original seller says it is the character An - and makes some far-going conclusions about that. I am just happy there IS a mei, on the right Tachi site :-) 

Hi Jussi.  So you saw the blade. It was - and actually is - quote on top of what I could afford. But it came to Holland last year and I simply fell in love with it.

I suspected the Japanese dealer has been quite optimistic in age attributions - but only after I did put the sword on hold.  With Kamakura, perhaps I can live - the sword has a great size, a great elegance and seems very healthy to me. Late Nambuchoko periode would be unacceptable - and then I really should ask the dealer to reverse the sale. (I already HAVE a Nambuchuko katana).  No hurry, but would you have a look in your files? I would be much obliged.

 

It could be very well the sayagaki is from 1990.  At the Tokubetsu Hozen paper one reads the blade is registraties May 1 1952 - so I simply thought the sayagaki would date from the same time. Mr. Honami Nisshu - according to my google translate camera - writes on the saya: Hogen-era.  Now we must know of Mr. Nisshu has some authority.  Really looking forward to your reply - take your time.  Warm regards from Amsterdam, robert   robertdulmers@gmail.com 

[Gakusee]

This is clearly Nisshu sayagaki - his calligraphy is my favourite among the sayagaki writers. What I cannot understand is why he is mentioning something like Juyo Bunkazai at the bottom of the sayagaki next to his signature. 
Jussi has made the appropriate comments. This is an old blade and sometimes it is not clear what is late Heian and what is early Kamakura. Here the sugata is consistent with “no later than early Kamakura” assessment. I would recommend that you go with the ToHo certificate evaluation. 
 

The Nisshu sayagaki attributes it to Yukiyasu. THE Yukiyasu was the son of the Naminohira school founder and a famous and respected smith. He has various top level blades. Several generations bore that name however. So, unless there is further attribution to a specific period, one can probably assume Nisshu thought highly of the blade and could have attributed it to the shodai. 
I recommend that you pay for the services of  someone fluent in Japanese like Markus or Steve to have the sayagaki properly translated. Read about the Naminohira school and Honami Nisshu, look at your blade and compare it to published and signed examples. Draw your own conclusions now that you have two attributions. 
 

Also, if you find somewhere to X-Ray the tang, it might reveal more of a signature. This has been done before. 

And in facf, just for fun, I attach images of the same Ko-Naminohira Yukiyasu with two Juyo papers. The earlier one only describes it as mumei Ko-Naminohira. Around 20 years later it was resubmitted and somehow they deciphered the mei or it had been scanned / X-rayed and now the signature had been partially read. 

 

[Saint-Just]

Thank you RAY SINGER, thank you Jussi Ekholm. I am new on fora and quite a digibete, so I hoop this message is reaching you. Yes, Ray, google translate told me the mei is unreadable. The original seller says it is the character An - and makes some far-going conclusions about that. I am just happy there IS a mei, on the right Tachi site :-) 

Hi Jussi.  So you saw the blade. It was - and actually is - quote on top of what I could afford. But it came to Holland last year and I simply fell in love with it.

I suspected the Japanese dealer has been quite optimistic in age attributions - but only after I did put the sword on hold.  With Kamakura, perhaps I can live - the sword has a great size, a great elegance and seems very healthy to me. Late Nambuchoko periode would be unacceptable - and then I really should ask the dealer to reverse the sale. (I already HAVE a Nambuchuko katana).  No hurry, but would you have a look in your files? I would be much obliged.

 

It could be very well the sayagaki is from 1990.  At the Tokubetsu Hozen paper one reads the blade is registraties May 1 1952 - so I simply thought the sayagaki would date from the same time. Mr. Honami Nisshu - according to my google translate camera - writes on the saya: Hogen-era.  Now we must know of Mr. Nisshu has some authority.  Really looking forward to your reply - take your time.  Warm regards from Amsterdam, robert   robertdulmers@gmail.com 

[Saint-Just]

Hi Gakusee.  Thank you for your insight. Nice to hear mr. Nisshu has a solid reputation.  Yes: My google translate camera picked also up Important Cultural Property.  And I was puzzled. It is a beautiful tachi, ubi and of goog health and perfect dimensions....   But do you think the sugata is consistent 'with no later than early Kamakura' assessment?  Is that your profound assessment or is it written somewhere on the saya?   In other words: no fears it will be ... Nambuchuko?  (I can judge that a little in the main Yamato streams, in Bizen but not in a province as far as Satsuma - where perhaps swordsmits did not follow the most actual trends?  Although thinking buying a late Heian: with an early Kamakura I can live. With a Nambuchuko I can not (I already have a katana from that era). By the way: my 3 swords, the ubi Tachi, the o-suriage Den Ryumon katana and the Mihara wakizashi - all Yamato-style - give a good insight in the development of the Nihonto - and I plan to donate the set in a few years to the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum (which does not have any proper blade). Nor much knowledge on Nihonto.  So you think it is not later than early Kamakura? That would be perfect.  Thank you. Warm regards from Amsterdam.  robert

 

[Stefan]

Hon`ami Nisshu, one  of the  relay great  appraisers  of the  Honami  school  of  sword polishers . He has  been  an  living  national  treasure .Honami  judgement  is  in many  cases  more  reliable than  the  NBTHK.  I said in many  cases .  Hon ami like Choshiki,  oh no....`

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Robert,

Donating your swords to a museum that has little or no interest in Nihonto is a great way to destroy them. Unless the museum has a department that is likely to put them on display, odds are good the swords will sit in a drawer in the basement and slowly rust away to nothing. Please reconsider; your sword are much safer with a knowledgeable collector.

Grey

[Brian]

Agree with Grey. It will be far better sold to a collector who will care for it properly.

[Rivkin]

Don't know where it goes, but:

ko versus sue are specifically introduced to avoid any controversy related to when the school first appeared. There is no certainty in regards to what is the earliest Naminohira blade (there is a dated example but...), and in principle only Senjuin (Mogusa?) and Sanjo (and related) schools more or less certainly were present in the Heian period, the rest borders between "likely" and "not likely".

 

Nishu's sayagaki are seldom associated with the top blades, though there are some. Dr. Honma has been the golden standard and I have not seen a sayagaki of his that has been challenged. That's been the status from the beginning, and he is the founder of the modern sword appraisal and mofrtn understanding of smith's genealogies.

Kanzan Sato wrote a lot of sayagaki and I would estimate 5-10% of those have been successfully challenged in modern papers, especially those written in 1974-1976 (by memory). There are various explanations, some say they are faked often (and they are), but then in most cases they are also green papers issued by the head office with the same judgement.

Honami Nishu was considered third choice compared to these two gentlemen and the last option for those not satisfied with other opinions. I probably have two dozen photographs of his writing with the NBTHK differing greatly.

Lots of Ichimonji classified into Ishido, Hosho into Sendai etc. With each blade I've seen NBTHK position was easy to understand.

[Saint-Just]

Good morning all!  

Dear GAKUSEE: thank you for your encouraging words. I will get into it: Mr. Nisshu and the possibility of X-ray. Markus Sesko I already emailed - and I am waiting for his reply? Who is this Peter you are talking about?  Thank you for the scan of the Juyo papers. For my blade, please see the pictures below (cannot upload them in a higher resolution).

Dear STEPHAN, GREY, BRIAN,: thanks to you too!  Grey makes a point. The Rijksmuseum, for over 200 years depending of gifts by the public and government money to buy the Rembrandts, happens to have no collection of Nihonto, except from some rusty Edo-swords taking by the Dutch from the island of Decima in the 1600's. They do rank in the top-10 of the worlds greatest museums (along with the Louvre, the British Museum, The Met etc), they have a huge department for conservation, and both the General Director and the head curator of Asiatica will accept my swords  on the condition they will be on display. As did they do with some other artefact I transfer to them. I see Menno, the head curator one of the coming weeks, so I will surely take up the matter of conservation with him. Thanks for pointing this out to me. But a museum as the Rijks, with its Rembrandts, its Vermeers, its great collection of mediaval textiles etc must be able to attract the right staff and knowledge. I will keep a close watch though.

Dear RIVKIN: I begin to realize that appraisal is a science as such and a matter of permanent deliberation. Rather than sticking to what the sasaya reads, I turned to this forum and wrote an email to Markus Sesko - the Sword has to be judged, more than just the sayagaki.

Many thanks to all of you for your input !   robert

 

[DanielM]

 

 

Hello Saint Just

 

You ask us an extremely important question...is it better to leave a valuable Japanese sword to a museum or to sell it to a collector who will take care of it?

 

I'm afraid there is no satisfactory answer...

 

-On the death of the careful collector this piece can very well be used by a member of his family who having no knowledge will let it rust or worse... thinking he is a samurai will use it to cut branches in his garden...

 

-As for the museum…I speak from experience having been a volunteer in a large museum in Brussels…many pieces are languishing in poorly ventilated and poorly adapted reserves…

 

Here's a striking example...in 1980 Dr. Walter A. Compton donated 200 swords from his large collection to the Boston Fine Art Museum where a new wing was created with Japanese capital. A wing where students could see and study quality swords (reference Token Bijutsu Journal No. 3 and 4. from 1980)

Probably in the 90s this wishful thinking was realized….

 

But in 2013...30 years after this wishful thinking...I planned a trip to New York and Boston and I sent an email  (3 months before my visit) to the curator of the Boston Museum stating that I wanted to see if possible a "Fukuoka Ichimonji" blade.

I got the following response: We do have some blades from this school but unfortunately they are in reserve and we do not have the staff to show them to you, we have a visit once a year from a Japanese expert who comes maintain our blades but he will not be there during your visit….

 

So I went to Boston where I remember seeing 1 naginata blade and a beautiful collection of tsuba and other kodogu…what a disappointment….

 

So I don’t know what to advise you….perhaps the Samurai Museum in Berlin? Janssens Collection? Museum solely dedicated to Samurai objects

[Matsunoki]

My view…..forget museums, make sure it goes to a collector. If he can afford to buy such treasures he will surely ensure it’s future preservation. Museums simply cannot be relied upon to look after such vulnerable objects.

[NewB]

How much?

 

 

It'll be in EU

 

 

J

[Saint-Just]

Dear Daniel (Goedenavond!), dear Matsunoki, dear NewB.  Thanks for the replies.  To cut the branches in the garden :-)  That's very amusing Monthy Python, Daniel :-) 

But the Museum Question is not the topic of my tread.  The situation is: I am a modest art-collector with no children or heirs, and the Rijksmuseum, for over 200 years the Dutch National Museum, gracefully accepted some objects from my collections. They have an outstanding reputation in conserving Rembrands and Vermeers - and extravanganza as Medieval textieles et cetera - and are ranked within the top ten of Musea worldwide. But, you are all right: due to the fact they have no Nihonto-department (although they have a department and curators of Armour) I will talk with the General Director and the curator Asian Art about future preservation. Still: the Rijksmuseum can be easily compared with the Louvre, the British Museum and the Met, so I can be quite at ease my Nihonto will find a good home there. To me it's also of significance we in Holland have some good Nihonto on display: all the kids visiting prefer swords over Rembrandts. 

This leaves us to the most exact determination of the Tachi. I just received word of Markus Seiko, THE authority outside of Japan. This very moment, at the Met in New York City, he is working rescuing artifacts from the basements, because New York City today has been flooded by rain. At the least: one cannot say that the Met Museum is not acting swiftly and decisively :-)  Warm regards from Amsterdam.  robert

[Saint-Just]

ERRATUM !   I am a hopelessly romantic - but I just got word of mr. Markus Sesko concerning the flooding in New York City and the basements of the Met.  I pictured mr. Sesko to his knees in the water rescuing precious artifacts. Luckily this is not the case. Mr. Sesko aks me to clarify - and to ease our minds: 

To be exact, I quote: 'I was only monitoring our storage areas if water comes oozing in, but all artwork is safely stored in a raised manner (there were some lessons learned from hurricanes of earlier years). I just don’t want people getting the wrong idea that things are floating around in the basement at the Met.' 

I guess, being a war correspondent in Syria, the dramatic ad-hoc evacuation of the museum of Raqqa, Islamic State entering from 200 yards away, did influence my imagination. The Met is safe. And so are the artifacts. No worries. 

 

[Saint-Just]

IMPORTANT!  Respons of Markus Sesko :-)  He asked me to share it with you:

 

Dear Mr. Dulmers,

 

I had a chance to look at the thread on NMB. First, I can confirm that the sayagaki by Hon’ami Nisshū is indeed from 1990. His direct attribution to Naminohira Yukiyasu is where the confusion starts, if you will. The problem with Japanese sword attributions is that they are objects-based on the one hand, and based on period records on the other hand, with the latter often overweighing the former. That is, Nisshū coming to the conclusion that the blade was a work of Yukiyasu, he so to speak “had” to quote the accumulative period lists of swordsmiths (referred to as meikan), which state that the smith was active around Hōgen. We find several later Yukiyasu smiths in the same meikan, one, e.g., as having been active around Bun’ei (1264–1275), which means that Nisshū regarded the blade as going back to the hand of the earlier Yukiyasu and not to him. In other words, Nisshū can not pick Yukiyasu and then opt, for example, for an era from the 1230s. He is traditionally bound to either pick Hōgen or Bun’ei, or a later era. 

 

Another difficulty lies within the fact that there were different lineages of appraising swords, e.g., Hon’ami vs. institutions like the NBTHK or NTHK, which slightly (or greatly in some cases) differ in their approach. Institutions have become more conservative over the years (partly connected to liabilities, partly to changes in leadership, experts panels, etc.) and are often not comfortable to nail down an attribution to a single smith (if there are just not enough individual characteristics to say this with some certainty). Thus, judging the blade in quesion as an “early Naminohira work”(which would be the literal translation of Ko-Naminohira) is a sensitive approach. With this, however, we are facing another difficulty, which is that the NBTHK often does not specify further on the Hozon or Tokubetsu-Hozon appraisal level. Again, there are times when they were, and it seems that they are returning to this practice a bit in more recent years when we see supplements in parentheses like “late Kamakura,” “early Muromachi,” “end of Nanbokuchō to early Muromachi,” etc.

 

Looking at the pictures of the blade and the description of the seller, it is with a motohaba of 3.2 cm (if this is correct) on the wider side for Ko-Naminohira. I quickly checked some of my references and most of such wide Ko-Naminohira blades were dated by the NBTHK to the end of the Kamakura period. That said, what I would like to see, if possible, is a shot from top of the area of the blade transitioning to the tang (without habaki) (like the picture attached). I would like to see how thin it is and how much material it has lost due over time due to polishing. I will go into more specifics about dating after that.

 

I will elaborate more on the museum/collector issue shortly.

 

Best regards,

Markus

[Jon]

4 hours ago, Matsunoki said:

forget museums, make sure it goes to a collector. If he can afford to buy such treasures he will surely ensure it’s future preservation. Museums simply cannot be relied upon to look after such vulnerable objects.

I think that depends very much on the museum, the British Museum has an active Japanese gallery and pretty significant collection of Japanese swords that can.be viewed on line..including descriptions of all of the blades., so even if not on display you can view and see a description of the sword. The also show who donates each sword and when..which I think is nice and is an important legacy…
 

I suspect you have to be very careful of which museum you donate to and if the sword in question should be in a museum or is better with a collection…

 

One thing I would say is make sure you always deal with your precious collections and desisions that are important to you before you die or become unable to make decisions or enact them..we only have power to see things done as we want them when we are alive and have capacity….take it from  someone whose has helped a lot of people through those final movements..don’t leave important things undone…you have no control on your death bed….or are very unwell…best do things your way when you have your health snd power in your limbs and mind…power and control may leave your suddenly, unexpectedly or just creep up on you…have no regrets and secure your legacy.

[French nihonto]

Your intention is very noble. I respect it. To promote these beautiful objects that we cherish. 
The problem with the big museums is that they often renew the exhibition of their pieces. You don't renew a Vermeer or a Da Vinci, of course. I go to the Louvre very often, and some of the beautiful pieces I saw ten years ago have gone into the huge reserves and may not come out again for a hundred years. When you give the sword to your museum, it will take care of it for the first few years, but one day, decades from now, when you and I are no longer there. A tactless curator will judge that your sword has been seen enough by visitors and send it back to the cluttered storerooms, where it will eventually be forgotten and slowly rust away.
It's almost 100% inevitable
With all due respect.
Max

[Saint-Just]

Dear Jon, chère French nihonto.  Thank you for your kind and concerned replies. The Museum-issue is not heavy on my mind.  Although we don't have a Da Vinci in the Rijksmuseum, unlike the Louvre, nor do we have a national duty to display Nihonto, like the Tokio National Museum, my experience with the conservation of items which are not permanently on display, are very positive. I happen to be a Patron of the Rijksmuseum, live in Amsterdam on and of my entire life (58 years) and walked around there - and behind the scenes - since I was a little boy. No one, indeed, can guarantee what will happen in 100 years.  But no one can guarantee that, selling the nihonto at an auction, sooner or later a buyer would do with the swords either. They may just as well - with even greater change- end up at someones attic. Perhaps one should just have left valuable nihonto at the daymo families where the swords have been preserved so well for ages :-)

 In a museum, things are well documented, on and off on display, worldwide available on the internet (the entire collection of the Rijksmuseum is), accessible for researchers and, most important, for kids (and adults) to get acquainted with.  Jon and I are very much on one page in respect of when transferring objects. I am only 58 and I already made arrangement with 3 musea to sooner or later transfer part of my collections  (Asian art and Dutch ancient and contemporary art to the Rijksmuseum; my small collection 18th century drawings to Teylers Museum in Haarlem, est. 1785, and some Russian icons to the museum of Recklinghausen, Germany. I prefer to transfer some objects long before my death - who can tell when that may be - because I fancy the fact sharing some items when I am still around. Like most Dutch museums, who get free offers hundreds times a year, the Rijksmuseum has the strict policy only to accept items they are intending to display and/or are filling a gap in their present collections. Storage cost space and money, so swords they don't want to display, they simply wouldn't accept.  Thank you all very much for the comment - I am waiting reply from Markus Sesko to what is more on my mind than museums: a good determination of the sword. I expect his judgement soon - and I will post it.  Have a great day!  robert

[Matsunoki]

This is supposed to be a flagship British museum…..would you want them in charge of your treasures? I have been told of first hand experience of suits or Japanese armour falling apart in museum basements….damp and mouldy.

Please, before anyone gives anything to any museum….have a look at this…..it is a scandal….sadly.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-66626876

[harrysmith12]

Great

[harrysmith12]

I've a lightsaber

[Baba Yaga]

 Museums attract top griffters for a plethora of reasons, much like churches and any NPO. Did they take you out to dinner yet?  There is one born every minute and two on Sundays, 

[Gakusee]

On 9/29/2023 at 11:24 PM, Saint-Just said:

Hi Gakusee.  Thank you for your insight. Nice to hear mr. Nisshu has a solid reputation.  Yes: My google translate camera picked also up Important Cultural Property.  And I was puzzled. It is a beautiful tachi, ubi and of goog health and perfect dimensions....   But do you think the sugata is consistent 'with no later than early Kamakura' assessment?  Is that your profound assessment or is it written somewhere on the saya?   In other words: no fears it will be ... Nambuchuko?  (I can judge that a little in the main Yamato streams, in Bizen but not in a province as far as Satsuma - where perhaps swordsmits did not follow the most actual trends?  Although thinking buying a late Heian: with an early Kamakura I can live. With a Nambuchuko I can not (I already have a katana from that era). By the way: my 3 swords, the ubi Tachi, the o-suriage Den Ryumon katana and the Mihara wakizashi - all Yamato-style - give a good insight in the development of the Nihonto - and I plan to donate the set in a few years to the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum (which does not have any proper blade). Nor much knowledge on Nihonto.  So you think it is not later than early Kamakura? That would be perfect.  Thank you. Warm regards from Amsterdam.  robert

 

Ok, when a sword is that old, frankly +\- 50 years will not matter. So, what you are delving into is whether it is end of Heian or early Kamakura. 
What exactly are you trying to establish? 
 

The NBTHK have been very clear with their Ko-Naminihira attribution. Ko-Naminohira per the Japanese authorities originated at the end of Heian. Nisshu mentions Yukiyasu and that smith name persists for a while but if he meant a lesser Yukiyasu than the shodai, he probably would have specified nidai, sandai or even kodai etc. So chances are that he meant shodai Yukiyasu. Whether it is by that smith or not…. Well, one authority (Nisshu) thought as much. Clearly the quality must be sufficient for him to make that call.  The current NBTHK panel could not narrow it that much but attributed it to Ko-Naminohira. 
 

In Japanese culture you need to learn to live with the lack of absolute certainty, some duality, some fluidity. 
 

Look at the sugata: there is some koshizori. Then the blade straightens a bit in the upper part. These are characteristics of end of Heian and early Kamakura usually. In mid/ late Kamakura more robust shapes emerged and also the upper portion of the blade (monouchi  etc) acquired a bit more curvature again. 
 

Have a read of this first attachment here. It is an excerpt from an NBTHK magazine article about a specific Yukiyasu blade. But it talks about the school and also the stylistic features of the smith (NB, compare to your own sword…) 

 

As to Nisshu, I do not think anyone on this board has the authority or knowledge to question him or contest his judgements. He was a “living national treasure” polisher and someone the Japanese government thought highly enough of in order to entrust him with the most precious of physical national-treasure swords 
 

Again, have a read of this excerpt below (second image) from Markus’s Honami book. 
 

Please , overall, read thoroughly about the school, Yukiyasu, Nisshu, sword periods etc in order to form your own view. What I have attached thus far in this thread should be a headstart for you. 

[Saint-Just]

Wise words, GAKUSEE.  Many thanks.  Yes: there is some difference between Western thinking and how in Japan things are looked upon. Concerning 'facts' I am quite a fetisjist - which is no problem in my small collection of Roman coins - determinable to the year - but it does not seem to make full sense when it comes to Koto blades with (yet) unreadable mei.  Also to me, an absolute beginner, de sugata of the blade very much has an Heian (or early Kamakura) elegance.  Visiting the National Museum in Tokio, I noticed later Kamakura blades are much more sturdier. This Tachi is pure elegance. I should find my own way - and take mr Nisshu serious, of course (me myself NOT being a Living National Treasure :-)

Thank you for the exerpt from the NBTHK article about the Yukiyashu blade. One last question: is there an illustration of the sword - I cannot find it by google. 

Much to think about: I will take my time to grasp it all.  Warm regards from Amsterdam, robert

[Gakusee]

43 minutes ago, Saint-Just said:

Wise words, GAKUSEE.  Many thanks.  Yes: there is some difference between Western thinking and how in Japan things are looked upon. Concerning 'facts' I am quite a fetisjist - which is no problem in my small collection of Roman coins - determinable to the year - but it does not seem to make full sense when it comes to Koto blades with (yet) unreadable mei.  Also to me, an absolute beginner, de sugata of the blade very much has an Heian (or early Kamakura) elegance.  Visiting the National Museum in Tokio, I noticed later Kamakura blades are much more sturdier. This Tachi is pure elegance. I should find my own way - and take mr Nisshu serious, of course (me myself NOT being a Living National Treasure :-)

Thank you for the exerpt from the NBTHK article about the Yukiyashu blade. One last question: is there an illustration of the sword - I cannot find it by google. 

Much to think about: I will take my time to grasp it all.  Warm regards from Amsterdam, robert

 

Hi Robert,

 

As it happens, I am going to be in Amsterdam this coming Tuesday afternoon and have a few hours to spare.  If you are up for it, we can grab coffee somewhere central and continue the conversation and analyse your sword if you are up for it. My library is almost entirely digitalised and always with me….
 

Boards like this are usually the beginning of a journey….. Always pursue your own knowledge and research, taking tips from people but going to sources such as the NBTHK, NTHK, Tanobe sensei and his fellow students of Kunzan sensei and Kanzan sensei (there are still another 2-3 alive apart from Tanobe sensei), the Japanese national museum and so on.

 

Please find attached your requested sword. 

[Saint-Just]

That would be lovely, Micheal.  I live in the city center of Amsterdam, and you are most welcome - so you can see and hold the sword yourself.  How do I pass my address to you? Can one send private messages here ? Do let me know.  robert

[Gakusee]

37 minutes ago, Saint-Just said:

That would be lovely, Micheal.  I live in the city center of Amsterdam, and you are most welcome - so you can see and hold the sword yourself.  How do I pass my address to you? Can one send private messages here ? Do let me know.  robert

 

Robert

 

You click on someone’s avatar or nickname (top left of each post) and that takes you to their profile. In there you need to click on the “message” button.